Abstract. The article is an attempt to summarize the results of Hugo Chávez's ten year rule in Venezuela. There has been a comprehensive reorganization of the political system institutional foundations. The new constitution has been approved, which proclaimed the country a Bolivarian Republic in honor of the great Latin American liberation hero. The unicameral National Assembly has replaced the National Congress. The president can now be reelected without any restraints, his term of office has been prolonged from 5 to 6 years. Typical for the Chávez's course is the use of formally democratic mechanisms in order to ensure the authoritarian rule. Prosecution of opposition figures has become commonplace. The initially proclaimed intermediate political course has been dismissed, the new slogan is the construction of a “21st century socialism”.