In this slim biography, Richard Gott, formerly a journalist on the Guardian, does a good job of putting Mr Chavez into context.

ECONOMIST: Latin American leaders

But Mr Gott also sees Mr Chavez as the heir to the leftist guerrillas who, inspired by the Cuban revolution, staged ineffectual rebellions in Venezuela in the 1960s (and some of whom are now among the president's political lieutenants).

ECONOMIST: Latin American leaders