A phenomenal leader who transformed the Latin American and Caribbean Region, the ultimate humanitarian and an

ardent ideological nationalist were among the sentiments that encompassed Guyana’s reflection on the life of the late, great Venezuelan Leader,Hugo Chavez.
Scores of citizens, Venezuelan and Cuban nationals, along with a large cross-section of the diplomatic community were among those that gathered, along with members of the Guyana Government last evening at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, Red House, to reflect on the life of Chavez.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, the highest-ranking Guyanese official to address the memory of Chavez at last evening’s event, in the absence of Head of State Donald Ramotar, said that he would wish to affirm firstly that the late Venezuelan leader “has been a revolutionary leader, someone significant not only for his country and the people of his country, but for the people of South America and the world at large.”
Hinds posited that while there are those who differ on change being achieved through revolution or evolution, “I am inclined to the view that maybe, in Venezuela, it had to come in the revolutionary manner in the person of Chavez.”
The Prime Minister was joined by his colleague Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, and Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee.
Chavez’s life and his ideals also found a champion in the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) General Secretary, Seepaul Narine, who also paid tribute to the fallen South American leader.
Narine, in his remarks, espoused that though Chavez has passed on, his dreams will not fall by the wayside.
According to Narine, the most fitting and greatest tribute that can be immediately paid to him would be to support the man he identified as his successor, Nicolas Maduro, who is currently the acting president of Venezuela and will face the polls within a matter of days.
He said that GAWU has seen Chavez as a friend of the oppressed and working people and a man who pursued “pro people policies.”
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who also reflected on Chavez, sought to delve into his doctrines and ideological beliefs.
He suggested that Chavez pursued socialism at its heart, which he says is meant to place  power in the hands of the people of the country.
Rohee said that Chavez was a man who fervently championed forward-looking policies and was visionary enough to recognise that no country could face the challenges of the world on its own..
The Home Affairs Minister said that Chavez’s model of socialist development has had a tremendous impact in many Latin American countries, particularly in terms of democracy.
He suggested that while some may believe that Chavez’s presidency was not one characterised by democratic traits, what the detractors fail to realise is  that many of the transformational changes in that country were achieved through the participation of its people.
Finance Minister,Dr Ashni Singh, spoke in depth about the impact of Chavez’s tenure at the helm of the oil-rich Venezuela.
According to Dr Singh, very few times can integrative and transformative initiatives by a leader or a nation, be directly felt by the ordinary people and said that this was not the case in Guyana.
In speaking to the Petro Caribe arrangement, which has been hailed as one of the hallmarks of Chavez’s Presidency, Dr Singh said when Guyanese that are linked to the Kingston power station would turn on their lights, it could be seen as a tangible and direct benefit of this initiative.
He explained that the Petro Caribe arrangement saw countries such as Guyana being able to purchase petroleum products, such as the gasoline and diesel under a financing arrangement that saw repayments under a deferred period, much like a loan agreement.
The Finance Minister said that under the arrangement, Guyana was able to finance the complete overhaul of the Kingston generation plant.
Dr Singh also spoke too of the fact that not only was the agreement meant to see oil being supplied to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under concessionary arrangements, but it also allowed for the opening up of the Venezuelan market for the importation of goods and services produced in the Region.
“I am proud to say that Guyana is one of the few countries to implement Petro Caribe in its intended sense,” according to Dr Singh and pointed out that, “we were able to secure an important Venezuelan market for our rice industry.”
He said that under Petro Caribe hundreds of local rice farmers and millers benefited from the assured Venezuelan market.
The Finance Minister said that Guyana has been enjoying a phenomenal growth in the rice industry recently, which is, he said, “in significant part attributable” to the accessing of the Venezuelan market under PetroCaribe.
He said that such an impact it was that upon hearing of the death of Chavez, many of the local farmers and millers,who would not ordinarily pay attention to global affairs, were immediately concerned and expressed the hope that the Petro Caribe initiative will continue
According to the Finance Minister, there is a veritable encyclopaedia of economic and social statistics that can be cited which document the transformative nature of Chavez’s presidency for the people of Venezuela and the Region at large
Dr Singh maintains that Chavez was not only a great leader, “but a man with a fervent Regional vision.”
“Chavez leaves us with a legacy of a number of Regional initiatives that he led in some cases and advocated and supported in others, that today have established a Latin American identity that did not exist prior to his entry on the world stage.”