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Venezuela: Hugo Chavez and the Decline of an Exceptional Democracy

by Miguel Tinker - £24.95  Rowman & Littlefield (2007)
paperback    ISBN 13: 9780742554566 | ISBN 10: 0742554562

This authoritative book offers a comprehensive assessment of contemporary Venezuela.
 
Analyzing the multifaceted phenomenon of Hugo Chávez, leading scholars move beyond his flamboyant style to focus on the concerns of popular social and political movements. The book challenges the misleading notions that for several decades glorified Venezuelan "exceptionalism" and minimized the role of important actors. After setting the historical and socio-economic contexts, the contributors explore racial issues, social and labor movements, electoral politics, economic and oil policy, and United States support for the Venezuelan opposition.
 
Underscoring the complexity of Chávez and his popularity, the book highlights the need to avoid simplistic assessments of the past and present and offers a clear-eyed understanding of Venezuelan reality today.
 
-Sets the Chávez phenomenon in historical context.
 
-Offers a critical analysis of widely accepted notions concerning Venezuelan history and politics.
 
-Provides a close view of recent developments in social and labor movements in Venezuela and their interaction with political actors.
 
-Examines how decisions taken in the oil industry have shaped Venezuelan politics, both historically and today.
 
-Traces the historical origin of Venezuelan racism, in the process refuting the notion that it is an invention of President Chávez and his movement.
 
-Analyzes Venezuela's electoral democracy under Chávez, focusing on social cleavages and the role of international agencies such as the National Endowment for Democracy.

(Price & availability last checked: August 2018)