Hugo Chavez

Chap 1 (pages 1-24) excerpted from the book, Venezuela´s Polarized Politics:  The Paradox of Direct Democracy Under Chavez. Ana L.Mallen and Maria Pilar Garcia-Guadilla . First Forum Press. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. 2017.
How Participatory democracy led to profound polarization in Venezuela

During the past two decades participatory democracy policies came to be seen as a useful alternative to address high inequality and lack of meaningful political representation allowed by clientelist politics in various parts of the world.  This project explores the question: what is the impact that state-promoted participation has on democracy and development, the two key areas that political reformers in Latin America attempted to improve at the turn of the millennium?  The hypotheses that this project proposes in response to that question are that participatory policies do not underperform neoliberal policies on macroeconomic or human development; that state-promoted participation strengthens social capital and clientelism hinders it; and that state-promoted participation strengthens democratic values and clientelism hinders them.  The macroeconomic and human development hypothesis is self-explanatory.  However, the introduction of the concept of social capital is required here as part of the causal mechanism that explains the impact that clientelism and participatory policies have on democracy. 
This study uses two cases that represent both ends of the political and economic policy spectrums: neoliberal Mexico under the PAN governments of 2000–2012, which broke a 70-year monopoly of the PRI, and participatory democracy in socialist Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez’s 1998 election broke the 40-year political monopoly of two centrist and elitist parties.  The new political beginnings in these countries resulted in similar achievements in economic and human development, and in divergent and complex trajectories in terms of clientelism and participation.

La llegada de Chávez a la presidencia de Venezuela trajo consigo un periodo de grandes cambios políticos, sociales y económicos en el país, y la política externa no fue la excepción. Durante la casi década y media de gobierno de Chávez, Venezuela vivió profundos cambios en la conducción de su política externa en especial en su relación con los Estados Unidos, y en su dinámica en el ámbito regional, explotando la bonanza petrolera para financiar un liderazgo regional en competencia con otros grandes actores Suramericanos e incidiendo sobre cambios importantes en la cartografía hemisférica. La política exterior de Chávez se destacó por el empleo de dos componentes estratégicos claves. El primero fue el creciente rol otorgado a la Fuerza Armada Bolivariana como decisor en materia de política externa, empleándose a dicha institución como instrumento clave para el relacionamiento regional de Venezuela así fuera por medio del incremento de capacidades militares, o por medio de alianzas y tratados militares con actores regionales o extra-regionales. El segundo componente —combinado con el primero— fue desarrollar una estrategia de “softbalancing” donde a través de diversos mecanismos internacionales se buscó obstaculizar e incidir sobre la política exterior de los Estados Unidos con la intención de aumentar los costos de la política exterior estadounidenses tanto en el ámbito hemisférico como en el sistema internacional. El artículo analiza como la combinación de ambas estrategias posibilitaron, por un lado, un mayor protagonismo político de Venezuela en la región y, por otro, una creciente militarización de su aparato estatal y, específicamente, de su política exterior.

Beginning with the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998, populist leaders have come to power in many Latin American countries. I argue that this recent wave of populism results from demands for incorporation made by marginalized, unorganized groups. Their demands are a reflection of acute inequality and, when aggregated, lead to crisis. Populist movements, parties, and leaders tend to emerge during such crises because they are able to take advantage of the presence of groups that become de-incorporated or that were never incorporated and mobilize them within existing state structures. This is a distinctive pattern in highly unequal societies where a full set of rights and freedoms has not been universalized. I illustrate the usefulness of my approach by applying it to the rise of Chávez in Venezuela. I conclude that, where populism enables meaningful incorporation of marginalized groups, it may ultimately provide an improved basis for long-term democracy in Latin America.

La llegada del siglo XXI ha coincidido con profundas transformaciones del campo de producción cultural venezolano, aceleradas desde 2001 por el anuncio presidencial de una “revolución cultural”, cuyas pugnas simbólicas han acompañado el progresivo enrarecimiento de la vida nacional. No solo el campo cultural se fracciona en dos círculos ―el oficial y el opositor―, sino que en ciertos autores se observa una radical experimentación con nuevos lenguajes y tecnologías en los que se expresa un proyecto de intervención social. El presente trabajo contextualiza y describe algunas variables de esa experimentación en la lírica.

This article takes stock of major developments in the political economy of contemporary Venezuela after ten years under Hugo Chávez. It is argued that the Bolivarian process has done a great deal to rejuvenate the international critique of neoliberalism and to bring discussion of socialism back on the agenda of the Left. At the same time, there has been no socialist revolution in Venezuela, and Chavismo is ridden with profound and abiding contradictions. This article considers the historical backdrop of the Bolivarian process, beginning with the end of authoritarianism and the Pact of Punto Fijo and the rise and fall of orthodox neoliberalism at the end of the twentieth-century. The article then describes Chavez’ gradual and partial radicalization between 1999 and 2009 and finally concludes that the global economic crisis poses a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the Bolivarian process in the midst of significantly reduced oil revenues.

Tanulmányom témáját Latin-Amerika egyik meghatározó állama, Venezuela adja, amely az elmúlt bő egy évtizedben jelentős irányváltást hajtott végre, mind politikai, mind gazdasági, társadalmi, vagy akár védelmi területen. Az elkövetkező oldalakon az ország gazdasági helyzetének alakulását veszem górcső alá, ismertetve a caracasi gazdaságpolitika főbb irányvonalait, különös tekintettel a Hugo Chávez elnök neve által fémjelzett éveket.
(Venezuela’s economic policies – The Chavez years)

Venezuela has gained considerable attention in the past few years, especially since the demonstrations of early 2014. The case of Venezuela has special significance for those from the former Eastern bloc as it is interesting to observe the consequences of 21st-century socialism. The study also holds relevance for other (European) countries that are experiencing a political shift away from traditional central forces as it points out the issues Venezuela experienced that could be sidestepped.

The aim of this work is to determine the extent to which Hugo Chávez’ economic, social and political legacy is responsible for the current struggle of the country. The main question regarding Chávez’ (social) policies still to this day remains whether they were ef-ficient in reducing poverty and the thesis aims to find an answer to the above mentioned assumption.

Most previous works focus on only a restricted topic such as  the social policies of the Chávez-government or are of greater extent and analyse the situation of the entire con-tinent – this work, however, attempts to provide readers with a chronological description of Venezuela’s past and present and outline the possibilities in the future. The author is strongly convinced that only by knowing the way Chávez could gain power is it possible to understand the ex-colonel’s popularity which explains how he could remain in power despite his controversial governance. Only after describing the situation does the study go on to evaluate the economic, social and foreign policies of the Chávez-government and draw consequences related to recent events both within and outside Venezuela.

For the sake of impartiality, the author used several (at times contradicting) sources and considered opposing opinions to make sure the data in the thesis is trustworthy and unbiased. The conducted research is strictly theoretical based on credible sources that are free from political influences; at times, it used manipulated data in comparison with offi-cial information only to show the extent of governmental corruption in Venezuela.

Results show that the decrease in the poverty rate is neither as substantial nor as permanent as was stated by the Venezuelan government, meaning that the first and fore-most goal of the Chávez-government was not reached. Also, even though the incumbent president’s mismanagement contributed to the current problems, it is obvious that the lega-cy of the Chavez-government is one of the main causes of recent troubles, together with external negative impacts. These results imply that a break from the current governing sys-tem is much needed in Venezuela and it would better bring along structural reforms.

Less than a year after the death of former President Hugo Chávez, the architect of the Bolivarian Revolution, and also within the first year in office of his successor, Nicolás Maduro, opposition protests, both violent and non-violent, have punctuated the Venezuelan political and social landscape. These largely middle-class protests have sought-among other things-to destabilize the democratically elected government of Maduro, and with that, the Bolivarian Revolution. To understand these events and the continued support of the poor and working classes for the Chávez-Maduro project, one must first examine the political history of Venezuela prior to the election of Hugo Chávez and the founding of the revolution. It is through his election that a legacy of exclusionary politics ended to be replaced with a participatory and protagonistic democracy. The revolution has thus created spaces for poor and working class Venezuelan people – and, in particular, women – to exercise a new sense of citizenship, inclusion and newly politicized social roles. The deliberately non-andocentric and inclusionary constitution of 1999, along with the creation of misiónes ('missions' or social programmes), have also largely benefitted the poor. It is this extension of power and citizenship to the formerly excluded which explains the enduring support for the late President Chávez, the Bolivarian Revolution, and now, President Maduro.

This paper will analyze the legal framework that undergirds the  flawed policies enacted by Hugo Chávez over the past twelve years and the intricacies of the policies themselves, and will discuss how Chávez—in consort with a National Assembly packed with chavistas—has systematically used democratic processes to subvert democracy through the use of rule by decree, expropriation and other socialist measures. Specific emphasis will be placed on the housing crisis and the actions taken by Chávez that have not only worsened the situation, but also have severely curtailed the private investment and development on which the people of Venezuela could rely to build their way out of the crisis. Finally, the paper will discuss potential solutions to the crisis, as well as the future political ramifications of the housing crisis and poor business environment that exists in Venezuela.

la historia previa al referendo revocatorio de agosto en Venezuela estuvo matizada de un sinnúmero de acontecimientos, cuya cronolo­gía se impone a fin de colocar al lector en la exacta perspectiva de por qué y cómo ocurrieron los he­chos, y la razón exacta de las consecuencias finales que están viviendo ahora los venezolanos y de qué manera se reconforma su futuro.
La historia comenzó el 4 de febrero de 1992, cuando el teniente coronel Hugo Chávez (50 años, cuatro hijos, divorciado) encabezó una rebelión mi­ litar contra el presidente Carlos Andrés Pérez. La tentativa de golpe fracasó, y Chávez fue recluido dos años en prisión. Ya en libertad, en 1997, el militar golpista fundó el Movimiento V República (MVR), que con el llamado Polo Patriótico garantizaron su triunfo en los comicios presidenciales de 1998, en los que fue electo con el 58 por ciento de los votos válidos, asumiendo la presidencia de Venezuela el dos de febrero de 1999.

El fenómeno socio-político del Neo-Populismo es característico en la América Latina del siglo XXI y se ha presentado como herencia del Populismo que se presentó con fuerza en la región en el siglo XX. Hugo Chávez ha sido un político y militar que se reconoce por sus prácticas políticas y sociales que apelan al personalismo y a una relación directa con su pueblo, sembrando un discurso político de izquierda que se ha denominado “Socialismo del siglo XXI”. Este artículo tiene como objetivo conceptualizar, desde la teoría sociológica y política, la realidad presente en América Latina, exactamente en Venezuela, en relación a Chávez como la figura más sobresaliente del Neo-Populismo los primeros años del siglo XXI.

La República de Venezuela fue un oasis en América Latina, un país estable, democrático y próspero durante varios lustros hasta la llegada de la crisis de los años ochenta. El nuevo contexto y el desgaste experimentado por los actores tradicionales forzaron cambios políticos profundos. La crisis, los ajustes realizados durante los noventa y las esperanzas de la población de un día regresar a las senda del bienestar generaron respuestas políticas cada vez más radicales. En este artículo se busca analizar las respuestas que da el pueblo venezolano a los desafíos que les presenta su nueva realidad socioeconómica y que entroncan con ciertas visiones derivadas de la experiencia pasada, así como de su forma de concebir el papel del Estado y el del líder. También estudia la frustración generada al no cumplirse las expectativas depositadas por los ciudadanos, llevando a la elección de opciones cada vez más radicales

When in 1992 a military officer with a group of leftist followers tried to seize power in Venezuela, the events were enough for fifteen minutes of fame, but not more, although when the same person, namely Hugo Chávez won the presidential election with an outstanding victory six years later and started his so-called Bolivarian Revolution and initiated new methods, new approaches with fast and clearly visible results, the international community started to pay more attention, especially when similar leftist political movements began to win the elections in other countries in the region. The aim of this article is to give a closer look on Chávez himself, a short brief on his past deeds as possible reasons for his continuous popularity amongst Venezuelans, then finally to give an overview of the needed actions in order to achieve the necessary developments in the country and insure the continuity of the Bolivarian Revolution even after the late-president‟s death.

En 1999, Hugo Chávez arrivait au pouvoir au Venezuela, se revendiquant notamment de l’héritage du héros indépendantiste Simón Bolívar. A partir d’un corpus réunissant plus de 250 discours prononcés par Chávez de 1999 à 2006 et à l’aide des méthodes de la statistique textuelle, nous mesurons la présence de Bolívar dans le discours chaviste et les variations diachroniques de celle-ci. Ensuite, à l’aide de méthodes co-occurrentielles, nous mettons à jour les réseaux lexicaux qui se nouent autour de l’évocation de Bolivar et qui informent sur l’image du héros de l’indépendance construite par Chávez au fil de ses prises de paroles.

The objective of this thesis is to analyze the rise of Hugo Chávez Frías to the presidency of Venezuela in 1999. His first speeches highlighted the need to refound the nation, under new parameters, created from his interpretation of the acts of Bolívar, therefore, his main proposal would be the creation of the República Bolivariana de Venezuela, which, distinctly from the previous ones, should symbolize the union of the nation with the ideas of its beloved son: Simón Bolívar. In order that operation could reach the intended success, it was necessary modify its sustenance pillars. These alterations were accomplished through the redaction of a new constitution, by the redistribution of the powers and also via the historic narrative, which instead of support itself in the historiography, was proclaimed bolivariana. Thus, the V República, that emerges was displayed as the unrolling of the independence war period in the XIX century. The association between the new Republic and the most glorious moment of the country’s history, not only legitimated, but is also equivalent to the projection of the values and the brilliancy of formerly. Accordingly, sought to comprehend this phenomenon under one synchronic view, in other words, examining his specificities in order to identify possible points of changes and permanency, because, concomitantly, observing his diachronic, that is, the way how this strategy evolved over the time, in view of the fact that the president’s of Venezuela repeatedly asseverate to act over the principals of the bolivarian philosophy. From then on, was reflected about the national paradox, in which the orientation in present seen as meaningless motivated the constant return to the past nineteenth century, since there would be a source of solutions for any kind of demand. The República Bolivariana de Venezuela is, in this sense, the radicalization of this aporia as well as the cult of Bolívar in the attempt to orient the nation and society on a premise which mobilize them in the direction of one bolivarian future and, which below the auspicious of the present, would complement one circle of the conflicts eradication.

Una decada de Hugo Chavez Frias y su proyecto politico en Venezuela trajo consigo un cambio de paradigmas que llama la atencion de la sociedad en general. Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.

Una decada de Hugo Chavez Frias y su proyecto politico en Venezuela trajo consigo un cambio de paradigmas que llama la atencion de la sociedad en general. Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.

The majority of Latin American military regimes were conservatives but there were a few with leftist characteristics. Peru lived his own revolution in the sixties. In 1968, a group of army officers led by Juan Velasco Alvarado took the power in the Andean country. In the1970s, during the Velasquism, a very young Hugo Chávez visited Peru like Venezuelan military. In this travel, Chavez was amazed by the Peruvian example of political model.
We try to explain how the far influence of a Peruvian military of the seventies lasted in a young guy during two decades. We will establish common points and try to define which are shared or influenced.

En el ambiente de profunda división que caracteriza a la
sociedad venezolana, un enfermo presidente Chávez se
enfrentará a una oposición (casi) unida entorno al candidato
Capriles. Damos los datos clave a tener en cuenta
para la campaña, que promete ser intensa.

The common perception of Latin American militiaries is as sources of repression and using violence to maintain the old social orders. While largely true, there is also an equally long tradition of subordinate peoples, including indigenous ones, of using the military as an avenue to effect social cnange. Both Hugo Chavez and Ollanta Humala are former officers that fit squarely within a long tradition of Latin American populist leftist military leaders. Evo Morales was an enlisted man but also utilizes the military in a similar fashion. All three are indigenous, with Chavez also of pardo ancestry.
This book examines the long history of indigenous veterans in Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela. It investigates how Latin American elites seek to use the military to break indigenous resistance within national borders and assimilate indigenous peoples within the militaries themselves. It also discusses how Natives often contest that assimilation and utilize the military for their own purposes. Chavez, Humala, and Morales all challenge the old social order of their nations, and how they do that is greatly shped by their experience as indigenous veterans, both for better and for worse.

In this essay, I attempted to get a better understanding of the ideology of Hugo Chávez Frias, the current President of Venezuela. By closely looking at the Venezuelan side of the story, I hoped to find out what Venezuelans really wanted, and about the real reasons behind American policy of 'bringing freedom'.

Una decada de Hugo Chavez Frias y su proyecto politico en Venezuela trajo consigo un cambio de paradigmas que llama la atencion de la sociedad en general. Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.Este libro es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de un grupo de academicos de distintas nacionalidades que desde sus lineas de investigacion realizan analisis que le brindan al lector elementos para comprender de manera global lo que significa una decada de gobierno del Presidente Chavez en Venezuela.

The ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez has reignited debate in Latin America and internationally on the questions of socialism and revolution. This forum brings together six leading intellectuals from different revolutionary traditions and introduces their reflections on class-struggle, the state, imperialism, counter-power, revolutionary parties, community and communes, workplaces, economy, politics, society, culture, race, gender, and the hopes, contradictions, and prospects of ‘twenty-first-century socialism’ in contemporary Venezuela.

Resumen:
Introducción. Se investigó la cobertura de Venezuela en 28 grandes diarios de América Latina, Europa y EEUU a lo largo de un año. El objetivo del trabajo fue dilucidar si existía un sesgo sistemático. Metodología. Se compaginó el análisis cualitativo y cuantitativo de contenido. Se condensaron varias categorías en dos variables –tendencia e impacto– con una simple escala de medición adscrita. Resultados. Se demostró un sistemático sesgo negativo en la cobertura de Venezuela en los grandes diarios: el 82% de los artículos publicados tienen un impacto negativo. A la vez, el 95% de los temas está relacionado con el gobierno venezolano. Discusión y conclusiones. La comprobación de un sesgo negativo sistemático significa que el derecho de información de los ciudadanos-lectores no se está cumpliendo.

Abstract:
Introduction. Coverage of Venezuela was examined in 28 major newspapers in Latin America, Europe and the U.S. over a period of one year. The objective was to determine whether there was a systematic bias. Methodology. Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was combined. Several categories were condensed into two variables –trend and impact– with a simple measurement scale attached. Results. A systematic negative bias in the coverage of Venezuela in the major newspapers was shown: 82% of the articles published had a negative impact. At the same time, 95% of the topics were associated with the Venezuelan government. Discussion and conclusions. A systematic negative bias means that the right to information of the citizens-readers is not being fulfilled.

This reflective paper aims to evaluate the research conducted by the research teammates and the author. The research concerns the compassion effect in journalism, in case of the US media portrayals Hugo Chavez before and after his death. The study examined a number of articles published in two prominent US newspapers, the New York Times (NYT) and the Washington Post(WP), whether or not their contents have changed in comparison before and after the announcement of Chavez’s sickness in 2012 and after his consequent death in 2013. The methodology heavily based on inductive frame-coding method. We also deployed the propaganda model in grounding our research design and conceptualizing the findings. The findings suggest that the ‘dead effect’ rather than ‘compassion effect’ actually caused the frame changes in NYT and WPcoverage to become less critical of Chavez’s character. Ultimately, this paper aims to evaluate there plication and reliability of the research design and methodology of this research, as well as toreflect on the implications of research methods on ecological validity of the findings.