President Chavez a Maoist???

Great Debates
1

I saw an online news item from AP concerning President Hugo Chavez’s world tour, specifically his visit to China.
The news article said that upon his arrival, he publicly proclaimed that he was a “Maoist”.

By “Maoist”, does he mean it in the sense of the “Maoists” in Nepal, or could he mean it in the sense of Maoists in China during the Cultural Revolution, (with the Red Guards, etc.?)

Could President Chavez be moving his Movement Towards Socialism Party even further to the Left, towards an actual Communist Party?

2

He was visiting China. I think he probably just meant “We’re all basically leftists here.” And if he visits Iran – with which he already has something of an alliance, I believe – he might say, “I am a jihadist.”