Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T07:04:20.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic: The Agony of Democracy in Venezuela

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Aníbal Romero
Aníbal Romero*
Affiliation:
Simón Bolívar University
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

If one is to believe what a good number of commentators on the Venezuelan political scene have written over the years, democracy in that country has been in perpetual crisis. By at least the mid-1970s, the view that the democratic system established in 1958 was deteriorating rapidly had become widely accepted in the Venezuelan press and among Venezuelan academic analysts. It was not always clear, however, exactly what was meant by “the crisis” (Peña 1978; Stempel-Paris 1981; Romero 1986). This perception of crisis intensified some years later, to the point that one outsider observed in 1984 that according to the prevailing view of democracy in Venezuela, the political system must be totally bankrupt and its survival could be explained only as the result “of an unprecedented act of political will or of the imbecility of the population” (Baloyra n.d., 2).

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , 1997 , pp. 7 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

∗

I am indebted to Robert Bond for the characterization used in the title. The original version of this article was presented to the Latin American Studies Association in Washington, D.C., 28–30 September 1995.

References

REFERENCES

Alexander, Robert 1964 The Venezuelan Democratic Revolution. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Ball, Carlos A. 1994 “The Social Consequences of Rapid Economic Development: The Case of Venezuela.” Veneconomy Monthly 11, no. 13 (Sept.):30–32.Google Scholar
Baloyra, Enrique n.d. “Public Opinion and Support for the Regime, 1973–1983.” Manuscript.Google Scholar
Bermeo, Nancy 1992 “Democracy and the Lessons of Dictatorship.” Comparative Politics 24, no. 3:273–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernhard, Michael 1994 “Riding the Next Wave: Recent Books on Democratization.” Studies in Comparative International Development 29, no. 1:50–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blank, D. E. 1973 Politics in Venezuela. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Bond, Robert 1992 “Why Venezuela Failed at Economic Reform.” Veneconomy Monthly 10, no. 1 (Oct.):1–3.Google Scholar
Bottome, Robert, and Timmons, Jeff 1995 “December Elections: Nothing to Celebrate.” Veneconomy Monthly 13, no. 3 (Dec.):10–12.Google Scholar
Bracher, Karl Dietrich 1995 Turning Points in Modern Times. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Cammack, Paul 1985 “Democratization: A Review of the Issues.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 4, no. 2:39–46.Google Scholar
Canto, Leandro 1989 Los años del gatopardo: La saga de Jaime Lusinchi. Caracas: Certum.Google Scholar
Chaudhry, Kiren Aziz 1994 “Economic Liberalization and the Lineages of the Rentier State.” Comparative Politics 27, no. 1:1–25.Google Scholar
Coleman, Kenneth, and Davis, Charles L. 1976 “The Structural Context of Politics and Dimensions of Regime Support Performance: Their Importance for the Comparative Study of Political Efficacy.” Comparative Political Studies 9, no. 2:189–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coppedge, Michael 1994 “Prospects for Democratic Governability in Venezuela.” Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs 36, no. 2:39–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coronil, Fernando 1988 The Magic State: History and Illusion in the Appearance of Venezuelan Democracy. Kellogg Working Paper no. 112. Notre Dame, Ind.: Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame.Google Scholar
Crisp, Brian F., Levine, Daniel H., and Rey, Juan Carlos 1995 “The Legitimacy Problem.” In MCCOY ET AL. 1995, 139–70.Google Scholar
Deutsch, Karl 1963 The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and Control. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry 1996 “Democracy in Latin America: Degrees, Illusions, and Directions for Consolidation.” In Beyond Sovereignty: Collectively Defending Democracy in a World of Sovereign States, edited by Farer, Tom, 52–104. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Dornbusch, Rudiger, and Edwards, Sebastian 1990 “La macroeconomia del populismo en la América Latina.” El Trimestre Económico, no. 225 (Jan.–Mar.):121–62.Google Scholar
Elliott, Claudia J. n.d. “Rethinking Representation: Democratic Development in Complex Societies, Mexico and Venezuela.” Ph.D. diss. in progress, Brown University.Google Scholar
Funaro, Rita 1994a “Dictatorship in Disguise.” Veneconomy Monthly 11, no. 10 (July):3–5.Google Scholar
Funaro, Rita 1994b “1994: Looking Back.” Veneconomy Monthly 12, no. 3 (Dec.):3–7.Google Scholar
Garcia-Pelayo, Manuel 1981 Los mitos políticos. Madrid: Alianza.Google Scholar
Gay, Peter 1970 Weimar Culture. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Gil Yepez, J. A. 1995 “¿En cuál escenario está Venezuela?” Paper presented at the VI Seminario Presidencial-Veneconomía, Puerto La Cruz (Venezuela), 30 June–1 July.Google Scholar
Handel, Michael 1976 Perception, Deception, and Surprise: The Case of the Yom Kippur War. Jerusalem: Hebrew University Press.Google Scholar
Hever, R. J. 1982 “Cognitive Factors in Deception and Counter-Deception.” In Strategic Military Deception, edited by Daniel, D. C. and Herbig, K. L., 211–37. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Hirschman, Albert O. 1970 Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel J. 1991 The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Jervis, Robert 1976 Perception and Misperception in International Politics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Karl, Terry Lynn 1986 “Petroleum and Political Pacts: The Transition to Democracy in Venezuela.” In Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Latin America, edited by O'Donnell, Guillermo and Schmitter, Philippe, 196–236. Baltimore, Md.: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Karl, Terry Lynn n.d. The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Keller, Alfredo 1993 “Las actitudes de la opinión pública en Centroamérica con relación a la democracia.” In Periodismo y democratización en Centroamérica, 112–34. Panama City: Konrad Adenauer Foundation.Google Scholar
Kuhn, Thomas 1970 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Kuran, Timur 1991 “Now out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989.” In Liberalization and Democratization: Change in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, edited by Bermeo, Nancy, 7–48. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Levine, Daniel 1973 Conflict and Political Change in Venezuela. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Levine, Daniel 1978 “Venezuela since 1958: The Consolidation of Democratic Politics.” In LINZ AND STEPAN 1978, 82–109.Google Scholar
Levine, Daniel 1985 “The Transition to Democracy: Are There Lessons from Venezuela?” Bulletin of Latin American Research 4, no. 2:47–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, Daniel 1989 “Venezuela: The Nature, Sources, and Prospects for Democracy.” In Democracy in Developing Countries: Latin America, edited by Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Lipset, Seymour Martin, 247–90. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Levine, Daniel 1994 “Goodbye to Venezuelan Exceptionalism.” Journal of Inter-American Studies and World Affairs 36, no. 4:145–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linares-Benzo, Gustavo J. 1995 “Bozal de Arepa and Other Public Policies.” Economía Hoy, 21 de Julio (published in Caracas).Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J. 1978 “The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Crisis, Breakdown, and Reequilibration.” In LINZ AND STEPAN 1978, 3–124.Google Scholar
Linz, Juan J., and Stepan, Alfred, EDS. 1978 The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Lopez, Margarita, and Gomez, Luis 1985 Desarrollo y hegemonía en la sociedad venezolana, 1958–1985. CENDES Working Paper. Caracas: CENDES, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas.Google Scholar
Mccoy, Jennifer, Al., Et, EDS. 1995 Venezuelan Democracy under Stress. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction.Google Scholar
Mccoy, Jennifer, and Smith, William C. 1995 From Deconsolidation to Reequilibration? The Prospects for Democratic Renewal in Venezuela. Research Paper no. 53. Atlanta: College of Business Administration, Georgia State University.Google Scholar
Myers, David J. 1995 “Perceptions of a Stressed Democracy: Inevitable Decay or Foundation for Rebirth?” In MCCOY ET AL. 1995, 107–37.Google Scholar
Naim, Moises 1993 Paper Tigers and Minotaurs: The Politics of Venezuela's Economic Reforms. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Google Scholar
Navarro, Juan Carlos 1994 “Reversal of Fortune: The Ephemeral Success of Adjustment in Venezuela between 1989 and 1993.” In-house document, World Bank Project on Governance and Successful Adjustment in Venezuela, Caracas.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo 1972 Modernización y autoritarismo. Buenos Aires: Paidós.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, Guillermo 1994 “Delegative Democracy.” Journal of Democracy 5, no. 1:55–69.Google Scholar
Parsons, Talcott 1968 “Emile Durkheim.” In International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by D. L. Sills, 4:311–19. London and New York: Macmillan and Free Press.Google Scholar
PeÑA, Alfredo 1978 Democracia y reforma del estado. Caracas: Jurídica Venezolana.Google Scholar
Perry, William 1996 The Venezuelan Local Elections of 1995. Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of the Americas.Google Scholar
Philip, George 1992 “Venezuelan Democracy and the Coup Attempt of February 1992.” Government and Opposition 27, no. 4:455–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam 1991 Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam n.d. “Capitalism, Democracy, Pacts.” Manuscript.Google Scholar
Purroy, Miguel I. 1995 “El gobierno tiene un plan.” Seminario Interdiocesano de Caracas, no. 575:202–5 (published in Caracas).Google Scholar
Rey, Juan Carlos 1989 El futuro de la democracia en Venezuela. Caracas: Instituto de Estudios Avanzados.Google Scholar
Rey, Juan Carlos 1991 “La democracia venezolana y la crisis del sistema populista de conciliación.” Revista de Estudios Políticos, no. 74:533–78 (published in Madrid).Google Scholar
Rey, Juan Carlos 1992 “Apogeo y decadencia de la democracia representativa.” In América Latina: Alternativas para la democracia, edited by Alzuru, A. Caracas: Monte Avila.Google Scholar
Rey, Juan Carlos 1993 “La crisis de la legitimidad en Venezuela y el enjuiciamiento y remoción de Carlos Andrés Pérez de la Presidencia de la República.” Boletín Electoral Latinoamericano (Jan.–June):67–112 (published by IDH-CAPEL in San José).Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1986 La miseria del populismo: Mitos y realidades de la democracia en Venezuela. Caracas: Centauro.Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1989a América Latina: Militares, integración, y democracia. Caracas: Instituto de Altos Estudios de América Latina, Universidad Simón Bolívar.Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1989b The Crisis and Prospects of Venezuelan Democracy. Stanford, Calif.: Hoover Institution.Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1992 La sorpresa en la guerra y la política. Caracas: Panapo.Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1994 Decadencia y crisis de la democracia: ¿A dónde va la democracia venezolana? Caracas: Panapo.Google Scholar
Romero, Anibal 1995 “Corruption as Political Myth and Symbol: The Case of Venezuela.” Paper presented to the workshop “Democratization and Corruption in the Western Hemisphere,” 8 May, North-South Center, University of Miami, Florida.Google Scholar
Sabino, Carlos 1994 De cómo un estado rico nos llevó a la pobreza. Caracas: Panapo.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Rodolfo 1994 “La venganza de Caldera.” Pulso (Oct.–Dec.):18–21 (published in Miami).Google Scholar
Serbin, Andres, and Stambouli, Andres 1993 “La democracia bajo presión: Un análisis politológico.” In Venezuela: La democracia bajo presión, edited by AndrÉS SerbÍN, Jennifer Mccoy, and Stambouli, AndrÉS, 12–41. Caracas: Nueva Sociedad.Google Scholar
Stempel-Paris, Antonio 1981 Venezuela, una democracia enferma. Caracas: Ateneo.Google Scholar
Tarre, Gustavo 1994 El espejo roto: 4-F 1992. Caracas: Panapo.Google Scholar
Templeton, Andrew 1995 “The Evolution of Popular Opinion.” In Lessons of the Venezuelan Experience, edited by Louis W. Goodman, Johanna Mendelson Forman, MoisÉS NaÍM, Joseph S. Tulchin, and Bland, Gary, 79–113. Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Md.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Torres, Aristides 1985 Fé y desencanto democrático en Venezuela. Caracas: Centro de Estudios de Historia Actual, Universidad Central de Venezuela.Google Scholar
Torres, Aristides 1990 “La evolución de las actitudes hacia el sistema político en Venezuela.” Unpublished data analysis, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas.Google Scholar
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 1995–1996 Informes nacionales sobre derechos humanos: Venezuela. Caracas: USIS, Boletín de Prensa, Embajada de los Estados Unidos.Google Scholar
VENECONOMIA 1995 Perspectivas económicas, políticas y sociales de Venezuela, 1995–2000. Caracas: Veneconomía.Google Scholar