Left-wing political ideology
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Chavismo
(from
Spanish
:
chavismo
), also known in English as
Chavism
or
Chavezism
, is a
left-wing populist
political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the
Venezuelan President
between 1999 and 2013
Hugo Chavez
[1]
that combines elements of
democratic socialism
,
socialist patriotism
,
[2]
[3]
Bolivarianism
, and
Latin American integration
.
[4]
People who supported Hugo Chavez and
Chavismo
are known as
Chavistas
.
Policies
[
edit
]
Several
political parties in Venezuela
support
Chavismo
. The main party, founded by Chavez, is the
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
(Spanish:
Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela
), usually referred to by the four letters PSUV).
[
citation needed
]
Other parties and movements supporting
Chavismo
include
Fatherland for All
(Spanish:
Patria Para Todos
or PPT) and
Tupamaros
.
[
citation needed
]
Broadly,
Chavismo
policies include
nationalization
,
social welfare programs
and
opposition to neoliberalism
(particularly the policies of the
International Monetary Fund
and the
World Bank
). According to Chavez, Venezuelan socialism accepts
private property
,
[5]
but seeks to promote
social ownership
as well.
[6]
[7]
Support
[
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]
Nicolas Maduro
with supporters at
Maduro's second inauguration
on 10 January 2019
According to political scientist John Magdaleno, the proportion of Venezuelans who define themselves as
Chavistas
declined from 44% to around 22% between October 2012 and December 2014, after the
death of Hugo Chavez
and the deterioration of the
economy during Nicolas Maduro's tenure
.
[8]
In February 2014, a poll conducted by International Consulting Services, an organization created by Juan Vicente Scorza, a sociologist and anthropologist for the
National Experimental University of the Armed Forces
,
[9]
found that 62% of Venezuelans consider themselves supporters or followers of the ideals of Chavez.
[10]
By 2016, many
Chavistas
became disenchanted with the Bolivarian government under Maduro and sought to emigrate from Venezuela to a more stable country.
[11]
Criticism
[
edit
]
Banner at
demonstrations and protests
against
Chavismo
and the
Nicolas Maduro
government.
Despite its claim to socialist rhetoric,
Chavismo
has been frequently described as being
state capitalist
by critics.
[12]
In a 2017 interview, after being asked if he would take Venezuela's failing economy as an admission that socialism "wrecked people's lives", philosopher
Noam Chomsky
said: "I never described Chavez's state capitalist government as 'socialist' or even hinted at such an absurdity. It was quite remote from socialism. Private capitalism remained ... Capitalists were free to undermine the economy in all sorts of ways, like massive export of capital."
[13]
Critics also frequently point towards Venezuela's large
private sector
. In 2009, roughly 70% of Venezuela's
gross domestic product
was created by the private sector.
[14]
Academic views on
Chavismo
[
edit
]
Academic research produced about
Chavismo
shows a considerable consensus when acknowledging its early shift to the left and its strong populist component. However, besides these two points there is significant disagreement in the literature. According to Kirk A. Hawkins, scholars are generally divided into two camps: a
liberal democratic
one that sees
Chavismo
as an instance of
democratic backsliding
and a
radical democratic
one that upholds
Chavismo
as the fulfillment of its aspirations for democracy. Hawkins argues that the most important division between these two groups is neither methodological nor theoretical, but ideological. It is a division over basic normative views of democracy:
liberalism
versus
radicalism
(page 312).
[15]
Liberal democracy approach
[
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]
Scholars in this camp adhered to a
classical liberal
ideology that valued procedural democracy (
competitive elections
,
widespread participation
defined primarily in terms of voting and
civil liberties
) as the political means best suited to achieving human welfare. Many of these scholars had a
liberal vision of economics
, although some were
moderate
social democrats
who were critical of
neoliberalism
. Together, they saw
Chavismo
in a mostly negative light as a case of democratic backsliding or even competitive
authoritarianism
or electoral authoritarian regime. The most relevant aspects of the liberal critique of
Chavismo
are the following:
- Failure to ensure free and fair elections due to fraud or frequent changes of electoral rules. The government also violates principles of electoral freedom, especially during and after the
2004 presidential recall election
. Many of these violations would be possible due to bias within the
National Electoral Council
(page 314).
- Violation of civil liberties. A number of civil liberties saw significant reverses under the Chavez government, including the
right of association
and
freedom of expression
. Some of the most significant setbacks are in
media freedom
, where Chavism has used several means to constrain the operation of commercial media (page 315).
- Infringement of separation of powers. Liberal scholars argue that
Chavismo
eliminates the
separation of powers
between the branches of government by manipulating to produce a super majority to the
supreme court
. Besides, by 2006, the government had fired hundreds of judges in lower courts as well and threatened to remove and prosecute any judge who dared to rule against the government (page 316).
- Political discrimination and exclusion of opposition parties. Under
Chavista
governments, state resources are used to favor the incumbent, the opposition parties lack access to media, and legal institutions are captured by the incumbent. Besides, many sources cited by liberal scholars suggest that the government's participatory initiatives are used as campaign infrastructure (page 316).
- Undermining the rule of law. Liberal critics present three majors examples to sustain that: (i) the politicization of the judiciary and the bureaucracy violated due process and facilitated the growth of corruption; (ii) the state's willingness to intervene in and expropriate private industry, often through dubious legal means, served to weaken property rights; (iii) and levels of violent crime skyrocketed, this is a test (page 316).
[15]
Radical democracy approach
[
edit
]
Scholars in this camp generally adhered to a classical socialist ideology that mistrusted market institutions in either the state or the economy. They saw procedural democracy as insufficient to ensure political inclusion (although they still accepted the importance of liberal democratic institutions) and emphasized participatory forms of democracy and collective worker ownership in the economy. They tended toward descriptions of the movement that celebrated its participatory features or analyzed its potential weaknesses for accomplishing its revolutionary goals. Most of these scholars supported
Chavismo
and helped constitute the civilian wing of the movement. Radical scholars argue that democracy can only become effective if it is deepened?and they feel that
Chavismo
is doing this deepening, which requires not only the greater inclusion of poor and excluded sectors in decision making but their remaking into a new "popular" identity that facilitates their autonomy and dignity. For some of these scholars, deepening also means the adoption of a socialist economy and some argue it requires taking power through charismatic leadership, which would have enough political support to conduct structural reforms (pages 313?319).
[15]
Relationship with Trotskyism
[
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]
In 2010, Hugo Chavez proclaimed support for the
ideas
of Marxist
Leon Trotsky
, saying "When I called him (former Minister of Labour,
Jose Ramon Rivero
)" Chavez explained, "he said to me: 'President I want to tell you something before someone else tells you ... I am a
Trotskyist
', and I said, 'well, what is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist! I follow Trotsky's line, that of
permanent revolution
', and then cited
Marx
and
Lenin
".
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Chavismo
and the media
[
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]
In
The Weekly Standard
in 2005,
Thor Halvorssen Mendoza
described the core of
Chavismo
as a "far-reaching foreign policy that aims to establish a loosely aligned federation of revolutionary republics as a resistance bloc in the Americas".
[20]
In 2006,
Noam Chomsky
expressed a certain degree of support for Chavez and his policies, saying that he was "quite interested" by his policies and that he regarded "many of them" as "quite constructive", noting that most importantly Chavez seemed to enjoy overwhelming support from his people after "six closely supervised elections".
[21]
According to an article in
The New York Sun
,
Chavismo
was rejected in elections around 2006 in Peru, Colombia and Mexico.
[22]
El Universal
reported that former
Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
kept distance from
Chavismo
, saying that Brazil is not Venezuela and has traditional institutions.
[23]
Still, Lula supported Chavez in the
Venezuelan presidential election of 2012
.
[24]
The Nation
noted on its editorial pages the following:
Chavismo
is not an adequate description of the social movement that makes up Chavez's political base, since many organizations predate his rise to political power, and their leaders and cadre have a sophisticated understanding of their relationship with Chavez. Over the last couple of years, a number of social scientists have done field work in urban
barrios
, and their findings confirm that this synergy between the central government and participatory local organizations has expanded, not restricted, debate and that democracy is thriving in Venezuela.
Chavismo
has ripped open the straitjacket of post?Cold War Latin American discourse, particularly the taboo against government regulation of the economy and economic redistribution. Public policy, including economic policy, is now open to discussion and, importantly, popular influence. This is in sharp contrast to Costa Rica, where a few months ago its Supreme Court, with the support of its executive branch, prohibited public universities from not just opposing but even debating the
Central American Free Trade Agreement
, which soon won a national referendum by a razor-thin margin.
[25]
In February 2014, about a year following Hugo Chavez's death,
The Atlantic
stated the following:
Hugo Chavez based his popularity on his extraordinary charisma, much discretionary money, and a key and well-tested political message: denouncing the past and promising a better future for all. The country's widespread student protests now symbolize the demise of this message. Venezuelans younger than 30 years of age (the majority of the population) have not known any government other than that of Chavez or Maduro. For them, "
Chavismo
" is the past. As for the promises of a better future: The results are in. The catastrophic consequences of Chavez's 21st-century socialism are impossible to mask any longer and the government has run out of excuses. Blaming the CIA, the "fascist opposition", or "dark international forces", as Maduro and his allies customarily do, has become fodder for parodies flooding YouTube. The concrete effects of 15 years of
Chavismo
are all too visible in empty shelves and overflowing morgues.
[26]
In 2015, when
The Economist
was commenting about corruption in Latin America, it said the following:
The viceroys of the colonial era set the pattern. They centralised power and bought the loyalty of local interest groups. [...]
Caudillos
, dictators and elected presidents continued the tradition of personalising power. Venezuela's
Chavismo
and the
Kirchnerismo
of Ms Fernandez are among today's manifestations.
[27]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Morsbach, Greg (6 December 2005).
"Chavez opponents face tough times"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
3 June
2018
.
- ^
"El chavismo es el patriotismo"
.
Diario VEA
(in Spanish). 25 June 2012. Archived from
the original
on 21 February 2014
. Retrieved
3 February
2014
.
- ^
"El internacionalismo de Hugo Chavez"
(in Spanish). Ola Bolivariana. 18 March 2013. Archived from
the original
on 6 March 2014
. Retrieved
6 March
2014
.
- ^
Fraija, Farith (20 December 2012).
"El chavismo es un bien colectivo del pueblo, que ha demostrado defender a toda costa su continuidad"
.
Noticias24
(in Spanish). Archived from
the original
on 7 February 2019
. Retrieved
3 February
2014
.
- ^
Sivaramakrishnan, Arvind (6 March 2013).
"Hugo Chavez: Death of a socialist"
.
The Hindu
. Retrieved
3 February
2014
.
- ^
Salmeron, Victor (13 June 2012).
"Plan Chavez preve crear 30 mil empresas de propiedad social"
.
El Universal
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
3 February
2014
.
- ^
Azzellini, Dario.
"The Communal State: Communal Councils, Communes, and Workplace Democracy"
. North American Congress on Latin America
. Retrieved
3 February
2014
.
- ^
"AFP: Gobierno de Maduro empeoro inflacion, devaluacion y pobreza que dejo Chavez"
.
El Nacional
. 3 March 2015
. Retrieved
4 March
2015
.
- ^
Lopez, Victor.
"Dr. Juan Scorza, docente de la Unefa, realizara charla: "16 Tipos de Personalidades", en la "Jornada de Salud"
"
. National Experimental University of the Armed Forces. Archived from
the original
on 3 April 2015
. Retrieved
9 March
2015
.
- ^
"Sondeos de opinion VENEZUELA - Encuesta ICS Febrero 2015"
(PDF)
. International Consulting Services. 24 February 2015. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2 April 2015
. Retrieved
6 March
2015
.
- ^
Woody, Christopher (2 December 2016).
"
'The tipping point': More and more Venezuelans are uprooting their lives to escape their country's crises"
.
Business Insider
. Retrieved
6 December
2016
.
- ^
Bremmer, Ian (17 May 2010).
"The Rise Of State-Controlled Capitalism"
. Retrieved
8 October
2018
.
- ^
Stossel, John (31 May 2017).
"Noam Chomsky's Venezuela Lesson"
. Retrieved
8 October
2018
.
- ^
"What socialism? Private sector still dominates Venezuelan economy despite Chavez crusade"
. 18 July 2010
. Retrieved
8 October
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
Hawkins, Kirk A. (2016).
"Chavismo, Liberal Democracy, and Radical Democracy"
.
Annual Review of Political Science
.
19
(1): 311?329.
doi
:
10.1146/annurev-polisci-072314-113326
.
- ^
"Chavez accelerates on path to socialism"
.
BBC News
. 2007.
- ^
Martin, Jorge (2007).
"
"What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist!" - Chavez is sworn in as president of Venezuela"
.
Archived
from the original on 7 February 2007.
- ^
Woods, Alan (2018).
"Five years on: the revolutionary legacy of Hugo Chavez"
.
Archived
from the original on 5 March 2018.
- ^
Johnson, Elliott; Walker, David; Gray, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Chavez, Hugo (1954?2013)".
Historical Dictionary of Marxism
(2nd ed.). Lanham; Boulder; New York; London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 71.
ISBN
978-1-4422-3798-8
.
- ^
- ^
Santora, Marc (26 September 2006).
"Chomsky is Alive, Actually, and Hungry for Debate"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
16 June
2015
.
- ^
Barone, Michael (31 July 2006).
"Good News"
.
The New York Sun
. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2023
. Retrieved
3 June
2018
.
- ^
"Lula says he is not like Chavez"
.
El Universal
(in Spanish). 22 August 2006. Archived from
the original
on 21 December 2007
. Retrieved
21 December
2007
.
- ^
Weisbrot, Mark (9 October 2014).
"Why Chavez Was Re-elected"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
6 March
2014
.
- ^
Grandin, Greg (6 December 2007).
"Chavismo and Democracy"
.
The Nation
. No. 24 December 2007. Archived from
the original
on 3 April 2018
. Retrieved
3 April
2018
.
- ^
Naim, Moises (25 February 2014).
"The Tragedy of Venezuela"
.
The Atlantic
. Retrieved
16 June
2015
.
- ^
"Democracy to the rescue?"
.
The Economist
. 14 March 2015
. Retrieved
14 July
2015
.
Bibliography
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]