Venezuelan President Chavez’s Rise and Presidency: Timeline Email | Print | A A A By Daniel Cancel and Matthew Walter Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Following is a timeline of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s rise to power and the major events of his first ten years in office. Feb. 1992 -- Lieutenant Colonel Chavez leads a failed coup attempt against President Carlos Andres Perez. He’s arrested and spends more than two years in jail. March 1994 -- Venezuela’s newly elected President Rafael Caldera pardons Chavez for his coup attempt, releasing him from jail. Dec. 1998 - Chavez wins the presidency in a come-from-behind victory. He captures about 57 percent of vote. Feb. 1999 -- Chavez is sworn in as Venezuela’s president, pledging to rewrite the constitution to halt corruption in the courts and to seek special powers to cut a budget deficit. July 2000 -- Chavez wins presidential elections with about 60 percent of the vote, 22 percentage points more than his main challenger, Francisco Arias. April 4, 2002 -- Petroleos de Venezuela SA workers begin an indefinite strike, shutting down administrative offices and gasoline deliveries in a dispute over new board members. April 11, 2002 -- Tens of thousands of Venezuelans march on the presidential palace, calling on Chavez to resign. April 12, 2002 -- Chavez is arrested after a military coup. Military generals name businessman Pedro Carmona as interim president. April 13, 2002 -- Carmona resigns after rioting leaves nine dead and soldiers supporting Chavez take control of the presidential palace. Diosdado Cabello, Chavez’s vice president, was sworn in as new president. April 14, 2002 -- Chavez is freed from jail and arrives in Caracas to resume power. Dec. 2002 -- Venezuelan businessmen, labor unions, and Petroleos de Venezuela workers begin a national strike to force Chavez from office that lasts 2 months, halting oil exports. April 2003 -- Petroleos de Venezuela SA fires 18,000 employees for their participation in the national strike. May 23, 2003 -- The Venezuelan central bank reports first quarter gross domestic product shrank 29 percent. The strike cost the country $7.4 billion, driving unemployment to 21 percent and oil production to 150,000 barrels a day in January from a pre-strike 3 million barrels a day. Aug. 2004 -- Chavez defeats a referendum to remove him from office by a margin of 59.1 percent to 40.1 percent. The opposition rejected the results, alleging fraud. Dec. 2005 -- The main opposition political parties boycott elections in congress to elect lawmakers, handing Chavez backers all 167 seats in the unicameral National Assembly. Sept. 2006 -- Chavez calls U.S. President George W. Bush “the devil” and “world tyrant” in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. Dec. 2006 -- Chavez wins re-election to another six-year term, with 62.8 percent of the vote and a record 7.3 million ballots. Jan. 2007 -- Chavez obtains legislative decree powers for 18 months and nationalizes Cia. Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela and CA La Electricidad de Caracas. May 1, 2007 -- Chavez seizes majority control in joint ventures with foreign oil companies including Repsol YPF SA, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. May 28, 2007 -- Radio Caracas Television, the country’s oldest private network and its most watched, goes off the air after Chavez refuses to renew its broadcasting license. He accuses the channel of causing “moral damage,” and backing the coup against him in 2002. Dec. 2, 2007 -- Venezuelans defeat a bid to reform 69 articles of the constitution including an to term limits, handing Chavez his first electoral defeat. April 2008 -- Chavez announces nationalization of the cement industry, including the local units of Cemex SAB, Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd. Days later he announces the takeover of the Siderurgica del Orinoco steel plant. July 31, 2008 -- Chavez announces nationalization of Banco Santander SA’s local subsidiary, Banco de Venezuela. Nov. 23, 2008 -- Chavez’s United Venezuelan Socialist Party wins 17 state races while the opposition triumphs in the most populated states and cities. Nov. 24, 2008 -- Chavez announces he’ll push for a second referendum to scrap term limits and allow him to run for re- election in 2012. Jan. 2009 -- Venezuelan lawmakers give final approval to Chavez’s proposal to eliminate presidential term limits, and elections regulators set a Feb. 15 vote. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Cancel in Caracas at dcancel@bloomberg.net; Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 15, 2009 11:06 EST