Chavez retains considerable support, particularly among the poor, in Venezuela [AFP]

Hugo Chavez remains one of the most controversial, and most polarising leaders in Latin America today.

But the former tank commander still enjoys considerable popularity in Venezuela, comfortably winning the last presidential election with 65 per cent of the vote.

However, his effort to permit himself to run for re-election - at present he is due to step down in 2012 - have met controversy, and angry protests.

Chavez argues that he needs more time to finish his socialist revolution; his detractors claim the move would seriously threaten Venezuela's democracy.

So as Venezuela prepares to vote on the president's future, can Chavez fulfil the social revolution he has staked his and his country's future so firmly on?

Military beginnings

Chavez has long cited Simon Bolivar as his political inspiration [GALLO/GETTY]

At 17 he enrolled in military school, developing during his studies and his belief in "Bolivarianism", inspired by the Latin American hero and Venezuelan revolutionary Simon Bolivar.

Ultimately, Chavez entered the army, serving for 17 years and eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He also co-founded a movement known as the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement, named after Bolivar.

In 1992, during a period of repression known as El Caracazo under then president Carlos Andres Peres, Chavez, along with several army units, attempted to initiate a coup.

However, the coup faltered through lack of support, disorganisation and a catalogue of errors, culminating in Chavez's arrest and imprisonment.

Political makeover

Chavez spent two years in prison before being released and pardoned in 1994 by then president Rafael Caldera.

In 1998 he ran for the presidency, campaigning fiercely on a platform of working for the poor and ending government corruption.

His success in 1998 elections led to his launch, in 1999, of "Plan Bolivar", an effort to mend the nation's crumbling infrastructure and halt the privatisation of firms.

He was re-elected in 2000, but in 2002 - following a union strike - hundreds of thousands of pro- and anti-Chavez supporters took to the streets, sparking violence in which several were killed.

Coup survivor

Then Lucas Rincon, commander-in-chief of the Venezuelan armed forces, announced that Chavez had resigned, spiriting him away to a military base, reversing many of his reforms and dissolving the National Assembly and the Venezuelan judiciary.

But the coup was short-lived after angry protests by Chavez supporters erupted across the country and soldiers loyal to Chavez toppled the short-lived self-declared government.

However, the coup government had been swiftly recognised by the US, which soured further already poor relations between Chavez and the administration of George Bush, the former US president.

Since then, the opposition has failed in repeated attempts to unseat Chavez through political means - an opposition sponsored referendum for a recall of his presidency was decisively defeated in 2004, although it made gains in local elections held last November.

High profile

Chavez has remained a close ally of both Fidel and Raul Castro [AFP]

In one of his most popular programmes, Chavez built thousands of small clinics, including in the most remote corners of Venezuela's sprawling urban slums.

Cuba, a strong ally of Venzuela, also sent 15,000 doctors to staff the clinics in return for cheap oil being given to Cuba.

The programme has been expanded to include larger clinics with a wider range of health services.

But critics say that many of the clinics have since been closed, and point to rising crime and continued corruption in Venezuela.

Controversy

Smiles and handshakes - but Chavez has had tough words for the Colombian leader [AFP]

He is a close ally of fellow leftwing leaders in Bolivia and Cuba and has attempted to position himself as the main leader in Latin America, a counterweight to US influence in the region.

But his rhetoric - he even has his own television show, 'El Presidente' where he takes questions from callers - has often led to controversy.

The Venezuelan leader once called George Bush, the former US president, "the devil" and was told to "shut up" by the King of Spain during a summit speech, although the two later reconciled.

He also once implied Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was descended from Hitler, a comment for which he later apologised.

In 2007, he played a key role in the release of several Colombian hostages, held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), but was later embroiled in a war of words with Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian president, over a raid on a Farc camp in Ecuador - one of Venezuela's main allies.

Chavez has sparked anger in Colombia by calling for dialogue with Farc, which has battled the government there for decades.

Now, with another referendum looming on Sunday, the world will discover whether they may be seeing more of Chavez on both the domestic and world stages in the future.