Hugo Chavez

This article discussed the cancer battle that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was going through and the political controversy that surrounded it.  Chavez is returning to Cuba for another round of cancer treatment, and while he is gone, there is much debate over whether or not Vice President Nicolas Maduro should take over Chavez's job.  The argument debated the health status of Chavez (details were not released) and whether or not he was able to competently continue his presidency.  This article was from CNN and discussed both sides of Venezuelan politics thoroughly.  When this article was written, Chavez was just leaving for Cuba to have his surgery.

This article was written to a general audience located in the United States.  It did not target a specific party, gender, or race, as the article did not try to take a stance on the topic at hand.  Its purpose was only to inform the general public of the situation in Venezuela.  Being a controversial country and a common target for democracies, it is interesting that the author of the article did not try to skew the views of the readers against Venezuela.  In fact, the author tried to parallel the Venezuelan political system with that of the United States by showing the party politics that take place and referring to Venezuela as a republic.  In addition, to diversify the diction of the article, the author used a synecdoche to refer to the countries.  Cuba was referred to as Havana, and Venezuela was referred to as Caracas, both the capital cities of those countries.  Pathos was also used, as the reporter described fellow politicians and normal citizens crying and praying for Chavez's health.  Staying neutral greatly benefited the effectiveness of this article because it allowed the reader to not worry about bias in the article.  It was very effective in informing the reader about the situation, without persuading them to view it in a certain way.

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