Chavez's Legacy: 25 Years of Influence

"Chavez lives, damn it!" a soldier cries out every day at the same time outside the tomb of Venezuela's late leftist leader Hugo Chavez, who remains omnipresent and divisive 25 years after he took power.

The charismatic revolutionary, who became the symbolic leader of the left in Latin America, died in 2013, but his "Chavismo" political movement lives on under his anointed heir Nicolas Maduro, who is mired in political and economic crisis.

Chavez is hailed for championing the poor. He used the country's oil wealth to develop social programs which earned him their devotion, but was criticized for his authoritarian style and failure to diversify the economy.

However, a quarter of a century after he took power, Venezuela's economy is on its knees, and some seven million of the country's 30 million citizens have fled the country.

Gross domestic product has shrunk 80 percent in the past decade, and hyperinflation forced the government to dollarize the economy.

Oil production has been devastated since the glory days of three million barrels a day, which fell to 300,000 before recovering to 900,000.

"Venezuela has one of the highest poverty rates in Latin America," soaring to over 90 percent between 2018 and 2021 before dropping to 81.5 percent in 2022, according to a UCAB survey.

Chavez demonized the United States, embracing its enemies, and portraying it as an evil colonial power.

Under Chavez, presidential term limits were scrapped, allowing him to be elected three times, while Maduro is now seeking a third term in 2024.