April 11, 2005
Chávez among the 22 most influential political leaders in the world

(EFE, reproduced by Panorama Digital) - "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is among the 22 most influential political world leaders in the list published by Time Magazine.

Chávez is outlined in the section of people with "weight and power to change the world" together with American President George Bush; the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union Javier Solana and North Korean President, Kim Jong II.

Regarding the regions of the elected people, 49 are from United Sates, 19 from Europe, 4 from Africa and the rest from other regions, including two contributions from Latin America.

It is said how Chávez has grown within the geopolitical profile of being the President of one of the major oil producing country. It also says how inexact the comparisons with Fidel Castro are

Reports Time's Tim Padgett: "Everyone wants to call Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez the new Fidel Castro. The comparison is inexact. For one thing, Venezuela's media (so far) can rail at Chávez without going to jail. And while Castro in his cold war heyday was propped up by the Soviet Union, Chávez is a self-sufficient revolutionary. He controls the western hemisphere's largest oil reserves--and one of the U.S.'s most important foreign sources of crude. Record-high oil prices, as a result, have given Chávez a geopolitical profile that is rare for a Latin American head of state (.)"