The Venezuelan revolutionary SimÛn BolÌvar, also known as El Libertador, sought to lead Latin America to independence from the Spanish in the early nineteenth century. Ever since he has been held as a model for subsequent Latin American radicals; Hugo Ch·vez, President of Venezuela, has dubbed his own programmes of social reform the BolÌvarian Revolution . In his introduction to this collection of BolÌvar s writings, Ch·vez explains why BolÌvar continues to inspire.