There have been several discussions here about Chavez and yes he had his defenders and fans.

>I haven't heard anyone defend either Chavez or Mugabe. Who are you directing that at?
>
>>Looks like he's following the Marxist worker's utopia handbook.
>>
>>Suppress all opposition. Check.
>>Nationalize everything in sight. Check.
>>Support Marxist revolutionaries in foreign countries. Check.
>>Establish secret police and force neighbors to be rats. Check.
>>Blame your critics for all your problems. Check.
>>
>>Are there any Chavez defenders still out there who care to continue to defend this s**tbag?
>>
>>While we're at it, anyone care to defend Mugabe?
>>
>>>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZFnvarkllnTSXx_21_FR2mY04tgD90VD5CG0
>>>http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/03/america/03venez.php
>>>
>>>I can certainly see his need for spy agencies, after all every country has them. This is disturbing though:
>>>
>>>President Hugo Chávez has used his decree powers to carry out a major overhaul of this country's intelligence agencies, provoking a fierce backlash here from human rights groups and legal scholars who say the measures will force citizens to inform on one another to avoid prison terms.
>>>
>>>The new law requires people in the country to comply with requests to assist the agencies, secret police or community activist groups loyal to Chávez. Refusal can result in prison terms of two to four years for most people and four to six years for government employees...