"Chavez campaigned for the Presidency, in 1998, with promises to bring radical change, but, for a time after he won, it was unclear whether he could deliver much more than symbolism and oratory. When he took office, oil was at a mere ten dollars a barrel, and his first government budget was seven billion dollars; last year 2007, as oil approached a hundred dollars a barrel (by last week, it was a hundred and thirty-six dollars), the budget rose to fifty-four billion. The oil money has allowed Chavez to triple spending on social programs. Even though many of these 'missions,' as they're known, have foundered or have proved inadequate, the volume of revenues has meant an improvement in living standards for the country's poorest citizens, who are, unsurprisingly, Chavez's strongest supporters. It has also given him the means to buy influence with his neighbors, usually at the expense of the United States." (New Yorker) Author Jon Lee Anderson explores the "influence of Hugo Chavez."