In the wake of the death of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, The Flipside has reached out to public figures for their thoughts on the life, loves, and legacy of the former dictator.

Fidel Castro – Hugo was a dear comrade of mine in the struggle against the tyranny of the United States. I recall many a time when he would come to Cuba for “cancer treatment,” and we would demonize the rich for hours. He had this one guy, who used to be a high-level banker or something, that travelled with him everywhere. So he would come over to my casa, and we would toss little centavos at this guy for hours! Jajajajaja! Oh Hugo, no one could ever replace you as my partner in mockingly throwing small change at the fallen bourgeoisie. Ah, mi amigo, mi amor, you will be missed.

Kim Jong-Un – I would like to start by saying that I never had the pleasure of meeting Hugo, but we followed each other on Twitter, so I feel fairly qualified to contribute my thoughts. I will sorely miss his direct messages at 2 AM, followed by at least seven drunken Snapchats. I mean, what gives you better insight into someone’s life than inebriated Snapchats? There was this one night where he sent me 20, each one sent 37 seconds after the last. I swear, they told the most beautiful story of a pants-ing and subsequent repants-ing that has ever been portrayed through the medium of social-media photography. And don’t even get me started on the empanada recipe that he gave me! I’m going to miss that man.

Martin Scorsese – When I first saw him, I simply thought, “he’s perfect.” Rising from such humble beginnings to become the President of Venezuela? Amazing! To be honest, I’m not sure how his experience with clock repair or passion for the original magic of cinematography was relevant to his presidency, but he made it work. He’s also gotten much tanner and a great deal more rotund since he was a child, but I guess old age can do that to some people, eh? Hugo was one of the greatest stories I’ve ever had the pleasure to tell, and it would not have been possible without his inspiring story: growing up an orphan, living alone in a train station except for the company of a non-functional semi-humanoid robot, and then finally moving to Venezuela and inspiring an entire country. Hugo was truly an inspiration, and I am proud to have worked with him so closely while it was still possible.