Cannon, Barry
(2008)
Class/Race Polarisation in Venezuela and the
Electoral Success of Hugo Chávez: a break with the
past or the song remains the same?
Third World Quarterly, 29 (4).
pp. 731-748.
ISSN 0143-6597
Abstract
Polls have repeatedly shown a class-based polarisation around
Cha´vez, which some political science analysis on Venezuela has recognised. This
paper seeks to show, however, that this class-based division needs to be placed in
historical context to be fully understood. Examining Venezuelan history from the
colonial to the contemporary era the paper shows, unlike most previous work on
Bolivarian Venezuela, that race is an important subtext to this class-based
support, and that there is indeed a correlation between class and race within the
Venezuelan context. Furthermore, class and race are important positive elements
in Cha´vez’s discourse, in contrast to their negative use in opposition anti-
Chavismo discourse. The paper briefly reviews the Cha´vez government’s policy in
tackling the class/race fissures in Venezuelan society, and concludes by asking
whether these policies represent a change in the historical patterns of classism
and racism within Venezuelan society or are simply reproducing past patterns.
Item Type: |
Article
|
Keywords: |
Class/Race; Polarisation; Venezuela; Electoral Success; Hugo Chávez; past; song remains the same; |
Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology |
Item ID: |
11940 |
Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590802075020 |
Depositing User: |
Barry Cannon
|
Date Deposited: |
02 Dec 2019 15:26 |
Journal or Publication Title: |
Third World Quarterly |
Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: |
Yes |
URI: |
|
Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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