Timeline: The life and rule of Hugo Chavez

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/hugo-chavez-timeline/index.html

12 key events from the life of "El Comandante"

1954	A 2008 photo shows the childhood home of Hugo Chavez in a street in Sabaneta. (Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images) Born in a small town Hugo Chavez is born to local schoolteachers in Sabaneta, Barinas, and lives his childhood in a small village outside of the town.
1971	A Venezuelan artist showed a picture of Chavez from his days as a military cadet. (Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images) Education at military academy Chavez enrolls at the Venezuelan Academy for Military Sciences, where he has the opportunity to meet and interact with military cadets from other parts of Latin America. He graduates in 1975.
1992	Two soldiers of a unit loyal to Carlos Andres Perez open fire on military rebels led by Chavez. (AP Photo/Diego Giudice) A failed coup Frustrated by Carlos Andres Perez-led government’s monopoly on power and corruption, Chavez leads a military coup, known as Operation Zamora, and fails. He is arrested and imprisoned.
1998	Supporters of presidential candidate Hugo Chavez attend a rally in Caracas for the upcoming election. (Bertrand Parres/AFP/Getty Images) Beginning of presidency Four years after leaving prison, Chavez wins his first election and becomes the president, largely because of the support he garnered for his Bolivarian movement.
2000	President Hugo Chavez gestures and greets supporters in Caracas. (Jorge Uzon/AFP/Getty Images) A second term in office With a massive support from the poor working class, Chavez wins re-election by with nearly 60 percent of the votes to become the president for six additional years under the new constitution.
2002	An elderly woman passes a graffiti reading "Chavez Out" in Caracas. (Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images) Powerless, but only for days A series of huge protests against his rule led to Chavez’s overthrow, but an uprising against the coup leaders by the president’s supporters puts him back in power two days later.
2004	A man in Caracas walks past signs of support for Hugo Chavez ahead of a referendum on his rule. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) Winning a recall referendum The opposition calls a national referendum to recall Chavez from presidency, but the result is in favor of Chavez. The opposition accuses the government of fraud.
2005	Supporters of Hugo Chavez hold banners that read "Bush Hands Off Venezuela" in Caracas. (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero) "They want to kill me" Reacting to a growing criticism by top American officials, Chavez claims that United States is trying to assassinate him. "If they kill me, the name of the person responsible is George Bush," he said.
2006	Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez drew an applause at the United Nations General Assembly when he called U.S. President George W. Bush "the devil." (AP Photo/Ed Betz) "The devil was here" In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Chavez refers to U.S. President George W. Bush as “the devil” who talked “as if he owned the world.” At the end of the year, he wins another term in office.
2009	President Hugo Chavez points to supporters during a rally in Caracas ahead of a referendum to amend the constitution. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) The third circle of revolution Chavez wins a referendum to eliminate term limits, making a way for him to run for president indefinitely. “With this victory, we begin the third cycle of the Bolivarian revolution,” he said.
2011	Cuba's President Raul Castro greets Chavez upon his arrival in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Estudios Revolucion) El Comandante is taken ill Chavez confirms that he has cancer and is recovering from surgery, in a televised address from Havana. Venezuelan television report that he traveled to Cuba for further treatments.
2012	A portrait of Hugo Chavez is flanked by military caps at the Jesus de Miramar church during a mass for his recovery. (Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images) Another victory After winning a comfortable victory that extended his presidency for six more years, Chavez once again pledges to deepen his socialist revolution. In December, he travels to Cuba again for a serious surgery.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, BBC, Foreign Affairs. GRAPHIC: Anup Kaphle. Published Dec. 14, 2012.

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