In the aftermath of Hugo Chávez's death, the inside story of his life, his Venezuela, and his legacy.
Hugo Chávez was a phenomenon. He has been compared to Napoléon, Nasser, Perón, and Castro, but the truth is there has never been a leader like him. He was democratically elected, reigned like a monarch from a digital throne, and provoked adoration and revulsion in equal measure. Future historians will study his rule for what it says about the early twenty-first century. How did a charismatic autocrat seduce not just a nation but a significant part of world opinion? How did he make people laugh and weep and applaud, as if on command? And how did he continue to stay in power despite the crumbling of Venezuela?
When he first came to power in 1999, Chávez promised a democratic revolution to transform his country. In Venezuela and elsewhere, he became a symbol of hope and freedom for his people. Yet in his thirteen years as president, Chávez seized control of the hugely lucrative Venezuelan oil industry, consolidated government authority under the presidency, allowed basic government functions to wither, jailed and excommunicated political opponents, created a personality cult, and courted Castro and Ahmadinejad, all while occupying much of Venezuela’s airwaves with his long-running television show, ¡Alo Presidente!
In Comandante, acclaimed journalist Rory Carroll breaches the walls of Miraflores Palace to tell the inside story of Chávez's life and his political court in Caracas. Based on interviews with ministers, aides, courtiers, and citizens, this intimate piece of reportage chronicles a unique experiment in power, which veers among enlightenment, tyranny, comedy, and farce. Carroll investigates the almost religious devotion of millions of Venezuelans who still regard Chávez as a savior and the loathing of those who brand him a dictator. In beautiful prose that blends the lyricism and strangeness of magical realism with the brutal, ugly truth of authoritarianism?a powerful combination reminiscent of Ryszard Kapuscinski's The Emperor?Rory Carroll has written a cautionary tale for our times.
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"With new information and sharp-eyed reporting, Comandante is a riveting account of how Hugo Chavez has held his country in his thrall for 15 years. Rory Carroll has stripped away the propaganda surrounding Chavez's 'Bolivarian Revolution' to reveal its core of serial incompetence, corruption and cynicism."
Michael Reid, author of "Forgotten Continent "
"This is a terrific read; funny, constantly informative about Hugo Chavez and the Venezuela he has created, and sure to annoy a great many people."
Alma Guillermoprieto, author of "Dancing with Cuba"
"In cool, lucid prose, Rory Carroll unpicks the threads that weave together to form a modern-day dictatorship, no less sinister for its relative absence of bloodshed. The portrait of Venezuela that emerges is as nuanced as it is ultimately chilling. Hugo Chavez s story perfectly illustrates the fact that all that is necessary for the triumph of demagoguery is for good men to do nothing."
Michela Wrong, author of "In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz"
"A close, well informed and concerned look at the most controversial yet fascinating figure in Latin American politics today. Rory Carroll intelligently lays out the puzzle of Chavez s idiosyncratic populism for us to judge."
Gioconda Belli, author of "The Country Under My Skin"
Rory Carroll was once harangued by Hugo Chavez on his weekly television show, Alo Presidente. These sharp-eyed sketches of El Commandante s acolytes, former supporters and courtiers form Carroll s occasionally mischievous reply. Informed and often funny, it is also a chilling portrait of the cynicism and corruption that has come to characterize Mr. Chavez s once-charismatic Venezuelan revolution.
John Paul Rathbone, author of "The Sugar King of Havana"
Comandante is a trenchant, remarkably colorful book about Hugo Chavez. In sparkling prose, Rory Carroll goes beyond Chavez s seductive rhetoric, Manichean mindset, and huge appetite for power to highlight the tragic consequences of virtual one-man rule in Venezuela. More Chavez profiles are sure to come, but I doubt they will measure up to such a witty, cogent and exquisite account. An immensely gifted journalist, Carroll has broken new ground with this splendid political biography.
Michael Shifter, President, Inter-American Dialogue"
"Comandante provides an impressively well-researched and readable portrait... Carroll's book should serve as a useful reminder of what el Comandante did and didn't achieve, how he got away with it and the danger of statesmen-as-showmen whose promises are too good to be true."
--The New York Times Book Review
"With new information and sharp-eyed reporting, Comandante is a riveting account of how Hugo Chavez has held his country in his thrall for 15 years. Rory Carroll has stripped away the propaganda surrounding Chavez's 'Bolivarian Revolution' to reveal its core of serial incompetence, corruption and cynicism."
--Michael Reid, author of Forgotten Continent
"This is a terrific read; funny, constantly informative about Hugo Chavez and the Venezuela he has created, and sure to annoy a great many people."
--Alma Guillermoprieto, author of Dancing with Cuba
"In cool, lucid prose, Rory Carroll unpicks the threads that weave together to form a modern-day dictatorship, no less sinister for its relative absence of bloodshed. The portrait of Venezuela that emerges is as nuanced as it is ultimately chilling. Hugo Chavez's story perfectly illustrates the fact that all that is necessary for the triumph of demagoguery is for good men to do nothing."
--Michela Wrong, author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz
"Rory Carroll was once harangued by Hugo Chavez on his weekly television show, Alo Presidente. These sharp-eyed sketches of 'El Commandante's' acolytes, former supporters and courtiers form Carroll's occasionally mischievous reply. Informed and often funny, it is also a chilling portrait of the cynicism and corruption that has come to characterize Mr. Chavez's once-charismatic Venezuelan revolution."
--John Paul Rathbone, author of The Sugar King of Havana
"Comandante is a trenchant, remarkably colorful book about Hugo Chavez. In sparkling prose, Rory Carroll goes beyond Chavez's seductive rhetoric, Manichean mindset, and huge appetite for power to highlight the tragic consequences of virtual one-man rule in Venezuela. More Chavez profiles are sure to come, but I doubt they will measure up to such a witty, cogent and exquisite account. An immensely gifted journalist, Carroll has broken new ground with this splendid political biography."
--Michael Shifter, President, Inter-American Dialogue
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