When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died Tuesday, he left behind a sharply divided nation, as evidenced by contrasting photos of massive throngs mourning in Caracas, while people literally danced in the streets in some places, celebrating his passing.

Mariangel Esser has lived in Tulsa for several years, and she spoke exclusively to KRMG about her native Venezuela and the legacy of the Chavez administration.

She says at first, people were optimistic when Chavez came to power in 1999.

"Everybody had hope. I remember at my house we said 'My God, I think he's gonna be great, he's gonna be good for the country...he looks like a guy who's gonna take ownership of this country, he's just going to really make changes.' Well, he made changes, but the changes weren't good changes."

She offered examples. "Changing the name of the country, that's not necessary. Changing the money, the time...nationalizing TV stations and companies."

He made life better for some people she admits, but at a price. "Give people jobs and titles, where they don't have the education for that, and causing problems to the country? He's helping them but he's not helping the country. They're not getting any better."

And she, like many, believe Chavez won several elections fraudulently.

Now, she has hope the country can turn away from the Castro-like policies of Chavez and move forward, but she admits it won't be an easy road.

"It's a great country, it has a lot of potential to be an amazing country. but it's just not well (administered), there's a lot of corruption, and it's sad."