“…As I've explained, past research has shown that the centralization of political networks can limit the possibility of deliberation by limiting the diversity of opinions participating in debates. The political networks in Caracas have historically been dominated by a small number of players, most notably, the political parties (Levine and Crisp 1999;Ellner 1999: 77;Friedman 1999). Although stable, this system left little room for emerging social forces to find expression, or new identities to be experimented with.…”