In Search of Hugo Chávez

Shifter, Michael

doi:10.2307/20031966

Cited by 23 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Aside from a general acceptance that in Venezuela President Hugo Chávez has used oil to fund his political projects (e.g., Shifter 2006), the role of export revenue in sustaining populism and leftism in Latin America has received little attention. Explaining the renaissance of populism in Argentina requires going beyond the political and economic variables customarily associated with populism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Export-Oriented Populism: Commodities and Coalitions in Argentina

Richardson

2008

St Comp Int Dev

107

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A new form of populism, combining broad-based benefits for urban workers with export promotion, emerged in Argentina under Néstor Kirchner (2003. This article argues that changes in agricultural production created the conditions for this "export-oriented populism." Historically, Argentina's main exports, beef and wheat, were also the primary consumption goods of urban workers. Scholars such as Guillermo O'Donnell have argued that this linkage increased rural-urban conflict, resulting in shifting coalitions and recurring crises. Today, soybeans have replaced beef and wheat as the country's leading export. Because soybeans are not consumed by the working class, Kirchner could both promote and tax their export, generating fiscal revenue for populist programs while not harming the effective purchasing power of urban workers or provoking a balance-of-payments crisis. Export orientation thus provided the basis for a new variant of Argentine populism. This study offers a new argument within the classic research tradition on the interaction between politics and various types of export growth. It likewise provides an additional basis for arguing that populism, as a form of politics, can arise in diverse economic circumstances. Furthermore, this article contends that, rather than uniformly promoting political stability, the effect of export booms is conditioned by the nature of economic linkages between the export sector and the domestic economy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Export-Oriented Populism: Commodities and Coalitions in Argentina

Richardson

2008

St Comp Int Dev

107

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“…Nevertheless, Venezuela constitutes one of the only states which has experienced marked retrograde progress in democratic rights and practices since the end of the Cold War (Freedom House 2007b, 2009a,b). Since his 1998 presidential election victory, Hugo Chavez has concentrated nearly all power in the office of the President, redirected state resources to support regime party candidates, stifled dissent, eroded civil liberties, shuttered independent network RCTV (a network critical of Chavez), and packed the national court with loyalists (Freedom House 2007b; Shifter 2006).…”

Section: Mercosur and Democracy Promotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Trade Agreements and Democracy Promotion: Measuring the Influence of Democracy Requirements in Regional Trade Agreements

Collins

2010

Politics & Policy

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This article examines the capacity of regional trade agreements (RTAs) to assist and foster democracy in their respective regions. While the principal raison d'être of RTAs is to stimulate economic growth among its member states, several regional trade associations have embedded democratic requirements into their governance documents. These requirements elevate democracy to a fundamental value of the associations, and mandate (in most instances) that both current and candidate members possess and uphold democratic political systems and practices. This article examines the regional impact of democracy requirements in trade blocs by exploring four leading RTAs: the European Union, NAFTA Mercosur, and ASEAN. The article finds that the ability to promote democracy is impacted by three primary RTA characteristics: (1) the material benefits of membership; (2) the intensity of political and economic integration among member states; and (3) the level of democratic consolidation exhibited by member states. Este artículo examina la capacidad de los acuerdos comerciales regionales para ayudar y fomentar la democracia en sus respectivas regiones. Mientras que la principal razón de ser de los acuerdos comerciales es la de estimular el crecimiento económico entre sus estados miembros, muchas asociaciones comerciales regionales han incluido requerimientos democráticos dentro de sus documentos de gobierno. Estos requerimientos elevan a la democracia como un valor fundamental de las asociaciones, y ordenan que (en la mayoría de los casos) tanto los estados miembro como los candidatos, posean y mantengan los sistemas políticos democráticos y sus prácticas. Este artículo examina el impacto regional de los requerimientos de la democracia en bloques comerciales al explorar cuatro acuerdos comerciales regionales destacados: la Unión Europea, TLCAN, Mercosur, y ASEAN. El estudio encuentra que la habilidad de promover la democracia es influida por tres características de dichos acuerdos: (1) los beneficios materiales de la membresía; (2) la intensidad de la integración política y económica entre sus miembros; y (3) el nivel de la consolidación democrática demostrada por sus estados miembros.

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“…The authors of the report find this evidence damaging for predictions that the economy is headed for some sort of collapse. Furthermore, scholars report that poverty has increased under Chávez (e.g., Corrales 2006;Castañeda 2006;Shifter 2006 Finally, the Venezuelan case raises questions about the analytical categories of activism, anti-capitalism, revolution, and the role of the state. While there is no room to discuss these here, I am confident that further ethnographic research will yield new meanings for these categories.…”

Section: Getting the Analysis Rightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemos Derrotado El Diablo! Chávez Supporters, Anti-Neoliberalism, and Twenty-First-Century Socialism

Ramírez

2008

Identities

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This article argues that the Venezuelan refusal of Washington's neoliberal economic development project is best analyzed in the context of the anti-imperialist Bolivarian Revolution and anti-neoliberal development of twenty-first-century socialism. These projects are more than just critiques of capitalism; they are real policies and lived experiences in the transformation of local, national, and hemispheric power relationships. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted periodically between 2003 and 2007, I move between macro-policy and on-the-ground experiences to discuss post-capitalist institutions simultaneously with the lived experiences of Chávez supporters, who are the strength of the counter-hegemonic movement. I conclude by discussing the implications of the Venezuelan case for conceptualizing democracy.

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In Search of Hugo Chávez

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Export-Oriented Populism: Commodities and Coalitions in Argentina

Export-Oriented Populism: Commodities and Coalitions in Argentina

Regional Trade Agreements and Democracy Promotion: Measuring the Influence of Democracy Requirements in Regional Trade Agreements

Hemos Derrotado El Diablo! Chávez Supporters, Anti-Neoliberalism, and Twenty-First-Century Socialism

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