At his rally at the Gigantinho, it was confirmed by the WSF "Hemispheric Committee" that Venezuela will host the next Forum, which was greeted by roar of approval.

"It is time to take a step and this fifth WSF could be the beginning of a new phase, and the next five years should be accompanied by a world social agenda. To that agenda we must add a strategy of power," said Chávez.

"It is a matter of power and counter-power, of hegemony and counter-hegemony, of seeing which proposal prevails in the world. Whether it is the project of destroying this beautiful planet, or our project, which is the project of life, against the project of death, and see which prevails in the end," he said.

Chávez began his visit to Brazil in an unusual way: he went from the Porto Alegre airport directly to a settlement occupied by the supporters of the Movimento dos Sem Terra (MST - Landless Workers Movement), a site known as the Asentamento Lago do Junco, an 840-hectare area that provides work for 37 rural families.

Wearing a red shirt, he stole the scene, as usual, losing himself in the embrace of the peasant farmers, dressing like them and wearing a farm hat, as if aiming to be just another one of them, nothing more: "Hugo, campesino and soldier!"

But he knows that nothing is that simple. He knows he fuels fervour -- he seeks it out and provokes it. At Gigantinho he found a packed house eager to applaud his radical discourse, listen to his never-ending speech, the apparently incoherent sidetracks that surprisingly found a logical end. At Lago do Junco, the campesinos saw him happily unbutton his shirt to show off his t-shirt with the image of Che Guevara next to his heart.

Chávez conquers hearts and sparks applause, but he also awakens feelings of ill will, and ongoing ridicule by journalists and intellectuals for his style, so unpresidential that it is shocking.

And he proposes what has already been proposed: "They have told me that there is an idea to decentralise, and that in Caracas we should hold a World Social Forum event. We are at your disposal, and we are committed."

"If we want to put an end to poverty, we have to give power to the poor. But what kind of power? Political power, through popular organisation, and one example of this has been the Venezuelan people," he said.

In a news briefing, on his return from Lago do Junco, he lashed out at the United States for attempting to isolate Caracas after the recent diplomatic row between Venezuela and Colombia over the December kidnapping of a Colombian guerrilla leader, which was ordered by authorities in Colombia.

The kidnapping of Rodrigo Granda, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) head of foreign relations, "was a provocation planned in Washington," said Chávez.

The Venezuelan leader was the only foreign head of state to visit the Forum, which he described as "the world's most important political event." And with his rally in the Gigantinho, he was responsible for turning the packed stadium into the Forum’s closing ceremony.

Comfortable before huge crowds, Chávez took full advantage of the occasion. He said what people wanted to hear – that the response must be determined and radical, that deep intellectual ponderings must not be expected, that it is necessary to think about a strategy and about what must be done once in power. He knows, because he did so, just as he has always done. And his audience applauds, and the intellectuals laugh at him, and his opponents are furious, while the Forum turns into a night of beer and partying.

Later will come the sun, the scorching heat, the final march, and the empty-feeling "see you later" of each January of the past five years.