During the 1980s and 1990s, Venezuela was deteriorating at a rapid pace where its GDP plummeted around 40 percent. In a state of widespread unrest, Chávez then a lieutenant colonel led a military coup in February 1992 against the government. 
Although the coup failed and Chávez spent the next two years in prison, his bold defiance catapulted him onto the national political stage and launched his career. Over the years he has survived an attempted coup, a roll back election, a second term in office and after having initially lost a referendum to introduce constitutional change expanding his influence, Chavez later won another vote in 2009 that eliminated term limits barricading his entry in the next elections.
On entering politics Chávez's combative style and straight-talking populist charisma served well in a country marked by pervasive discontent. His fierce indictment of the old political order and his promise of a "revolution" held wide appeal among poor Venezuelans. Unlike the "out of touch" politicians, Chávez projected a sincere concern for those living in poverty which meant around three-quarters of the population.
Chávez's political project, as one analyst notes, has been an eclectic blend of populism, nationalism, militarism, and, socialism, combined with a "Bolivarian" emphasis on South American unity. Chávez’s proponents project him as a popular leader in a system of "Participatory democracy," focused on empowering and mobilizing Venezuelans. Harris Whitbeck a CNN correspondent notes that to his most ardent backers in Venezuela and among the international left, Chávez is a hero driven by humanitarian impulses to redress social injustice and inequality
-- problems long neglected by a traditional political class intent on protecting its own position while denying the masses their rightful share of wealth and meaningful political participation. He is bravely fighting for Latin American solidarity and standing up to the overbearing United States. With charisma and oil dollars, he is seizing an opportunity to correct the power and wealth imbalances that have long defined Venezuelan and hemispheric affairs.
Critics however view Chavez as having despotic tendencies, a most recent exemplar of charismatic, populist leadership that emerged from the severe crises of the past two decades in Latin America. Although opinions differ on whether Chávez's rule should be characterized as authoritarian or democratic, a vast majority agrees that in contrast to his predecessors, Chávez has made the welfare of the Venezuelan poor his top priority. The Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz has noted, "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seems to have succeeded in bringing education and health services to the barrios of Caracas, which previously had seen little of the benefits of that country's rich endowment of oil". The renowned political scientist Noam Chomsky has also voiced his interest in Chávez’s policies commenting that many are quite constructive. He also says that the Venezuelan president seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in his country. “He has gone through six closely supervised elections,” a significant observation. Even The Economist has written that "Chávez's brand of revolution has delivered some social gains."
In Venezuela the poor receive free health care and education. Some analysts observe that the opposition's lack of success stems from its past unwillingness even to recognize, let alone devise solutions to, the deep social problems that Chávez has identified. Chávez's government, meanwhile, has undertaken important social programs and launched workers' cooperatives in urban slums. Venezuela's oil wealth too has made massive expenditures possible providing food, education, and medical care to underserved populations, which have undeniably had some effect. Even the Colombian magazine Semana, generally critical of Chávez, named the Venezuelan president "man of the year" for having "modified the political map
of the subcontinent, distributed his oil wealth in every direction, challenged the United States, and gone from being perceived as a tropical clown to the Latin American leader with the greatest political influence."
Arguing the other side Whitbeck notes that to his opponents -- the embattled domestic opposition and many in Washington -- Chávez is a power-hungry dictator who disregards the rule of law and the democratic process. He is on a catastrophic course of extending state control over the economy, militarizing politics, eliminating dissent, cozying up to rogue regimes, and carrying out wrong-headed social programs that will set Venezuela back. He is an authoritarian whose vision and policies have no redeeming qualities and a formidable menace to his own people, his Latin American neighbors, and U.S. interests.
Many argue that the "Chávez is good for the poor" hypothesis is inconsistent with the facts. Francisco Rodríguez notes that Chávez's political success does not stem from the achievements of his social programs or from his effectiveness at redistributing wealth. Rather, through a combination of luck and manipulation of the political system, Chávez has faced elections at times of strong economic growth, and driven by an oil boom bigger than any since the 1970s. Coined as Cháveznomics, the economists Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards have characterized such policies as "the macroeconomics of populism." Populist macroeconomics is invariably characterized by the use of expansionary fiscal and economic policies and an overvalued currency with the intention of accelerating growth and redistribution.
Regardless of whether the conditions of Venezuela's poor have marginally improved or marginally worsened under Chávez, his "Bolivarian Revolution", critics argue, is hardly a sustainable model for Venezuela's or the region's predicament. Its approach is fundamentally clientelistic, perpetuating dependence on state patronage rather than promoting broad-based development. Random land-reform measures and occasional confiscations of private property have had less of an economic than a political and symbolic rationale. Further more Venezuela’s oil dependence is cited by the critics as a trend in striking continuity with previous governments, yet another example of Venezuela's "oil curse" undermining sustainable policy.
In the international front Chavez’s Firebrand comments have colored his persona in the world arena. He is a staunch Cuban ally and has been a vocal supporter of Iran and Palestine against Israel. In September 2006, Chavez’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he referred to then US President George W Bush as "the devil", was met with applause. In November 2007 Chavez fell out with Spain after a run-in with King Juan Carlos during the final session of Ibero-American summit in Santiago. Last year however, Chavez congratulated Barack Obama on his election victory and has indicated he is ready to "start a process of
rapprochement" with the US.
Chavez's opponents say he has undercut Venezuela's democracy by systematically concentrating power in his own hands. Some of the measures in support of this argument, which Chavez insists are meant only to uphold the laws, include:
- Refusal to renew licenses of dozens of critical radio stations and a television channel. A controversial law punishing journalists for writing ‘harmful’ material has also been introduced.
- Slashed budgets after opposition candidates captured five governorships and Venezuela's two biggest cities in elections.
- Nearly 400 politicians put under investigation for corruption, hence barred from running for office.
Public opinion despite having declined still depicts substantially high support for the controversial Latin American Leader. According to a recent Gallup survey President Hugo Chavez's popularity among Venezuelans has waned in recent years. Less than half of Venezuelans (47%) in August 2009 said they approved of Chavez' job performance however the number is still substantially higher then the 35% who voiced disapproval. Nevertheless the polarity of views both domestically and internationally regarding Hugo Chavez continues to fuel the debate.
Discussion Question:
Although the coup failed and Chávez spent the next two years in prison, his bold defiance catapulted him onto the national political stage and launched his career. Over the years he has survived an attempted coup, a roll back election, a second term in office and after having initially lost a referendum to introduce constitutional change expanding his influence, Chavez later won another vote in 2009 that eliminated term limits barricading his entry in the next elections.On entering politics Chávez's combative style and straight-talking populist charisma served well in a country marked by pervasive discontent. His fierce indictment of the old political order and his promise of a "revolution" held wide appeal among poor Venezuelans. Unlike the "out of touch" politicians, Chávez projected a sincere concern for those living in poverty which meant around three-quarters of the population.
Chávez's political project, as one analyst notes, has been an eclectic blend of populism, nationalism, militarism, and, socialism, combined with a "Bolivarian" emphasis on South American unity. Chávez’s proponents project him as a popular leader in a system of "Participatory democracy," focused on empowering and mobilizing Venezuelans. Harris Whitbeck a CNN correspondent notes that to his most ardent backers in Venezuela and among the international left, Chávez is a hero driven by humanitarian impulses to redress social injustice and inequality
-- problems long neglected by a traditional political class intent on protecting its own position while denying the masses their rightful share of wealth and meaningful political participation. He is bravely fighting for Latin American solidarity and standing up to the overbearing United States. With charisma and oil dollars, he is seizing an opportunity to correct the power and wealth imbalances that have long defined Venezuelan and hemispheric affairs.Critics however view Chavez as having despotic tendencies, a most recent exemplar of charismatic, populist leadership that emerged from the severe crises of the past two decades in Latin America. Although opinions differ on whether Chávez's rule should be characterized as authoritarian or democratic, a vast majority agrees that in contrast to his predecessors, Chávez has made the welfare of the Venezuelan poor his top priority. The Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz has noted, "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seems to have succeeded in bringing education and health services to the barrios of Caracas, which previously had seen little of the benefits of that country's rich endowment of oil". The renowned political scientist Noam Chomsky has also voiced his interest in Chávez’s policies commenting that many are quite constructive. He also says that the Venezuelan president seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in his country. “He has gone through six closely supervised elections,” a significant observation. Even The Economist has written that "Chávez's brand of revolution has delivered some social gains."
In Venezuela the poor receive free health care and education. Some analysts observe that the opposition's lack of success stems from its past unwillingness even to recognize, let alone devise solutions to, the deep social problems that Chávez has identified. Chávez's government, meanwhile, has undertaken important social programs and launched workers' cooperatives in urban slums. Venezuela's oil wealth too has made massive expenditures possible providing food, education, and medical care to underserved populations, which have undeniably had some effect. Even the Colombian magazine Semana, generally critical of Chávez, named the Venezuelan president "man of the year" for having "modified the political map
of the subcontinent, distributed his oil wealth in every direction, challenged the United States, and gone from being perceived as a tropical clown to the Latin American leader with the greatest political influence."Arguing the other side Whitbeck notes that to his opponents -- the embattled domestic opposition and many in Washington -- Chávez is a power-hungry dictator who disregards the rule of law and the democratic process. He is on a catastrophic course of extending state control over the economy, militarizing politics, eliminating dissent, cozying up to rogue regimes, and carrying out wrong-headed social programs that will set Venezuela back. He is an authoritarian whose vision and policies have no redeeming qualities and a formidable menace to his own people, his Latin American neighbors, and U.S. interests.
Many argue that the "Chávez is good for the poor" hypothesis is inconsistent with the facts. Francisco Rodríguez notes that Chávez's political success does not stem from the achievements of his social programs or from his effectiveness at redistributing wealth. Rather, through a combination of luck and manipulation of the political system, Chávez has faced elections at times of strong economic growth, and driven by an oil boom bigger than any since the 1970s. Coined as Cháveznomics, the economists Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards have characterized such policies as "the macroeconomics of populism." Populist macroeconomics is invariably characterized by the use of expansionary fiscal and economic policies and an overvalued currency with the intention of accelerating growth and redistribution.
Regardless of whether the conditions of Venezuela's poor have marginally improved or marginally worsened under Chávez, his "Bolivarian Revolution", critics argue, is hardly a sustainable model for Venezuela's or the region's predicament. Its approach is fundamentally clientelistic, perpetuating dependence on state patronage rather than promoting broad-based development. Random land-reform measures and occasional confiscations of private property have had less of an economic than a political and symbolic rationale. Further more Venezuela’s oil dependence is cited by the critics as a trend in striking continuity with previous governments, yet another example of Venezuela's "oil curse" undermining sustainable policy.
In the international front Chavez’s Firebrand comments have colored his persona in the world arena. He is a staunch Cuban ally and has been a vocal supporter of Iran and Palestine against Israel. In September 2006, Chavez’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he referred to then US President George W Bush as "the devil", was met with applause. In November 2007 Chavez fell out with Spain after a run-in with King Juan Carlos during the final session of Ibero-American summit in Santiago. Last year however, Chavez congratulated Barack Obama on his election victory and has indicated he is ready to "start a process of
rapprochement" with the US.Chavez's opponents say he has undercut Venezuela's democracy by systematically concentrating power in his own hands. Some of the measures in support of this argument, which Chavez insists are meant only to uphold the laws, include:
- Refusal to renew licenses of dozens of critical radio stations and a television channel. A controversial law punishing journalists for writing ‘harmful’ material has also been introduced.
- Slashed budgets after opposition candidates captured five governorships and Venezuela's two biggest cities in elections.
- Nearly 400 politicians put under investigation for corruption, hence barred from running for office.
Public opinion despite having declined still depicts substantially high support for the controversial Latin American Leader. According to a recent Gallup survey President Hugo Chavez's popularity among Venezuelans has waned in recent years. Less than half of Venezuelans (47%) in August 2009 said they approved of Chavez' job performance however the number is still substantially higher then the 35% who voiced disapproval. Nevertheless the polarity of views both domestically and internationally regarding Hugo Chavez continues to fuel the debate.
Discussion Question:In your opinion whose case holds’s greater weight, Chavez’s proponents or his critics?
Bibliography/Related Links:
1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/124232/Chavismo-Losing-Steam-Venezuela.aspx
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavismo
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8180109.stm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1229348.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3517106.stm
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7858041.stm
7. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Arthur-Shaw-Why-is-Hugo-C-by-Arthur-Shaw-100103-628.html
8. http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20091213_intelligence_guidance_week_dec_13_2009
9. http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20100111_venezuela_upside_devaluation
10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7892196.stm
11. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1399092.html
12. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61703/michael-shifter/in-search-of-hugo-ch%C3%83%C2%A1vez
13. http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:Ip5ov0IVpTYJ:www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1399092.html+opponents+of+hugo+chavez&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk 14. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/03/venezuela.referendum/index.html
15. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64459/bernardo-alvarez-herrera-and-francisco-rodr%C3%83%C2%ADguez/revolutionary-road
1. http://www.gallup.com/poll/124232/Chavismo-Losing-Steam-Venezuela.aspx
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavismo
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8180109.stm
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1229348.stm
5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3517106.stm
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7858041.stm
7. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Arthur-Shaw-Why-is-Hugo-C-by-Arthur-Shaw-100103-628.html
8. http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20091213_intelligence_guidance_week_dec_13_2009
9. http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20100111_venezuela_upside_devaluation
10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7892196.stm
11. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1399092.html
12. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61703/michael-shifter/in-search-of-hugo-ch%C3%83%C2%A1vez
13. http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:Ip5ov0IVpTYJ:www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1399092.html+opponents+of+hugo+chavez&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk 14. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/03/venezuela.referendum/index.html
15. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64459/bernardo-alvarez-herrera-and-francisco-rodr%C3%83%C2%ADguez/revolutionary-road
16. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/57418/kurt-weyland/will-chavez-lose-his-luster
17. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63220/francisco-rodr%C3%83%C2%ADguez/an-empty-revolution
17. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63220/francisco-rodr%C3%83%C2%ADguez/an-empty-revolution
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Please Preview your comments before posting.
Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Please Preview your comments before posting.
