No president today is more controversial than Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Frias. Elected in a landslide in 1998, he promised a peaceful revolution. That peaceful dream became a nightmare when Chavez was overthrown in a coup d'etat in 2002. Surprisingly, he was brought back to power by his supporters, mostly barrio dwellers, within forty-eight hours. Although Chavez continues to be dogged by controversy, he stays in power because of these supporters who see themselves as active participants in a democratic revolution.

As a former Catholic priest who has lived in Venezuela for the past twenty...