For the poor, this might be bad news.

For my venezuelan friend who's passport was taken by the embassy for "inspection" until the elections were done. This heralds the possibility of a better democracy.

And I sure hope their oil doesn't mysteriously belong to the US in a month or two.

As a Cuban whose family suffered under the island's oppressive communist regime, this is good news.

If it wasn't Castro it would be Batista or whoever the US decided to install.

Are you saying that suffering of Cubans under Castro was the fault of Chávez, or that the people of Cuba are suffering as much as those in Venezuela?

I'm not GP, but the first statement doesn't make too much sense. As a Venezuelan, I think he means the second one.

I see, I knew that the two met on several occasions, so I thought perhaps one may have significantly influenced the other.

How are people viewing this news in Venezuela?

Well, I'm not currently living in Venezuela, but throughout my network I see much rejoicing. It is not an accurate representation of Venezuela though.

A sample statement (not mine) to show how much of an effect he's had:

" As it turns out, I'm not happy on this day of Chavez's -official- death. The things he managed to do to our society, the way his every whim ruled and stepped over all of our lives, what his deranged followers turned him into, how he made it ok to hate and dehumanize his opponents, what he did to specific individuals who opposed him, the lives ruined by unbounded crime and social decay ...all that, my friends, earns him a word that I have associated with him for a long time, in a way that almost makes it hard for me type: a monster. Something to be feared, a force so strong you must run away from to keep out of its path of destruction.

So I cannot manage to be happy. Trying to be happy requires forgetting for a second of the nefarious crimes and wounds he inflicted on Venezuela that will far outlive his physical presence.

The apprehension of how his wicked legacy will haunt us for generations drowns all else. No room for happy. "

Sorry, but it is never good news when a person dies, not matter how much we try to dehumanize him.

edit: it doesn't mean I liked or supported him at all.

If the world is a better place when someone passes, it should be considered it good news. Death shouldn't be viewed as an absolute negative.

I mean, I hate to jump right to it, but was Hitler's death not good news? Surely there are people whose negative impact on humanity outweighs their positive impact.

(I'm not taking a stand on Chavez specifically, I just disagree with the absoluteness of your statement.)

Honestly I don't know if it was good news. But I think it is somehow disgusting to celebrate someones death... I think that Hitler believed it was a better world with less of the kind of people he didnt like.

I think that if you don't like/agree with someones political views you should not celebrate someones death... I am sure that this person had a family or friends and so, they had real people that suffered with their death... just this.

I hear people make this claim. How does it make sense?

A negative times a negative makes a positive.

An evil person dying is a good thing.

The only thing worth debate is if the person is evil or not.

It is scary that people down vote this comment. It is very sad to realize that people think they are the right person to evaluate if someone is bad or if it is good. This kind of of black or white thinking is something I didn't expect here on HN. I would really recommend some people to read some Fyodor Dostoyevsky novels... before getting into politics here.

I would sincerely recommend: Humiliated and Insulted, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humiliated_and_Insulted

Stalin was having dinner with the party elite one night. Suddenly he clutches his chest, grunts, and collapses on the table. Everybody is quiet. A minute goes by. One of the men then yells out, "Yes! He is dead!" Stalin slowly gets up from the table, points at the man and says, "No, comrade, but YOU ARE."

Stalin died 60 years ago today. Do you care to revise your sentiment?

No, I wouldn't agree on killing him when Stalin was a child, this would be just to be utilitarian.

The first thing Chavez is being described as on his death bed: "an Anti-American socialist".

Which is pretty accurate.