Chavismo

Chavismo is the name given to the left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the present president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.^[1] Chavista is a term to describe strong supporters of Chavez, which is closely associated with support for Chavismo.^[2]

Several political parties in Venezuela support chavismo. The main party, directly affiliated with Chávez, is the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Spanish: Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, usually referred to by the three letters, PSUV). Other parties and movements supporting chavismo include Homeland for All (Spanish: Patria Para Todos or PPT), and Tupamaros.

The left-wing Movement for Socialism (Spanish: Movimiento al Socialismo or MAS) and Radical Cause (Spanish: Causa R) initially supported chavismo, but they have since distanced themselves from it, and now oppose it.^{[citation needed]}

A 2002 article in The Boston Globe said chavismo "fueled the eruption of public fury that swept the charismatic and confrontational president back into power after a group of military officers deposed him for two days in April in favor of a businessman-president," adding that the "Chavismo phenomenon has almost religious qualities."^[3]

Writing in The Weekly Standard, Thor Halvorssen Mendoza says that "At [Chavismo's] core is a far-reaching foreign policy that aims to establish a loosely aligned federation of revolutionary republics as a resistance bloc in the Americas".

Noam Chomsky has expressed a certain degree of support for Chavez and his policies. “I have been quite interested in his policies,” Chomsky said. “Personally, I think many of them are quite constructive.” Most important, he said, Chavez seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in his country. “He has gone through six closely supervised elections,”^[4]

According to an article in the New York Sun, Chavezism was rejected in recent elections in Peru, Colombia and Mexico,^[5] and El Universal reports that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva distanced himself from Chavezism, saying that Brazil is not Venezuela, and has traditional institutions.^[6]

The Nation on its editorial pages notes:

Chavismo is not an adequate description of the social movement that makes up Chávez's political base, since many organizations predate his rise to political power, and their leaders and cadre have a sophisticated understanding of their relationship with Chávez. Over the last couple of years, a number of social scientists have done field work in urban barrios, and their findings confirm that this synergy between the central government and participatory local organizations has expanded, not restricted, debate and that democracy is thriving in Venezuela. Chavismo has ripped open the straitjacket of post-cold war Latin American discourse, particularly the taboo against government regulation of the economy and economic redistribution. Public policy, including economic policy, is now open to discussion and, importantly, popular influence. This is in sharp contrast to Costa Rica, where a few months ago its Supreme Court, with the support of its executive branch, prohibited public universities from not just opposing but even debating the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which soon won a national referendum by a razor-thin margin.^[7]

Notes

See also

• List of political parties in Venezuela
• Solidarity economy