Introduction
What’s the story with the Chavez jacket? If you have more than a passing interest in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its recent socialist history, then you have probably seen a rather fetching jacket.
There has never been a true meaning put on the jacket, but it is basically a very colourful stylized version of Venezuela’s flag.
What Is the History of the Hugo Chavez Jacket?
ugo Chavez famously wore the jacket almost all of the time, well, at least when he was not wearing military fatigues. After his death, President Maduro carried on the trend.
It is now broadly associated with support Chavezism, Bolivarianism, and the country’s leading political party, the Movement for Socialism/United Socialist Parry of Venezuela.
Fun fact the United Socialist Party of Venezuela is the 4th largest governing party (by membership) in the world.
With this in mind, you will see the jacket throughout Venezuela worn by both leaders and proletariat alike.
Can I buy the Hugo Chavez Jacket?
You most certainly can, and in fact, we did on our first tour to Venezuela. Pretty much the whole group purchased the jacket for around $10 each, which, as you can imagine, made a bunch of pasty white folks really blend into the crowd!
One of my favorite photos from all my travels is me wearing my Venezuelan jacket at the May Day Parade in Cuba. I am also holding a sign saying Wenger Out. If you’re not familiar with this, it was people that wanted Arsenal Football Club to replace their manager. The weirder the sign, the better! I was quite proud of myself with this one.
I digress, but basically, we have a great group tour to Venezuela and can arrange independent tours to Venezuela, where you can indeed buy a Chavez jacket.