Reactions to the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were as mixed, polemical and outsized as the leader was in life, with some saying his passing was a tragic loss and others calling it an opportunity for Venezuela to escape his long shadow.
Seen as a hero by some for his anti-U.S. rhetoric and gifts of cut-rate oil, others considered him a bully.
More from PlusThings Media: Venezuela: Hugo Chavez is dead
Before meeting Hugo Chavez for the first time nearly four years ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Chavez for how he saw him — the leader of an authoritarian petro state that he saw as a relic of the Cold War, one that was on the wrong side of sound economic theory and practice.
On Tuesday, Harper had kind words only for the Venezuelan people that the charismatic leftist had left behind.
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