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

by Steve Ellner author of Rethinking Vene (Editor), Miguel Tinker Salas (Editor)

Overview

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.

Contributions by: Christopher I. Clement, Steve Ellner, Maria Pilar García Guadilla, Daniel Hellinger, Jesús María Herrera Salas, Edgardo Lander, Dick Parker, Miguel Tinker Salas, and Cristóbal Valencia Ramírez

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461646648
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/07/2006
Series:	Latin American Perspectives in the Classroom
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	236
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Steve Ellner is professor at the Universidad de Oriente, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. Miguel Tinker Salas is Arango Professor of Latin American History and Chicano/a studies at Pomona College.

Table of Contents

Introduction: New Perspectives and the Chávez Phenomenon
Part I: Theoretical, Historical, and International Background
Chapter 1: The Venezuelan Exceptionalism Thesis: Separating Myth from Reality
Chapter 2: Venezuelan Social Conflict in a Global Context
Part II: Oil and Economic Policy
Chapter 3: U.S. Oil Companies in Venezuela: The Forging of an Enduring Alliance
Chapter 4: Chávez and the Search for an Alternative to Neoliberalism
Part III: Labor and Race
Chapter 5: Trade Autonomy and the Emergence of a New Labor Movement in Venezuela
Chapter 6: Ethnicity and Revolution: The Political Economy of Racism in Venezuela
Part IV: Social Movements
Chapter 7: Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution: Who Are the Chavistas?
Chapter 8: Social Movements in a Polarized Setting: Myths of Venezuelan Civil Society
Part V: Electoral Politics, Social Change, and U.S. Reaction
Chapter 9: When "No" Means "Yes to Revolution": Electoral Politics in Bolivarian Venezuela
Chapter 10: Confronting Hugo Chávez: United States "Democracy Promotion" in Latin America

Editorial Reviews

With the rise and presidency of Hugo Chavez, Ellner finds himself uniquely positioned to commentate on and explain the drivers of contemporary change and political evolution in Venezuela, where he has lived for over 30 years. Unlike many of those currently writing on the country and its president, he brings an objective and informed perspective, one that transcends subjective accounts and the current polarization of assessments. More importantly, his writing and explanatory frameworks are accessible and engaging, making his latest book both an excellent introduction for those bewildered and new to the Chavez phenomenon and also an invaluable read for long-term observers of Venezuela and the South American region more broadly.

Bulletin of Latin American Research

The sociology and history in the book are. .. illuminating.

Journal of Latin American Studies - George Philip

Steve Ellner and Miguel Tinker Salas meet the need for a measured and accessible synthesis of the arguments around the decline of Venezuelan 'exceptional' democracy and the concomitant rise and presidency of Hugo Chávez.. .. The contributions are all of high quality.. .. Achieves its goal of introducing contemporary Venezuela to a student audience.. .. The volume successfully stimulates discussion and covers relevant topics at an accessible level for today's universities, colleges, and schools, while it is also more widely valuable to the inquiring general public.

Hispanic American Historical Review - Michael Derham

This collection of articles. .. is probably the best English-language introduction to the profound changes taking place in Venezuela in the past 10 years.

Estudios Interdisciplinarios De America Latina Y El Caribe

The authors of this edited volume provide a generally positive portrayal of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and the reforms he has introduced since he was first elected in 1998. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

An excellent overview of the collapse of Venezuelan democracy, the rise of Hugo Chávez, and what Venezuela looks like under Chávez.

Judith Ewell

The authors of this edited volume provide a generally positive portrayal of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and the reforms he has introduced since he was first elected in 1998. Recommended.

Choice

The authors of this edited volume provide a generally positive portrayal of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and the reforms he has introduced since he was first elected in 1998. Recommended.

CHOICE