Why I'm a little sad that Hugo Chavez is dead

I must confess to being a little sad to hear of the passing of our good Comrade, Hugo Chavez, democratic dictator of Venezuela. 

Some of you may raise an eyebrow at this. Hugo Chavez, despite being nominally anti corruption oversaw a government which eroded judicial independence, enabled Venezuela to be a drug trafficking route, and basically scared away any strong political opposition.

Despite this, he did oversee large-scale improvements to the country – he implemented policies which led to economic growth (although I am led to believe that this economic boom may be short lived), his government implemented a rather successful effort to wipe out illiteracy (in 2011, the literacy rate was 95.2%), and a noted effort to improve the rights of women and indigenous people should not be ignored (indeed, the constitution actually recognises the indigenous language). 

But I think what I loved most about Hugo Chavez is what I love about a lot of these sorts of authoritarian leaders – the outlandishness which would occasionally characterise his rule.

Chavez’s monopolistic control of the media air time meant that he would often give speeches that would go for hours at a time, and force media outlets to air the whole thing. He used social media in order to boost his popular support (if you need a social media expert, he was the man one should have talked to). What I was particularly amused by was reading that upon his final return to Venezuela from Cuba, the army organised ‘spontaneous’ expressions of joy.

There is an element of the ridiculous in all of these things that endears Mr Chavez to me. In a quick google search, I saw an article that suggests his body will be embalmed for public display.

These things remind me of North Korea’s founding father, Kim-il Sung. The story of his birth that was told to the people was that he was born on a mountaintop, was raised by an eagle, and then made his way down to lead the people to communist bliss, or something along those lines.

While we should never forget that these sorts of leaders are probably not someone whom you would wish to upset, I always take amusement and yes, a little bit of joy, from hearing about these absurdities of despotic rulers.

This is why I shall miss my favourite Latin American ruler, Hugo Chavez.