Hugo Chávez Quotes (60 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

Hugo Chávez: 60 quotes2 likes

Famous Hugo Chávez Quotes

“I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived and finished off the planet”

Hugo Chávez

2011

“When imperialism feels weak, it resorts to brute force. ”

Hugo Chávez

“I'm a reading addict. I can't live without it, like someone who is addicted to drugs.”

Hugo Chávez

“Before anything else I would like to say good day to all of the Venezuelan people, and this Boliviarian message is directed to the brave soldiers in the Parachutist Regimen of Aragua and the Armed Brigade of Valencia. Friends: For now, lamentably, the objectives we considered were not achieved in the capital. That is to say, we here in Caracas have not managed to take power. You did very well over there, but now is the time to reflect; new situations will come and the country must definitively get on the path to a better destiny. So hear my word; hear Commander Chávez, who sends you this message so that you may please reflect and put down your weapons, because now, really, the objectives that we have brought to the national level are impossible to achieve. Friends: Hear this message of solidarity. I thank you for your loyalty, your valor, your exuberance, and I, before this country and before you all, assume responsibility for this Boliviarian militant movement. Thank you.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez to Venezuelan television reporters just before being arrested for his participation in an attempted coup d'état, February 1992.
1992

“Convinced as I am and as I am from my government that the world needs a new moral architecture over all, I believe that this should be the first topic to debate in our world of today - ethics, and moral…[Capitalism is] an infernal machine that produces every minute an impressive amount of poor, 26 million poor in 10 years are 2.6 million per year of new poor, this is the road, well, the road to hell.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/index.php?ref=MjBfMDNfMThfMTNfMV8yN18xNjM1MDI= Unknown year

“I am convinced that the path to a new, better and possible world is not capitalism, the path is socialism.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez in March 2005 http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/chavez_opposition_capitalism.htm 2005

Hugo Chávez Quotes about the world

“The grand destroyer of the world, and the greatest threat … is represented by U. S. imperialism.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his television/radio show ¡Aló Presidente! on August 21, 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9032793/ 2005

“The world has an offer for everybody but it turned out that a few minorities--the descendants of those who crucified Christ, the descendants of those who expelled Bolivar from here and also those who in a certain way crucified him in Santa Marta, there in Colombia--they took possession of the riches of the world, a minority took possession of the planet’s gold, the silver, the minerals, the water, the good lands, the oil, and they have concentrated all the riches in the hands of a few; less than 10 percent of the world population owns more than half of the riches of the world.”

Hugo Chávez

Chavez is invoking a Christian metaphor to condemn capitalism in this Christmas address, December 24, 2005, which some commentators have taken to be a reference to the Jews. http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gob.ve/docMgr/sharedfiles/Chavez_visita_Centro_Manantial_de_los_suenos24122005.pdf http://bostonreview.net/BR34.4/lomnitz_sanchez.php http://fair.org/take-action/media-advisories/editing-chavez-to-manufacture-a-slur/ 2005

“We must confront the privileged elite who have destroyed a large part of the world”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2231001.stm 2002

“The south also exists… the future of the north depends on the south. If we don't make that better world possible, if we fail, and through the rifles of the U. S. Marines, and through Mr. Bush's murderous bombs, if there is no coincidence and organization necessary in the south to resist the offensive of neo-imperialism, and the Bush doctrine is imposed upon the world, the world will be destroyed.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

“The Devil is right at home. The Devil, the Devil himself, is right in the house.
And the Devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the Devil came here. Right here. [crosses himself] And it smells of sulphur still today.
Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.”

Hugo Chávez

Speech at the U.N. in which he referred to George W. Bush as the Devil, (September 2006), as quoted in "Chavez's colourful quotations" at BBC News (12 November 2007) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7090600.stm 2006

“The world should forget about cheap oil. [The price] will keep going up and some day arrive at US$100 per barrel.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez at a press conference in New Delhi, after signing a cooperative agreement with India's hydrocarbon sector, March 2005.
2005

Hugo Chávez Quotes about people

“Democracy is not just turning up to vote every five or four years, it’s much more than that, it’s a way of life, it’s giving power to the people.”

Hugo Chávez

Unknown year

“Mr. Obama decided to attack us, Now you want to win votes by attacking Venezuela. Don’t be irresponsible. You are a clown, a clown. Leave us in peace … Go after your votes by fulfilling that which you promised your people.”

Hugo Chávez

On Barack Obama after he criticized Venezuela’s ties with Iran and Cuba http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70694.html#ixzz1pBQ11D9Z/. 2011

“I give you a replica of liberator Simon Bolivar's sword. For you who, like Bolivar, took up arms to liberate your people. For you who, like Bolivar, are and will always be a true freedom fighter. [Mugabe] continues, alongside his people, to confront the pretensions of new imperialists.”

Hugo Chávez

Praising Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a freedom fighter, as quoted in "Chavez's colourful quotations" at BBC News (12 November 2007) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7090600.stm 2004

“It makes one sad to see the sell-out of President Fox, really it makes one sad. How sad that the president of a people like the Mexicans lets himself become the puppy dog of the empire.”

Hugo Chávez

Statement in reference to Mexican president Vicente Fox's support of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, in Mar de Plata as quoted in "Chavez's colourful quotations" at BBC News (12 November 2007) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7090600.stm 2005

“Let the dogs of the empire bark, that's their job; ours is to battle to achieve the true liberation of our people.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez in retort to a comment by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1017687B-D4D6-4C95-B46B-910CAEE66A9F.htm 2005

“Privatization is a neoliberal and imperialist plan. Health can’t be privatized because it is a fundamental human right, nor can education, water, electricity and other public services. They can’t be surrendered to private capital that denies the people from their rights.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

Hugo Chávez: Trending quotes

“Go to hell, gringos! Go home!…What does the empire want? Condoleezza said it. How are you? You’ve forgotten me, missy…Condoleezza said it clearly, it’s about creating a new geopolitical map in the Middle East…They took out Saddam Hussein and they hung him, for better or worse. It’s not up to me to judge any government, but that gentleman was the president of that country.”

Hugo Chávez

Weekly radio address http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12035114/ (January 21, 2007) 2007

“Fascists are not human. A snake is more human.”

Hugo Chávez

Referring to Spanish politician José María Aznar as a fascist, November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7089131.stm 2007

“I nationalize strategic companies and get criticized, but when Bush does it, it's OK. … Bush is turning socialist. How are you, comrade Bush?”

Hugo Chávez

Statement of 21 September 2008, as quoted in "Credit Crisis Fools Latin America's Leaders: Alexandre Marinis" at Bloomberg.com (21 October 2008) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_marinis&sid=afRmKSP9kKOU 2008

Hugo Chávez Quotes

“Liberator of Libya, He will be remembered as a great fighter, a revolutionary and martyr. They assassinated him. It is another outrage.”

Hugo Chávez

Chavez on Muammar Gaddafi. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/americas/venezuela/chavez-speaks-out-gaddafi-death 2011

“That man, the king of vacations… the king of vacations in his ranch said nothing but: "You have to flee." and didn't say how… that cowboy, the cowboy mentality.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez criticizes George W. Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina, during a cabinet meeting broadcast live on television (August 31, 2005). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9150860/ 2005

“If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach $150 or even $200.”

Hugo Chávez

Opening remarks at the OPEC Summit, November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7100175.stm 2007

“I don't want to die. Please don't let me die.”

Hugo Chávez

Last words (mouthed). http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/07/heart-attack-killed-suffering-hugo-chavez-head-venezuela-presidential-guard/ 2013

“Just look at the internal repression inside the United States, the Patriot Act, which is a repressive law against U. S. citizens. They have put in jail a group of journalists for not revealing their sources. They won't allow them to take pictures of the bodies of the dead soldiers, many of them Latinos, coming from Iraq. Those are signs of Goliath's weaknesses.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

“When imperialism feels weak, it resorts to brute force. The attacks on Venezuela are a sign of weakness, ideological weakness. Nowadays almost nobody defends neoliberalism. Up until three years ago, just Fidel [Castro] and I raised those criticisms at Presidential meetings. We felt lonely, as if we infiltrated those meetings.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

“Knowing English is important, but for us Venezuelans I think it would also be important to know Portuguese. For that reason, we should evaluate the possibility of it being taught in our schools.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his television/radio show ¡Aló Presidente! on October 2, 2005.
2005

“I hereby accuse the North American empire of being the biggest menace to our planet.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez speaking in October 2005 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1534596/The-wisdom-of-Chavez.html 2005

“Let's save the human race, let's finish off the U. S. empire”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez on the Islamic Republic Medal ceremony at Tehran University in Iran. July 30th, 2006. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/30/D8J6NURG0.html 2006

“I have found yet another friend here. And with such a friend we will together form a team, like a soccer team. This will be a fighting team.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez, referring to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, to reporters during a state visit to Minsk, Belarus, on July 25, 2006. http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/07/24/chavez_lauds_belarus_leader_as_friend/ 2006

“[I admire] your wisdom and strength. […] We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat [U. S. ] imperialism, but if we are divided they will push us aside.”

Hugo Chávez

Said to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, during a meeting to the country on July 29, 2006. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2252549 2006

“Some games teach you to kill. They once put my face on a game, 'You've got to find Chavez to kill him.”

Hugo Chávez

Chávez referring to the videogame Mercenaries 2: World in Flames where the player has to kill a Venezuelan general. Quoted in Chavez Sets His Sights On Banks And Barbie http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15530090 2010

“What they have implanted here, which is really a 'gringo' custom, is terrorism. They disguise children as witches and wizards, that is contrary to our culture.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez on Halloween. http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/051101005143.9f6752nt.html 2005

“Don’t be shameless, Mr Blair. Don’t be immoral, Mr. Blair. You are one of those who have no morals. You are not one who has the right to criticize anyone about the rules of the international community. You are an imperialist pawn who attempts to curry favor with Danger Bush-Hitler, the number one mass murderer and assassin there is on the planet. Go straight to hell, Mr. Blair.”

Hugo Chávez

Responding to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which Mr. Blair urged Venezuela to abide by the rules of the international community. (February 2006) 1 http://world.time.com/2013/03/05/remembering-hugo-chavez-a-demagogues-career-in-quotes/ 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20712033 2006

“It doesn't smell of sulphur any more. No, it smells of something else. It smells of hope, and you have to have hope in your heart.”

Hugo Chávez

Speech at the U.N, welcoming the Obama administration. (September 2009) BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20712033 2009

“Everyday I become more convinced, there is no doubt in my mind, as many intellectuals have said, that it is necessary to transcend capitalism. But capitalism can not be transcended through capitalism itself; it must be done through socialism, true socialism, with equality and justice. I’m also convinced that it is possible to do it under democracy, but not in the type of democracy being imposed by Washington.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

“I extend from here my recognition of all who voted against us, recognition of their democratic weight.”

Hugo Chávez

On his election victory. (08 December 2012) http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/07/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-wins-another-6-year-term-electoral-council/#ixzz2Hlfz9rSb 2012

“The descendants of those who crucified Christ… have taken ownership of the riches of the world, a minority has taken ownership of the gold of the world, the silver, the minerals, water, the good lands, petrol, well, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a small number of hands.”

Hugo Chávez

Christmas Speech at a rehabilitation center on December 24th, 2005. http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gob.ve/docMgr/sharedfiles/Chavez_visita_Centro_Manantial_de_los_suenos24122005.pdf 2005

“Israel has gone mad. It's attacking, doing the same thing to the Palestinian and Lebanese people that they have criticised - and with reason - the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust.”

Hugo Chávez

In protest of Israel's military offensive in Lebanon. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5258722.stm 2006

“But Cuba doesn’t have a dictatorship — it’s a revolutionary democracy.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his television/radio show ¡Aló Presidente! on August 21, 2005. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9032793/ 2005

“I'm not loved by Hillary Clinton… and I don't love her either.”

Hugo Chávez

Chavez trying to make a song about Hillary Clinton on June 2010. 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20712033 2010

“You should resign. It's the least you can do: Resign, along with those other spies and delinquents working in the State Department.”

Hugo Chávez

Chavez told Hillary Clinton in a televised speech on December 9, 2010 http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/46373 2010

“You messed up with me, birdie. No? You don't know much about history. You don't know much about anything, you know? A great ignorance is what you've got. You are ignorant, Mr. Danger. You are an ignorant. You are a donkey, Mr. Danger … By that I mean, you know, to say it with all its letters, to Mr. George W. Bush. You are a donkey, Mr. Bush. I'm going to tell you something, Mr. Danger. You are a coward, you know? You are a coward. Why don't you go to Iraq and command your army? It's so easy to command an army from afar. If you ever come up with the crazy idea of invading Venezuela, I'll be waiting for you in this savanna, Mr. Danger. Come on here, Mr. Danger. Come on here. Come on here, Mr. Danger. Coward, assassin, genocidal… Genocidal, you are a genocidal. You are an alcoholic, a drunk.. A drunk, Mr. Danger. You are immoral, Mr. Danger… You are the worst ever, Mr. Danger … The worst of this planet, the very worst is called George W. Bush. God save the world from this menace. Because he is an assassin. A sick man, a psychologically ill man, I know it. Personally, he is a coward. But he has a lot of power. He has a lot of power. And look at what's happening in Iraq. Yesterday the world marched against the war… 70%, according to the surveys I've seen, of your own people, Mr. Danger, are against you, against the war. You are a liar, Mr. Danger. You are killing children, Mr. Danger, who aren't responsible for your illnesses, of your complexes. Your soldiers in Iraq are bombing cities. Just yesterday we were watching images of five children who were murdered by you soldiers. They're not the murderers. You are the murderer, coward!”

Hugo Chávez

Message to George W. Bush, in a nationally televised speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2_lJbIyzT64 in March 2006. 2006

“We have to re-invent socialism. It can’t be the kind of socialism that we saw in the Soviet Union, but it will emerge as we develop new systems that are built on cooperation, not competition.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez during his closing speech at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. January 31, 2005. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1486 2005

“We see here a model social state like the one we are beginning to create.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez to reporters during a state visit to Minsk, Belarus, on July 25, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5209868.stm 2006

“Every factory must be a school to educate, like Che Guevara said, to produce not only briquettes, steel, and aluminum, but also, above all, the new man and woman, the new society, the socialist society.”

Hugo Chávez

Speech to a May 2009 "Socialist Transformation Workshop" in Guayana, as quoted in Venezuela Nationalizes Gas Plant and Steel Companies, Pledges Worker Control: James Suggett at Venezuela Analysis (22 May 2009) http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4464 2009

“We have arrived again to Venezuela, Thank God. Thanks to my beloved country.”

Hugo Chávez

After coming back to Caracas. Chávez was in Cuba receiving treatment for cancer. 18 February, 2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/18/chavez-venezuela-cancer/1927403/ He passed away on 2013/03/06 by cancer. 2013

“If I am assassinated, there is only one person responsible: the president of the United States. If, by the hand of the devil, these perverse plans succeed...forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr Bush. I will not hide, I will walk in the streets with all of you...but I know I am condemned to death.”

Hugo Chávez

Source: Hugo Chávez message to George Bush during his television/radio show ¡Aló Presidente! on February 20, 2005. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/22/venezuela.julianborger

“A Third World War? With an atom bomb? He said it, with an atom bomb. There would be no more world. The world would end. Humanity would no longer exist. I think he has to be put in an asylum. He has to be put in an mental asylum.”

Hugo Chávez

Responding to President George W. Bush remarks on Iran, November 21, 2007 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-chavez-bush/chavez-says-bush-belongs-in-asylum-for-ww3-comment-idUSL2062324220071120 2007

“I criticize, although I respect, my friends that hold the Marxist-Leninist idea that there should not be private property, because I do not share it.”

Hugo Chávez

Critico, aunque respeto, a mis amigos que sostienen la idea marxista leninista de que no debe haber propiedad privada, porque no la comparto. In his talk show Aló Presidente, as quoted in Chavez defiende propiedad privada frente a marxistas leninistas https://web.archive.org/web/20131220044949/http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/08/26/refco_ava_chavez-defiende-prop_26A955477 (August 26, 2007), El Universal. 2007

“Dr Insulza is quite an idiot, a true idiot. The insipid Dr Insulza should resign from the secretariat of the OAS for daring to play that role.”

Hugo Chávez

Chavez responding to criticism from OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza regarding the governments decision for not renew the license of an opposition-aligned TV station. (January 9, 2007) https://en.mercopress.com/2007/01/09/insulza-branded-an-idiot 2007

“Enough already with the imperialist aggression! Down with the U. S. empire! It must be said, in the entire world: Down with the empire!”

Hugo Chávez

Remarks during a meeting with US activist Cindy Sheehan in January 2006.
2006

“In just a few days there will be another anniversary. Thirty years will have passed from this other horrendous terrorist attack on the Cuban plane, where 73 innocents died, a Cubana de Aviacion airliner. And where is the biggest terrorist of this continent who took the responsibility for blowing up the plane? He spent a few years in jail in Venezuela. Thanks to CIA and then government officials, he was allowed to escape, and he lives here in this country, protected by the government. And he was convicted. He has confessed to his crime. But the U. S. government has double standards. It protects terrorism when it wants to.”

Hugo Chávez

President Hugo Chavez's Speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday, September 20, 2006

“We have to strengthen ourselves, our will to do battle, our awareness. We have to build a new and better world.”

Hugo Chávez

President Hugo Chavez's Speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday, September 20, 2006

“What we now have to do is define the future of the world. Dawn is breaking out all over. You can see it in Africa and Europe and Latin America and Oceanea. I want to emphasize that optimistic vision.”

Hugo Chávez

President Hugo Chavez's Speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday, September 20, 2006

“I think there are reasons to be optimistic…because over and above the wars and the bombs and the aggressive and the preventive war and the destruction of entire peoples, one can see that a new era is dawning… the era is giving birth to a heart. There are alternative ways of thinking. There are young people who think differently. And this has already been seen within the space of a mere decade. It was shown that the end of history was a totally false assumption, and the same was shown about Pax Americana and the establishment of the capitalist neo-liberal world. It has been shown, this system, to generate mere poverty. Who believes in it now?”

Hugo Chávez

President Hugo Chavez's Speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Wednesday, September 20, 2006

“If I am assassinated, there is only one person responsible: the president of the United States. If, by the hand of the devil, these perverse plans succeed…forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr Bush. I will not hide, I will walk in the streets with all of you…but I know I am condemned to death.”

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez message to George Bush during his television/radio show ¡Aló Presidente! on Febraury 20, 2005. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/22/venezuela.julianborger 2005

“He was an asshole to believe them.”

Hugo Chávez

Remarks about US President George W. Bush during a pro-government rally in Caracas on March 1, 2004, accusing the US of "meddling" in Venezuela's affairs. https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/world/chavez-slams-asshole-bush-207432 2004

“Capitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation, of the kind of misery and inequality that destroys social values. If you really look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ - who I think was the first socialist - only socialism can really create a genuine society.”

Hugo Chávez

Source: As quoted in Reformism or Revolution: Marxism and socialism of the 21st Century (Reply to Heinz Dieterich) https://books.google.it/books?id=YHN9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149&dq=%22Capitalism+is+the+way+of+the+devil+and+exploitation%22 (24 September 2006)