What is Chavismo?
Chavismo is the political movement built around Hugo Chávez, a former army officer who won Venezuela's presidency in 1998 and led the country until he died in 2013. It calls itself the Bolivarian Revolution, after the independence hero Simón Bolívar. Supporters say it gave a voice and a share of the country's oil wealth to the poor, who felt ignored by older parties. Opponents say it weakened democracy, wrecked the economy and made Venezuela dependent on one leader. The movement mixes socialism, nationalism, Latin American unity and a very personal style of leadership. Chávez spoke of building the socialism of the twenty-first century, though its exact meaning was never fixed.
Core beliefs
- Oil wealth belongs to the people and should pay for health, food, education and housing.
- The state should lead the economy and take over key firms and farmland.
- Ordinary people should take part directly, through councils, referendums and mass mobilization.
- Latin American countries should unite and resist domination by the United States.
- A strong, popular leader is needed to break the power of the old elites.
- Bolívar's ideals of independence and unity guide the nation.
History
Chávez first became known in 1992, when he led a failed army coup against the elected government. After prison he turned to elections and won in 1998 on a promise to rewrite the rules. A new constitution came in 1999 and gave the country a new name, the Bolivarian Republic. In April 2002 he was briefly removed in a coup attempt and then returned to power within days. Later that year and into 2003 an oil industry strike hit the economy. Rising oil prices then paid for the Misiones, programs for literacy, clinics, subsidized food and housing. Poverty figures fell during the boom. Chávez won re-election in 2006 and 2012, and in 2007 he lost a referendum on constitutional changes. After his death in 2013 the movement stayed in power under his chosen successor. Oil prices fell in 2014, inflation soared, and millions of Venezuelans left the country.
Variants
Some Chavistas stress the grassroots side: communes, workers' councils and local organizing. Others stress the party and the military as the backbone of the movement. A third group sees it mainly as a nationalist project to use oil for national development. Outside Venezuela, other left-wing governments in Latin America sometimes borrowed from Chávez's example, though each had its own aims.
Criticisms
Critics point to price controls, seizures of private firms, shortages, and one of the worst inflation crises on record. Human rights groups and many foreign observers say courts, the electoral system and the media came under growing government control, and that protesters and opponents faced arrests. They also argue that the movement relied too heavily on oil and did too little to build other industries. Supporters reply that the country faced coup attempts, strikes, falling oil prices and sanctions that made normal government impossible. They add that earlier governments had done little for the poor.
In practice
Chavismo has been Venezuela's governing movement since 1999, and it has shaped politics across the region. Its record is judged very differently depending on the observer. On the 12 axes it scores strongly toward Shared on Welfare and Planned on Markets, and toward Strong leader on Authority. Its lean toward Strength on Foreign policy fits its sovereignty-first stance toward Washington, even though it also built regional alliances.