Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page Ii Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page Iii
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Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page i Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page ii Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page iii Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution Populism and democracy in a globalised age Barry Cannon Manchester University Press Manchester Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page iv Copyright © Barry Cannon 2009 The right of Barry Cannon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 978 0 7190 7771 5 hardback ISBN 978 0 7190 7772 2 paperback First published 2009 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or any third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not gurantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Typeset by Helen Skelton, Brighton, UK Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page v Contents List of abbreviations and terms page vii List of tables xi Acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 1 Populism and Latin America: context, causes, characteristics and consequences 12 2 Structural fractures, crises, the state and the emergence of Chávez 31 3 The leader and the led: hegemonic strategies in the leadership of Hugo Chávez 53 4 Populism, globalisation and the socioeconomic policies of the Chávez government 77 5 Democrat or authoritarian? Democracy in Bolivarian Venezuela in comparative perspective 111 6 The consequences and impact of populism: institutionalisation and democratisation in Chávez’s Venezuela 150 7 Venezuelan international relations in the age of globalisation 174 Conclusion: populism and democracy in a globalised age 203 Bibliography 209 Index 227 Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page vi Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page vii List of abbreviations and terms Abbreviations AD Acción Democrática (Democratic Action), one of the two main puntofijista political parties ALBA Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) ANC Assamblea Nacional Constituyente (National Constituent Assembly) APRA Allianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana (Popular Revolutionary American Alliance), Peruvian political party CAN Community of Andean Nations CCD Congreso Constituyuente Democrático (Democratic Constitutional Congress). Constituent Assembly, Peru CEPR Center for Economic and Policy Research CICPC Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation Force), the Venzuelan forensic police CITGO US-based subsidiary of PdVSA CNE Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Election Council) COPEI Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente (Independent Electoral Committee for Political Organisation), the second most important puntofijista party COPRE Comisión Presidencial para la Reforma del Estado (Presidential Commission for the Reform of the State) CTV Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (Venezuela Workers Council) DAI Development Alternatives Inc. DC Democratic Coordinator DEA US Drug Enforcement Agency Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page viii viii List of abbreviations and terms DISIP Dirección de los Servicios de Inteligencia y Prevención (Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services), the Venezuelan political police EAP economically active population ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean FAN Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales (National Armed Forces), the Venezuelan armed forces FARC Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), Colombian guerrilla group FEDECAMARAS Federación de Camaras de Comercio y Produción (Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Production), the peak Venezuelan business association FTA free trade agreement FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas GDP gross domestic product GN National Guard HDI human development index IDB Impuesto Débito Bancario (Banking Debit Tax) IFI international financial institutions, e.g.World Bank, IMF IMF International Monetary Fund IOs international organisations ISI import substitution industrialisation MAS Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Towards Socialism) MBR-200 Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario (Bolivarian Republican Movement) MERCOSUR Mercado Común del Sur (Southern Common Market) MVR Movimiento Quinta Republica (Fifth Republic Movement), Venezuelan ruling party under Chávez NED National Endowment for Democracy NGO non-governmental organisation NICs newly industrialised countries OAS Organisation of American States OIT USAID Office of Transition Initiatives OPEC Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries PCV Partido Comunista Venezolano (Venzuelan Communist Party) PdVSA Petróleos de Venezuela (Venezuelan Petroleum), the Venezuelan state oil company PP Polo Patriotico (Patriotic Pole) PPT Patria Para Todos (Motherland For All) PSUV Partido Socialista Unido de Venzuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela); replaced the MVR in 2007 SAP structural adjustment policy Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page ix List of abbreviations and terms ix SENIAT Servicio Nacional Integrado de Administración Aduanera y Tributaria (National Integrated Service for Customs and Taxation Administration), the Venezuelan tax agency SIN Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional (National Intelligence Service), Peru’s intelligence agency SUNAT Superintendencia Nacional de Administración Tributaria (National Superintendent for Taxation Administration), the Peruvian tax agency TNCs transnational corporations TSJ Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (Supreme Tribunal of Justice) UNASUR Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Union of South American Nations) UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNT Unión Nacional de Trabajadores (National Worker’s Union, Venezuela) USAID United States international development cooperation agency WTO World Trade Organisation Terms autogolpe self-coup caracazo massacre carried out by the security forces during the second Pérez presidency in February 1989 caudillo leader, usually military chavismo refers to the ideology of the movement led by President Chávez and to the movement itself Constituyente the process of forming a new Constitution for Venezuela democradura substantive dictatorship within formal democracy fujimorismo refers to the ideology of the movement led by President Fujimori of Peru and to the movement itself. mestizaje miscegenation misiones the various social programmes installed by the Chávez govern- ment pardo mixed race paro civíco lockout/strike of 2002–03 partidocracia political system entirely dominated by political parties and their associates pueblo the people Punto Fijo the pre-Chávez period in Venezuela (1958–93) puntofijismo bipartisan democratic regime which ruled Venezuela between 1958 and 1999. So named after the agreement or pact signed between the main political parties in the home of Rafael Caldera, leader of COPEI, named Punto Fijo Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page x x List of abbreviations and terms rondas campesinas military-controlled vigilante groups, Peru venezolanidad the concept of being Venezuelan;Venezuelan identity Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page xi List of tables 1.1 Analytic framework page 25 1.2 Populism in a wider theoretical context 26 2.1 Class/race polarisation in Venezuela – poll data 2000–06 43 2.2 Social class sectors population breakdown:Venezuela 44 2.3 Racial category breakdown:Venezuela 44 5.1 Democracy and participation 114 Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page xii Cannon 00 20/8/09 04:12 Page xiii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks to the following individuals and institutions for the help, encouragement and/or companionship they provided me during the time spent preparing this document: Professor Peadar Kirby, University of Limerick who while in the DCU School of Law and Government had faith in me and gave me the opportunity to realise this project, as well as providing constant and rigorous guidance. The rest of the staff of Law and Government, especially Dr John Doyle, Dr Gary Murphy and Mr David Doyle. Particular thanks goes to Julia Buxton, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, for a comprehensive review of the manuscript of this book and key recommendations without which it would not have achieved its present form.Thanks also to Diane Raby, Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Latin American Studies of the University of Liverpool for reviewing the manuscript of this book and advising on its contents. A number of people provided information for this book or reviewed sections of this book, either in its thesis form or in its present book form. These were: Maxwell Cameron, University of British Columbia, Canada; Ronaldo Munck, DCU; Margarita López Maya, FACES, University of Caracas, Venezuela; Steve Ellner, Universidad del Oriente, Barcelona,Venezuela. Special thanks goes to, Dr Mo Hume, University of Glasgow – sorry about the lack of a gender perspective Mo! Thanks to all those who agreed to be interviewed in Spain, Venezuela and Peru. Also to the library staff of CICOB Barcelona, Spain, special thanks to staff of the Interlibrary Loans Section of DCU Library, and to all staff in the libraries and institutions which I visited in Ireland, Spain, Peru and Venezuela. This work is dedicated to my mother,