Latin American
Perspectives just posted my article titled “Class Strategies in Chavista
Venezuela: Pragmatic and Populist Policies in a Broader Context.” The article
will be published in Latin American Perspective’s January issue that I am
coordinating on Pink Tide governments in Latin America.
Rowman and Littlefield
will be publishing the January issue in book form (slated for publication in
December 2019) with several new chapters (one by Bill Robinson on the economy, another
by Hilary Goodfriend another by Mabel Thwaites Rey on Argentina and my own
conclusion). The book will contain chapters on all eight Pink Tide governments.
Article ABSTRACT:
The governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro responded to the opposition’s
attempts at regime change by implementing pragmatic policies favoring
businesspeople who refused to participate in destabilization actions, as well
as populist social measures benefiting the nonprivileged. Both sets of policies
have to be placed in political context. The characterization of allegedly
pro-government businesspeople as a new ruling elite referred to as the boliburguesía
fails to take into account the sharp tensions between them and the Chavista
leadership. The primary importance of social programs in the Chavista political
triumphs over an extended period of time and of the periodic initiatives that
sparked life into individual programs implicitly rules out claims regarding the
government’s failure to alleviate poverty or achieve other social objectives.
The Chavista governments failed to take full advantage of favorable periods and
junctures when the opposition was demoralized following defeats in order to
correct the negative side effects of pragmatic and populist class policies,
such as bureaucratization and crony capitalism.
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