The 2008 TIME 100 Finalists

AGE: 53
OCCUPATION: President of Venezuela
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 2

PRO: Still a powerful symbol of anti-American resistance, in the Western hemisphere and beyond, fiery leftist Chavez decided to spend some of that political capital this year: he nationalized large sectors of the economy, and, in December 2007, he proposed a referendum on constitutional changes aimed at concentrating power in the presidency and removing the executive's term limits.

CON: That measure was defeated — Chavez's first major electoral shellacking in his nine years as President. And what's this about files proving Venezuela funds Colombia's FARC rebels? Bad news, considering the two nations are already on the brink of war, after hostage crises involving the aforementioned guerillas, cross-border raids by Colombia and stern words with Colombian leader Alvaro Uribe.