Chavismo

{{short description|Left-wing political ideology}} {{italic title}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Chavism|Chav|Chauvinism}} {{Update|date=August 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}

'''''Chavismo''''' ({{IPA|es|tʃaˈβizmo}}), also known in English as '''Chavism''' or '''Chavezism''', is a left-wing populist political ideology based on the ideas, programs, and government style associated with Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro.<ref>{{cite web|last=Morsbach|first=Greg|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4502272.stm|title=Chavez opponents face tough times|work=BBC News|date=6 December 2005|access-date=3 June 2018}}</ref> It combines elements of socialist patriotism,<ref>{{cite news|title=El chavismo es el patriotismo|url=http://diariovea.com.ve/politica/el-chavismo-es-el-patriotismo/|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=Diario VEA|date=25 June 2012|language=es|archive-date=21 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221191444/http://diariovea.com.ve/politica/el-chavismo-es-el-patriotismo/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=El internacionalismo de Hugo Chávez|url=http://www.olabolivariana.org.ve/difunde-la-verdad-2/el-internacionalismo-de-hugo-chavez/|publisher=Ola Bolivariana|access-date=6 March 2014|language=es|date=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306042846/http://www.olabolivariana.org.ve/difunde-la-verdad-2/el-internacionalismo-de-hugo-chavez/|archive-date=6 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bolivarianism, and Latin American integration.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fraija|first=Farith|title=El chavismo es un bien colectivo del pueblo, que ha demostrado defender a toda costa su continuidad|url=http://www.noticias24.com/venezuela/noticia/142358/el-chavismo-es-un-bien-colectivo-del-pueblo-que-ha-demostrado-defender-su-continuidad/|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=Noticias24|date=20 December 2012|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207155803/https://www.noticias24.com/venezuela/noticia/142358/el-chavismo-es-un-bien-colectivo-del-pueblo-que-ha-demostrado-defender-su-continuidad/|archive-date=7 February 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> People who supported Hugo Chávez and ''Chavismo'' are known as ''Chavistas''.

==Policies== {{Populism sidebar}} Several political parties in Venezuela support ''Chavismo''. The main party, founded by Chávez, is the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ({{langx|es|Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela|links=no}}), usually referred to by the four letters PSUV).{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} Other parties and movements supporting ''Chavismo'' include Fatherland for All (Spanish: ''Patria Para Todos'' or PPT) and ''Tupamaros''.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

Broadly, ''Chavismo'' policies include nationalization, social welfare programs and opposition to neoliberalism (particularly the policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank). According to Chávez, Venezuelan socialism accepts private property,<ref>{{cite news|last=Sivaramakrishnan|first=Arvind|title=Hugo Chávez: Death of a socialist|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/hugo-chvez-death-of-a-socialist/article4481169.ece|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=6 March 2013}}</ref> but seeks to promote social ownership as well.<ref>{{cite news|last=Salmerón|first=Víctor|title=Plan Chávez prevé crear 30 mil empresas de propiedad social|url=http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120613/plan-chavez-preve-crear-30-mil-empresas-de-propiedad-social|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=El Universal|date=13 June 2012|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Azzellini|first=Dario|title=The Communal State: Communal Councils, Communes, and Workplace Democracy|work=NACLA |url=https://nacla.org/article/communal-state-communal-councils-communes-and-workplace-democracy|publisher=North American Congress on Latin America|access-date=3 February 2014}}</ref>

==Support==

[[File:Maduro with supportes at Jan 2019 inauguration.jpg|thumb|250px|Nicolás Maduro with supporters at Maduro's second inauguration on 10 January 2019]] According to political scientist John Magdaleno, the proportion of Venezuelans who define themselves as ''Chavistas'' declined from 44% to around 22% between October 2012 and December 2014, after the death of Hugo Chávez and the deterioration of the economy during Nicolás Maduro's tenure.<ref name=ENmarzo3>{{cite news|title=AFP: Gobierno de Maduro empeoró inflación, devaluación y pobreza que dejó Chávez|url=http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/AFP-Gobierno-Maduro-devaluacion-Chavez_0_584941529.html|access-date=4 March 2015|agency=El Nacional|date=3 March 2015}}</ref> In February 2014, a poll conducted by International Consulting Services, an organization created by Juan Vicente Scorza, a sociologist and anthropologist for the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lopez|first1=Victor|title=Dr. Juan Scorza, docente de la Unefa, realizará charla: "16 Tipos de Personalidades", en la "Jornada de Salud"|url=http://www.unefa.edu.ve/caracas/noticias.php?r2t1rg4=v1rn4v2r1s&Gftund=MTM0OA==&r1ng4s=n4v2r1s|publisher=National Experimental University of the Armed Forces|access-date=9 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403034919/http://www.unefa.edu.ve/caracas/noticias.php?r2t1rg4=v1rn4v2r1s&Gftund=MTM0OA==&r1ng4s=n4v2r1s|archive-date=3 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> found that 62% of Venezuelans consider themselves supporters or followers of the ideals of Chávez.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icslatam.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Encuesta-ICS-febrero-2015.pdf|title=Sondeos de opinión VENEZUELA - Encuesta ICS Febrero 2015|publisher=International Consulting Services|date=24 February 2015|access-date=6 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402140144/http://www.icslatam.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Encuesta-ICS-febrero-2015.pdf|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

By 2016, many ''Chavistas'' became disenchanted with the Bolivarian government under Maduro and sought to emigrate from Venezuela to a more stable country.<ref>{{cite news|last=Woody|first=Christopher|title='The tipping point': More and more Venezuelans are uprooting their lives to escape their country's crises|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/venezuela-migration-economic-political-crisis-2016-11|access-date=6 December 2016|work=Business Insider|date=2 December 2016}}</ref>

==Criticism== [[File:Banner at demonstrations and protests against Chavismo and Nicolas Maduro government 10.jpg|thumb|250px|Banner at demonstrations and protests against ''Chavismo'' and the Nicolás Maduro government.]] Despite its claim to socialist rhetoric, ''Chavismo'' has been frequently described as being state capitalist by critics.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bremmer|first=Ian|title=The Rise Of State-Controlled Capitalism|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126835124|access-date=8 October 2018|date=17 May 2010}}</ref> In a 2017 interview, after being asked if he would take Venezuela's failing economy as an admission that socialism "wrecked people's lives", philosopher Noam Chomsky said: "I never described Chavez's state capitalist government as 'socialist' or even hinted at such an absurdity. It was quite remote from socialism. Private capitalism remained ... Capitalists were free to undermine the economy in all sorts of ways, like massive export of capital."<ref>{{cite news|last=Stossel|first=John|title=Noam Chomsky's Venezuela Lesson|url=https://reason.com/archives/2017/05/31/noam-chomskys-venezuela-lesson|access-date=8 October 2018|date=31 May 2017}}</ref> Critics also frequently point towards Venezuela's large private sector. In 2009, roughly 70% of Venezuela's gross domestic product was created by the private sector.<ref>{{cite news|title=What socialism? Private sector still dominates Venezuelan economy despite Chavez crusade|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/what-socialism-private-sector-still-dominates-venezuelan-economy-despite-chavez-crusade/|work=Fox News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=8 October 2018|date=18 July 2010}}</ref>

=== Normalization === According to ''El Pitazo'' "normalization of Chavismo" is a political and sociological concept used by analysts, journalists, and the Venezuelan opposition to describe the processes and actors that contribute to the acceptance and legitimization of the Bolivarian Revolution, led by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and Nicolás Maduro, despite criticisms regarding its authoritarian nature and democratic backsliding in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elpitazo.net/opinion/la-naturaleza-de-la-dictadura-los-normalizadores-y-la-oposicion-1/|title=La naturaleza de la dictadura, los normalizadores y la oposición (1)|last=de la Mancha|first=Manuel|date=23 November 2024|website=El Pitazo|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref> Analysts say this involves the progressive adaptation of various internal and external sectors to the stabilization of Chavista political control. This process, they argue, occurs through the reduction of political confrontation, transforming what much of the international community has classified as a political and humanitarian crisis into a situation described by some as "authoritarian peace".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lga.lagranaldea.com/2024/04/11/paz-autoritaria-un-falso-y-peligroso-oximoron/|title="Paz autoritaria", un falso y peligroso oxímoron|last=Molina Galdi|first=Walter|date=11 April 2024|website={{ill|La Gran Aldea (website)|lt=La Gran Aldea|es|La Gran Aldea (sitio web)}}|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

According to ''Infobae'', the use of the term intensified beginning in 2019, following the failure of the "maximum pressure" and international isolation strategy promoted and led by Juan Guaidó and his international allies (primarily the United States). Faced with the impossibility of an immediate democratic breakthrough or regime change, parts of the Venezuelan opposition and global actors began to incline toward negotiation and coexistence. This led, among other things, to the return of the Unitary Platform to the electoral arena in the 2021 regional elections, and to the end of the "interim government" in late 2022 by the so-called "G4", composed at the time of Primero Justicia, Acción Democrática, Un Nuevo Tiempo, and Voluntad Popular, which were the majority opposition parties holding the absolute majority in the National Assembly elected in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/opinion/2020/02/23/la-inmoral-pretension-de-normalizar-a-maduro/|title=La inmoral pretensión de normalizar a Maduro|last=Schamis|first=Héctor|date=23 February 2020|website=Infobae|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

The concept regained relevance after the 2024 presidential election, a process widely questioned by observers and parts of the opposition due to alleged irregularities and the disqualification of the unitary candidate, María Corina Machado. The National Electoral Council did not publish detailed voting results, while the opposition published over 80% of voting records verified by independent organizations, which declared the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lagranaldea.com/2025/09/25/venezuela-la-normalizacion-fallida-crimenes-de-lesa-humanidad-bajo-la-apariencia-de-elecciones/|title=Venezuela: la normalización fallida — crímenes de lesa humanidad bajo la apariencia de elecciones|date=25 September 2025|website={{ill|La Gran Aldea (website)|lt=La Gran Aldea|es|La Gran Aldea (sitio web)}}|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

While the majority opposition bloc, represented by Machado and González, has promoted actions to disregard the official result by seeking international support and the designation of the Cartel of the Suns as an international terrorist organization, with the ultimate goal of achieving a peaceful transition to democracy, the sectors referred to as "normalizers" have advocated for the tacit acceptance of the official 2024 result (which declared Nicolás Maduro as the winner) and the continuation of electoral participation under CNE-imposed conditions. This faction argues that the institutional path must be followed and that it is necessary to "preserve spaces" rather than promote abstention, which they claim has failed in past attempts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eldiario.com/2025/05/20/entrevista-tomas-guanipa-elecciones/|title=Tomás Guanipa: "Nuestro voto es una herramienta de protesta y hay que ejercerla con mucha fuerza"|last=Flores|first=Jordan|date=20 May 2025|website=eldiario|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref> Examples include the participation of Un Nuevo Tiempo and {{ill|Unión y Cambio|es}} (a party created by former members of Primero Justicia) in the parliamentary and regional elections of 2025. This stance is criticized by the Unitary Platform, whose members believe that these actions consolidate the Chavista regime's power while using these actors as a "façade of political pluralism".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bitlyanews.com/principales/maria-corina-machado-apunta-contra-los-normalizadores-de-maduro-no-saben-el-dano-que-hacen-a-venezuela/|title=María Corina Machado apunta contra los "normalizadores" de Maduro: "No saben el daño que hacen a Venezuela"|date=23 November 2024|website=AlbertoNews|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lga.lagranaldea.com/2024/11/15/contra-los-barbaros-y-normalizadores/|title=Contra los bárbaros y normalizadores|date=15 November 2024|website={{ill|La Gran Aldea (website)|lt=La Gran Aldea|es|La Gran Aldea (sitio web)}}|language=es|access-date=28 October 2025}}</ref>

==Academic views on ''Chavismo''== Academic research produced about ''Chavismo'' shows a considerable consensus when acknowledging its early shift to the left and its strong populist component. However, besides these two points there is significant disagreement in the literature. According to Kirk A. Hawkins, scholars are generally divided into two camps: a liberal democratic one that sees ''Chavismo'' as an instance of democratic backsliding and a radical democratic one that upholds ''Chavismo'' as the fulfillment of its aspirations for democracy. Hawkins argues that the most important division between these two groups is neither methodological nor theoretical, but ideological. It is a division over basic normative views of democracy: liberalism versus radicalism<ref name=hawkins>{{cite journal|last=Hawkins|first=Kirk A.|date=2016|title=Chavismo, Liberal Democracy, and Radical Democracy|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=19|pages=311–329|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-072314-113326|issue=1|doi-access=free}}, p. 312</ref>

===Liberal democracy approach=== Scholars in this camp adhered to a classical liberal ideology that valued procedural democracy (competitive elections, widespread participation defined primarily in terms of voting and civil liberties) as the political means best suited to achieving human welfare. Many of these scholars had a liberal vision of economics, although some were moderate social democrats who were critical of neoliberalism. Together, they saw ''Chavismo'' in a mostly negative light as a case of democratic backsliding or even competitive authoritarianism or electoral authoritarian regime. The most relevant aspects of the liberal critique of ''Chavismo'' are the following: #Failure to ensure free and fair elections due to fraud or frequent changes of electoral rules. The government also violates principles of electoral freedom, especially during and after the 2004 presidential recall election. Many of these violations would be possible due to bias within the National Electoral Council.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|314}} #Violation of civil liberties. A number of civil liberties saw significant reverses under the Chávez government, including the right of association and freedom of expression. Some of the most significant setbacks are in media freedom, where Chavism has used several means to constrain the operation of commercial media.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|315}} #Infringement of separation of powers. Liberal scholars argue that ''Chavismo'' eliminates the separation of powers between the branches of government by manipulating to produce a super majority to the supreme court. Besides, by 2006, the government had fired hundreds of judges in lower courts as well and threatened to remove and prosecute any judge who dared to rule against the government.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|316}} #Political discrimination and exclusion of opposition parties. Under ''Chavista'' governments, state resources are used to favor the incumbent, the opposition parties lack access to media, and legal institutions are captured by the incumbent. Besides, many sources cited by liberal scholars suggest that the government's participatory initiatives are used as campaign infrastructure.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|316}} #Undermining the rule of law. Liberal critics present three majors examples to sustain that: (i) the politicization of the judiciary and the bureaucracy violated due process and facilitated the growth of corruption; (ii) the state's willingness to intervene in and expropriate private industry, often through dubious legal means, served to weaken property rights; (iii) and levels of violent crime skyrocketed.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|316}}

===Radical democracy approach=== Scholars in this camp generally adhered to a classical socialist ideology that mistrusted market institutions in either the state or the economy. They saw procedural democracy as insufficient to ensure political inclusion (although they still accepted the importance of liberal democratic institutions) and emphasized participatory forms of democracy and collective worker ownership in the economy. They tended toward descriptions of the movement that celebrated its participatory features or analyzed its potential weaknesses for accomplishing its revolutionary goals. Most of these scholars supported ''Chavismo'' and helped constitute the civilian wing of the movement. Radical scholars argue that democracy can only become effective if it is deepened—and they feel that ''Chavismo'' is doing this deepening, which requires not only the greater inclusion of poor and excluded sectors in decision making but their remaking into a new "popular" identity that facilitates their autonomy and dignity. For some of these scholars, deepening also means the adoption of a socialist economy and some argue it requires taking power through charismatic leadership, which would have enough political support to conduct structural reforms.<ref name=hawkins/>{{rp|313–319}}

=== Relationship with Trotskyism === In 2007, Hugo Chávez proclaimed support for the ideas of Marxist Leon Trotsky, saying "When I called him (former Minister of Labour, José Ramón Rivero)" Chávez explained, "he said to me: 'President I want to tell you something before someone else tells you ... I am a Trotskyist', and I said, 'well, what is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist! I follow Trotsky's line, that of permanent revolution', and then cited Marx and Lenin".<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news|date=2007 |title=Chavez accelerates on path to socialism |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6246219.stm}}</ref><ref name="marxist.com">{{cite web |author-last=Martin |author-first=Jorge |date=2007 |title="What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist!" - Chavez is sworn in as president of Venezuela |url=http://www.marxist.com/chavez-trotskyist-president120107.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207225145/http://www.marxist.com/chavez-trotskyist-president120107.htm |archive-date=7 February 2007 |access-date=24 October 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Five years on: the revolutionary le">{{cite web|author-last=Woods |author-first=Alan |date=2018 |title=Five years on: the revolutionary legacy of Hugo Chávez |url=https://www.marxist.com/five-years-on-the-revolutionary-legacy-of-hugo-chavez.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305230650/http://www.marxist.com/five-years-on-the-revolutionary-legacy-of-hugo-chavez.htm |archive-date=5 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite dictionary|editor-last1=Johnson |editor-first1=Elliott |title=Chávez, Hugo (1954–2013) |dictionary=Historical Dictionary of Marxism |edition=2nd |editor-first2=David |editor-last2=Walker |editor-first3=Daniel |editor-last3=Gray |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham; Boulder; New York; London |pages=71 |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4422-3798-8}}</ref>

==''Chavismo'' and the media== In ''The Weekly Standard'' in 2005, Thor Halvorssen Mendoza described the core of ''Chavismo'' as a "far-reaching foreign policy that aims to establish a loosely aligned federation of revolutionary republics as a resistance bloc in the Americas".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/903jhsjt.asp?page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316171530/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/903jhsjt.asp?page=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 March 2014|title=Hurricane Hugo|last=Halvorssen|first=Thor|author-link=Thor Halvorssen Mendoza|date=9 August 2005|work=The Weekly Standard|access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref>

In 2006, Noam Chomsky expressed a certain degree of support for Chávez and his policies, saying that he was "quite interested" by his policies and that he regarded "many of them" as "quite constructive", noting that most importantly Chávez seemed to enjoy overwhelming support from his people after "six closely supervised elections".<ref>{{cite news|last=Santora|first=Marc|title=Chomsky is Alive, Actually, and Hungry for Debate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/nyregion/22chomsky.html|access-date=16 June 2015|work=The New York Times|date=26 September 2006}}</ref>

According to an article in ''The New York Sun'', ''Chavismo'' was rejected in elections around 2006 in Peru, Colombia and Mexico.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barone|first=Michael|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/36971?page_no=2|title=Good News|date=31 July 2006|work=The New York Sun|access-date=3 June 2018|archive-date=10 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210215128/https://www.nysun.com/article/36971?page_no=2|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''El Universal'' reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva kept distance from ''Chavismo'', saying that Brazil is not Venezuela and has traditional institutions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/08/22/en_pol_art_22A769509.shtml|title=Lula says he is not like Chávez|date=22 August 2006|newspaper=El Universal|access-date=21 December 2007|language=es|archive-date=21 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221154459/http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/08/22/en_pol_art_22A769509.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Still, Lula supported Chávez in the Venezuelan presidential election of 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weisbrot|first=Mark|title=Why Chávez Was Re-elected|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/opinion/why-chavez-was-re-elected.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 March 2014|date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

''The Nation'' noted on its editorial pages the following: <blockquote><poem>''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.<ref>{{cite news|first=Greg|last=Grandin|date=6 December 2007|title=Chavismo and Democracy|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/chavismo-and-democracy/|work=The Nation|issue=24 December 2007|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=3 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403112657/https://www.thenation.com/article/chavismo-and-democracy/|url-status=dead}}</ref></poem></blockquote>

In February 2014, about a year following Hugo Chávez's death, ''The Atlantic'' stated the following: <blockquote>Hugo Chávez based his popularity on his extraordinary charisma, much discretionary money, and a key and well-tested political message: denouncing the past and promising a better future for all. The country's widespread student protests now symbolize the demise of this message. Venezuelans younger than 30 years of age (the majority of the population) have not known any government other than that of Chávez or Maduro. For them, "''Chavismo''" is the past. As for the promises of a better future: The results are in. The catastrophic consequences of Chávez's 21st-century socialism are impossible to mask any longer and the government has run out of excuses. Blaming the CIA, the "fascist opposition", or "dark international forces", as Maduro and his allies customarily do, has become fodder for parodies flooding YouTube. The concrete effects of 15 years of ''Chavismo'' are all too visible in empty shelves and overflowing morgues.<ref name=ATLfeb2014>{{cite news|last1=Naím|first1=Moisés|title=The Tragedy of Venezuela|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/02/the-tragedy-of-venezuela/284062/|access-date=16 June 2015|work=The Atlantic|date=25 February 2014}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2015, when ''The Economist'' was commenting about corruption in Latin America, it said the following: <blockquote>The viceroys of the colonial era set the pattern. They centralised power and bought the loyalty of local interest groups. [...] ''Caudillos'', dictators and elected presidents continued the tradition of personalising power. Venezuela's ''Chavismo'' and the ''Kirchnerismo'' of Ms Fernández are among today's manifestations.<ref name=FPrescue>{{cite news|title=Democracy to the rescue?|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21646272-despite-epidemic-scandal-region-making-progress-against-plague-democracy|access-date=14 July 2015|newspaper=The Economist|date=14 March 2015}}</ref></blockquote>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography==

* Andrews-Lee, Caitlin. ''The Emergence and Revival of Charismatic Movements: Argentine Peronism And Venezuelan Chavismo'' (Cambridge University Press, 2021) * Hawkins, Kirk A. ''Venezuela's Chavismo and Populism in Comparative Perspective''' (Cambridge UP, 2010) *{{cite journal | last1 = Ramirez | first1 = C.V. | year = 2005 | title = Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution: Who Are the Chavistas? | journal = Latin American Perspectives | volume = 32 | issue = 3| pages = 79–97 | doi = 10.1177/0094582x05275532 | s2cid = 145020614 }} * Porras, Simon Rodriguez, and Miguel Sorans, eds. ''Why did Chavismo fail? A balance sheet from the left opposition'' (Centro de Estudios Humanos y Sociales CEHuS, 2018) * Smilde, David, et al. eds. ''The Paradox of Violence in Venezuela: Revolution, Crime, and Policing During Chavismo'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023)

==External links== *https://www.as-coa.org/articles/deconstructing-chavismo-myth-and-reality *https://www.transparency.org/en/press/chavismo-inc-investigation-reveals-the-workings-of-bolivarian-capitalism-around-the-world *https://www.cubazuela.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-chavismo-in-venezuela/ {{Hugo Chávez}} {{Nicolás Maduro}} {{Eponymous socialism}} Category:Chavismo Category:Anti-American sentiment in Venezuela Category:Bolivarian Revolution Category:Bolivarianism Category:Crisis in Venezuela Category:Democratic backsliding in Venezuela Category:Eponymous political ideologies Category:Far-left politics in Venezuela Category:Hugo Chávez Category:Left-wing ideologies Category:Left-wing nationalism Category:Left-wing populism Category:Left-wing politics in South America Category:Left-wing populism in South America Category:Nicolás Maduro Category:Patriotism Category:Politics of Venezuela Category:Socialism in Venezuela Category:Socialism of the 21st century Category:Society of Venezuela Category:Third-Worldism Category:Types of socialism