The Struggle Continues. Photo: Al Mayadeen.
By Carlos Aznárez – Jul 28, 2026
Uncompromising and bold when it came to making decisions, especially those concerning the interests of his beloved Venezuela. Passionate and enthusiastic in his defense of the most disadvantaged, to whom he dedicated each and every day of his term in office. A champion of unity to strike together against the Empire—a commitment he demonstrated not only in domestic politics but also in the doctrine he established throughout Latin America and the world. Thoughtful and down-to-earth when it came to opening the doors to debate—even with his fiercest enemies—and when formulating ideas that would bridge positions that were poles apart. We are speaking of Hugo Chávez, whom we miss so dearly on what would have been his 72nd birthday.
He forged the most powerful weapons to confront the onslaughts of various U.S. leaders—whether the Bushes, Obama, Biden, or, right now, the serial killer Trump—weapons that are not loaded with bullets but with the development of a solid and vital consciousness, drawn from the history of our peoples’ struggle. He alone—and no one else—had the clarity to realize that the time had come to set the continent on a course toward the Second Independence that has been so long denied to us, and which remains an unfinished task. He was the one who rescued our national heroes and legendary figures, whom he brought out of marble or bronze and transformed into figures of extraordinary relevance today. Bolívar, San Martín, Sucre, Manuelita Sáenz, O’Higgins, Guacaipuro, Túpac Amaru, Simón Rodríguez, Sandino, Evita Perón, and, of course, Che Guevara. With them in his backpack, he called for the rescue of the Patria Grande from the claw-like grip of the brutal North. He denounced the sulfur spewed by Bush on the UN podium and dealt him a resounding blow during those glorious days when the FTAA was demolished by him and a group of presidents who stood by him. We’re talking about Chávez. Who else, if not him?
Thinking of the children, the elderly, and the wretched of the earth (this feminist and anti-patriarchal Commander introduced gender-sensitive language into politics as no one had done before), he bolstered the Misiones and made them indispensable to the implementation of his administration. He bypassed ministerial bureaucracies and, as if pulling a rabbit out of a magician’s hat, gave his people the chance to become fully literate and to receive free medical care through the Misión Milagro, with the support of a solidarity-driven Cuba. He made it possible for the poorest to gain access to universities for the first time in decades (or centuries). The Missions became a rushing river and a rallying banner for the vast majority:
He fought for housing for all, the Mercal food program to break the chains of middlemen, the Music Mission, the Women’s Bank, sports programs in the neighborhoods, the Science Mission, the Che Guevara Mission (for socialist education), the Negra Hipólita Mission, and the Neighborhood Mothers’ Mission. There aren’t enough days in the year to list them all, and the Commander imbued each one with his personal drive, his wisdom, and his sleepless hours to make them a reality. We remember Chávez Frías, the grandson of Maisanta, a wild guerrilla fighter, in these brief and inadequate lines.
Proclaimed as Fidel’s son, together with him they unleashed a hurricane that swept across the continent, spreading ideas, strength, wisdom, and that unique way of reimagining politics without speculation of any kind. To the rhythm of such a duo, ALBA was born, providing Latin America and the Caribbean with an effective tool to foster solidarity, standing shoulder to shoulder. But not only that—he also knew how to show the world that the gringos could be addressed as equals, without hesitation or submission, as had been the case until the Afro-Indo-American nations regained their self-esteem and set out on their own path. That was his first feat, but then he went further, and helped (with invaluable patience) to build CELAC and UNASUR, bringing everyone together—from the right to the left—but without U.S. tutelage dictating the script. Chávez did it, and his path was followed by others like him, born of the struggles in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and so many other places.
He was impeccable when it came to speaking the truth to the people. He cursed U.S. tutelage (“Go to hell, you fucking Yankees”), or shook off the genocidal Zionist diplomats, aggressors against occupied Palestine (“Damn you, Zionist State of Israel”). Those very same people—those in Washington and Tel Aviv—who today, surprisingly, are flocking to bombed-out Caracas, where the president and his partner have been kidnapped and the oil plundered. And they pretend to be “humanitarians” and rubble-clearers, when they are the very ones who have turned Gaza into a smoldering graveyard of Palestinian children, women, and men.
Using didactic language, Chávez explained to his own people that they must remain vigilant against coup plotters both within and outside the country. He made this point by recalling his own experience during that fateful year of 2002—the Puente Llaguno massacre, his kidnapping in La Orchila, his rescue by those who came down from the hills to demonstrate their love and loyalty, the oil coup, and his own decision to take the most radical stance possible so as not to turn the other cheek to his enemies. In genuine popular assemblies of nearly two million people, he knew how to give precise instructions for the militias to begin occupying a necessary space, but he also recognized the commendable role played in the revolutionary process by the Armed Forces, which, under his command, stood their ground alongside ordinary Bolivarians. Hugo Chávez has been the driving force behind these feats.
Now that his legacy has been embraced by millions around the world, and his comrade in so many struggles, Nicolás Maduro, has become a prisoner of war of an enemy that will do everything in its power to destroy Venezuela—just as it is attempting to do with Cuba—it is time for us to redouble our tribute to the man who, without a doubt, fell fighting, in a patriotic struggle of “martyrdom or victory,” as the Palestinian fighters maintain. What else were those days of fierce struggle against that cancer that burned his body but did not cause him to waver in his ideological and rhetorical strength? Who does not remember, without getting goosebumps, that afternoon in Caracas on October 4, 2012, when, under a veritable deluge, the Commander climbed onto the stage and, before an incredible crowd, shouted “Long live the Revolution!” and called on everyone to make the final push to secure victory in the upcoming elections. The torrential rain pouring down on his towering figure failed to deter him, nor could the brutal pain caused by the accursed disease that took him from us months later overcome him.
Drawing strength from his love for that “red tide” that listened to him in rapture, waving flags and chanting slogans, Chávez spoke for posterity and proclaimed victory over the oligarchy and the Empire. That was his style and his way. To put his body on the line to the very end.
On this new anniversary of his birth, the figure of the eternal Commander Hugo Chávez and the example he set for us reinforce the need to redouble our solidarity with the Bolivarian people, so that we may continue, as always, to confront the Yankee-Zionist scum that seeks to seize their territory. For those who were capable of bombing and murdering hundreds of Venezuelans and 32 heroic Cuban fighters, there can be “not even a tiny bit” of forgetting or forgiveness.
In these days when the future seems so uncertain, Hugo Chávez calls on us once again to take up the fight. For a communal Venezuela, for the urgent return of Nicolás and Cilia, for the expulsion of the Yankees, Zionists, and their local accomplices from Bolivarian territory. To carry out a new anti-imperialist feat, one that once again follows the Guevarist precedent: that one does not negotiate with the enemy—one fights it. Yesterday, today, and always.
Carlos Aznarez
Periodista. Director de @ResumenLatino periódico, radio y TV.
