Chavez is one of the common people - dark skinned and of Indian heritage - and thus anathema to the ruling class which is mainly of European-Spanish descent and white skinned.
Chavez has actually made inroads into increasing literacy and political awareness among the populace - especially the poor. They are a very large population and have largely been marginalized by the ruling class. Now they have a leader, a man of power who will stand up to the ruling class *and* has empowered them by using their country's most profitable natural resource to help them learn how to read and vote.
This has the converse effect of really really pissing off the ruling class of white people who believe it is their right to own and control the country.
For anybody who hasn't seen it, I recommend you invest the 90 minutes and few bucks to see "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", a documentary by a couple of Irish guys who were there to make a tv show about Chavez and Venezuela and happened to be caught up in the coup d'etat and counter-coup. I have never seen a film so compelling since this was actually shot in the midst of violent action by the upper class against an elected government. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363510/>