Venezuela's Chavez Wins Hearts Among the Poor

CARACAS, Venezuela -- The shanties came tumbling down, wiping out the families who had built their homes on the hill. Carlos Henriquez, then a young boy, vividly remembers the images of the deadly mudslides and the feeling that the government had failed to protect the poor.

In the years that followed, there were more examples of official indifference, said Henriquez, now 22, who has a slight build and a boyish face. Young men fell behind in school, became apathetic and entered shadowy careers on the street. And he felt the government did not seem to care.

But recently, under what President Hugo Chavez calls his "Bolivarian Revolution," named for the 19th-century independence leader Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan government has offered high school and university educations to adults left behind.

"Now those neighborhoods are stabilizing. This revolution is putting some enthusiasm in the people," said Henriquez, the son of an artist, who peddles revolutionary posters on the sidewalks of the capital. "Before, they didn't have any hope."

He plans to follow in his brother's footsteps and attend Mision Ribas, a high school for adults. "People are looking for ways to advance and keep going," he said while standing near his poster display. "The people were waiting for that, and it has arrived."

Chavez, whose taste for revolutionary red, populist ideology and fiery rhetoric has made him a hero in this oil-rich country, governs with the self-proclaimed mandate of realizing Bolivar's dream, which included uniting numerous countries of Latin America. For decades, a tiny political and economic elite directed the country and reaped its oil wealth. But that has changed under Chavez, and his supporters say Venezuela now belongs to them.

On the world stage, Chavez often lobs barbs at President Bush, whom he has nicknamed "Mister Danger." Chavez, first elected in 1998, survived a 2002 coup that was at least tacitly supported by the United States, and a referendum to recall him in 2004. Critics accuse him of consolidating power, punishing opponents and instigating confrontations with the U.S. government.

But his domestic loyalists are fervent and number in the millions. The Chavistas , as his supporters are known, say that for the first time in the country's 47-year shaky attempt at democracy, they have a president who promotes an inclusive society and pride in the country's culture and history.

A Chavez-inspired moment occurred last week when indigenous artisans from the Amazon region and the border with Guyana gathered in a white tent after traveling here to sell their wares at the World Social Forum, a summit for leftist activists.

The palm weavers and jewelry makers said it was a rare opportunity to showcase their native culture. But the forum organizers neglected to build a vendors' stall, and the artisans were left idle.

"Every time we come to Caracas, it's difficult to find a place to sell," said Danilo Garzea, 23, of the Piaroa tribe, from the area near the border with Colombia. After hours of stewing with indignation, the group devised a plan.

"A brilliant idea occurred to us -- to ask for a market here in the city so this doesn't keep happening," said Garzea, who wears his black hair short and spiky and displays his handcrafted jewelry tied around his arm.