If you read the next post, you will see an article about eye care for Latin America’s poor. This is a positive development of course as well as many of his policies in trying to tackle poverty in Venezuela and Latin America. Poverty is the cause of many of the region’s ills and he does deserve respect for these policies. Much of his success in Venezuela are due to slow growth in the past and the lack of aid to much of Latin America’s poor. Where criticisms arise are from many of his methods on other issues as opposed to the means of his actions. You are right to say he has many democratic virtues, but these virtues should go beyond just voting and to legislative and social democracy. As O’Donnell comments in one of his articles, democracy is more than just elections, and elections are only the beginning of a healthy democracy. Where Chavez is trying to hold more power than one should in a democracy is by using referendums to override parts of the Venezuelan constitution to enshrine his presidential powers, perhaps indefinetly. This is quite anti-democratic as Constitutions are present to prohibit in control of power in the hands on one branch of Government or one individual. So as you can see, its not as I wish to show an all negative or all positive impression of Chavez, but he should be praised for his good policies and criticised for his bad ones…as would any leader.