Venezuela Hugo Chavez and the Decline of an "Exceptional Democracy"

by Ellner, Steve; Tinker Salas, Miguel

• ISBN13: 9780742554566
• ISBN10: 0742554562
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-12-07
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

This authoritative book offers a comprehensive assessment of contemporary Venezuela. Analyzing the multifaceted phenomenon of Hugo Chavez, 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 socioeconomic contexts, the contributors explore racial issues, social and labor movements, electoral politics, economic and oil policy, and U.S. support for the Venezuelan opposition. Underscoring the complexity of Chavez 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. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
List of Acronyms	p. ix
Series Introduction	p. xi
Introduction: New Perspectives and the Chavez Phenomenon	p. xiii
Theoretical, Historical, and International Background
Introduction	p. 1
The Venezuelan Exceptionalism Thesis: Separating Myth from Reality	p. 3
Venezuelan Social Conflict in a Global Context	p. 16
Oil and Economic Policy
Introduction	p. 33
U.S. Oil Companies in Venezuela: The Forging of an Enduring Alliance	p. 35
Chavez and the Search for an Alternative to Neoliberalism	p. 60
Labor and Race
Introduction	p. 75
Trade Union Autonomy and the Emergence of a New Labor Movement in Venezuela	p. 77
Ethnicity and Revolution: The Political Economy of Racism in Venezuela	p. 99
Social Movements
Introduction	p. 119
Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution: Who Are the Chavistas?	p. 121
Social Movements in a Polarized Setting: Myths of Venezuelan Civil Society	p. 140
Electoral Politics, Social Change, and U.S. Reaction
Introduction	p. 155
When "No" Means "Yes to Revolution": Electoral Politics in Bolivarian Venezuela	p. 157
Confronting Hugo Chavez: U.S. "Democracy Promotion" in Latin America	p. 185
Bibliography	p. 207
Index	p. 211
About the Contributors	p. 219
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