Farewell To The Man In The Red Beret Analysis

In the article “Farewell to the Man in the Red Beret, Enter the Man in the White Silk Mitre: ‘there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,” Peter McLaren engaged in an historical debate of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ legacy after his death and established a parallel between Chavez’ death and the election of Pope Francis. The author expressed that the election of the new pope, who is a Jesuit, could cause a potential revolution in the Catholic Church much like Chavez caused in the political arena. Peter McLaren is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and works in the Division of Urban Schooling, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. The government of Venezuela in 2013 honored professor McLaren with the International Award in Critical Pedagogy. Professor McLaren’s work has been translated into 20 languages. In his article, Mclaren contrasted the adulation of the newly elected Pope and the demonization of Hugo Chavez by the international media. The article focused on protecting the legacy of Chavez as a leader who inspired a generation and created an alternative to capitalism. It is mentioned that Hugo Chavez’ popularity was based on his charismatic leadership and electrifying …show more content…
McLaren was correct that Hugo Chavez was a man with extraordinary charisma and capacity to transmit many ideas through his speeches. In addition, the author accurately described that Chavez used his emotional intelligence to understand the population’s feelings about their necessities and hopes. This created a strong emotional connection between Chavez and the lower and middle Venezuelan class. This relationship provided case of studies for many psychologists and sociologists, and the conclusion has been that this connection may be considered something closer to