In addition to #s 7&8...
"I was very disappointed with the obituary of Hugo Chávez (6 March). It was mealy mouthed and mean-spirited. Nowhere does it mention his erudition. He was extraordinarily well-read and was able to quote from classical literature and philosophy at will. This is in deep contrast to his antagonist, the appallingly ignorant George Bush
Nowhere does it mention his achievement in bringing down rates of poverty, raising standards of healthcare and education. Nowhere does it mention the increase in GDP in Venezuela. Nowhere does it mention that the part nationalisation of the oil industry was a reasonable and just way of trying to keep the vast profits being made by the American oil companies in Venezuela for the people of Venezuela. Nowhere does it mention the movement for the states of South and Latin America to form their own independent group outside the influence of the United States.
It belittled his coup attempt of 1992 and made little of the old corrupt regime where power and wealth was concentrated in the hands of very few. It almost implied that these factors were a figment of his imagination. It belittles his constitutional reforms that neutered that concentrated power of the rich and allowed the poor to have a say. It talks of General Romero somehow provoking a crisis but no mention of the covert and overt attempts by the US to remove an elected leader. It totally misrepresents his ideas of socialism. It does not mention that rightwing TV stations were actively encouraging revolution and sedition before being closed down.
What is the reference to class hatred? From the beginning he was threatened by the US and the rich. Instead of working with him (as with Fidel Castro), they drove him further to the left and into the arms of some rather unsavoury international politicians. Talk of seizure of land rather than land reform to allow a more just society shows how tilted this obituary was.
One has to read the articles by Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, and a letter from Nicholas Hoskyns to get a more balanced view of a great revolutionary figure who did more to reduce poverty and enfranchise the people than any western leader could ever do.
Dr Rupert Gud
Tavistock, Devon"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/08/assessing-legacy-hugo-chavez