Giro a la izquierda y regreso del populismo
ISSN: 0251-3552
Year of publication: 2006
Issue Title: América Latina en tiempos de Chávez
Issue: 205
Pages: 62-74
Type: Article
More publications in: Nueva sociedad
Abstract
The ideological climate in Latin America has changed. In some countries where progressive parties have deep roots, this has enabled democratic Left forces to assume the government. In others, however, the change has come by way of populism. Hugo Chávez¿s Venezuela is the most outstanding case of a return to populism in its traditional redistributive form. This article argues that, with an exaggerated view of his regional importance and aided by the oil rent, Chávez runs the risk of becoming a destabilizing force by projecting the polarization of Venezuelan society to the rest of Latin America.