Who Are The New Bolivarians?

They are Latin American politicians, activists and philosophers laying claim to the historical mantle left by the Bolivarianism movement of the 19th century.

Simón Bolívar was a 19th century Venezualan general and leader for independenc in many of Spain's colonies in Latin America. The country Bolivia is named after him.

In the immediate aftermath of the Spanish colonies breaking away, idealism was high that new and fairer societies could be founded: Bolivarianism. Mostly these great hopes were dashed, by North American interference, by native corruption and aristrocracies which didn't really want to share their wealth with everyone, after all.

The modern Bolivarians are trying to change all that. Their figurehead is Hugo Chávez, the charismatic, socialist (and democratically elected by overwhelming mandate) president of Venezuela since 1999. Like Bolivar before him, Chávez is a persistant thorn in the side of foreign powers (in his case, the United States).

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