I don’t have anything clever to say about Hugo Chavez. I’ve felt for a long time that many on the U.S. left were too quick to embrace him as a kindred spirit, when he actually was more of an ego-maniacal mess. People often admired or hated him more because of their own agendas rather than anything he actually did.

Various perspectives:

Zack Beauchamp, “Why Democrats Shouldn’t Eulogize Hugo Chavez”

Rory Carroll, “In the End, an Awful Manager”

David Sirota, “Hugo Chavez’s Economic Miracle“