They voted for him the first time. Then he rewrote his own Constitution giving him much greater powers and they were stupid enough to vote for that. After that they became aware of his abuses, but it was too late. The coup attempt failed, and the later recall election failed. But then Chavez dealt his killing blow. Anyone who signed the recall petition was then blacklisted in the government and harassed with his thug army (chavistas). With the police forces taking on a more communistic stance (as in protecting only communists regardless of who broke a law) and Chavez rigging later elections, he has consolidated his power absolutely. The last congressional election had a 15% turnout because people don't trust him and fear voting against his party. There was 15% because Chavez ordered all government workers to vote (else they lose their jobs).
It is interesting to note that Venezuela has had enormous inflation even though they've had record oil sales. They also have a murder rate roughly equal to that of the US only with less than 1/10th the population.
