Following Hugo Chávez’s election to the Venezuela’s presidency, where he remained from 1999 till his death of cancer in March 2013, the country went from being a representative, albeit flawed, democracy (1958–98) to being an “electoral authoritarian” or “competitive authoritarian” regime. But can the chavista model survive the demise of the strongman from whom it takes its name? By all appearances it has begun to break down with surprising speed since his death.
About the Author
Miriam Kornblith is director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. She has taught politics at the Central University of Venezuela, and from 1998 to 1999 served as a board member and vice-president of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council.
The conventional wisdom about Venezuela’s plight is largely mistaken. Only when Venezuelans recognize the real causes of their woes will they be able to make progress in overcoming them.
The left-right ideological divide has begun to narrow in Latin America as citizens and leaders increasingly choose a pragmatic approach to politics and embrace the rules of the democratic game.
