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Contemporary Left-wing Populism in Latin America: Leadership, Horizontalism, and Postdemocracy in Chávez's Venezuela

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Yannis Stavrakakis ,
Alexandros Kioupkiolis ,
Giorgos Katsambekis ,
Nikos Nikisianis  and
Thomas Siomos
Yannis Stavrakakis
Affiliation:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. yanstavr@yahoo.co.uk
Alexandros Kioupkiolis
Affiliation:
Aristotle University. alkioup@yahoo.gr
Giorgos Katsambekis
Affiliation:
Aristotle University. giorgos_bek@hotmail.com
Nikos Nikisianis
Affiliation:
Aristotle University. nnikisia@gmail.com
Thomas Siomos
Affiliation:
Aristotle University. siomos.thomas@gmail.com
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Abstract

Critical engagement with the case of Chavismo in Venezuela can offer valuable insights for a fuller understanding of contemporary populism in Latin America. While for some scholars Chávez's populism has fostered popular empowerment, others dwell on the newly confirmed tensions between populism, liberal rights, and democratic proceduralism. This article embraces both positions but moves beyond their one-sidedness to cast Chavista populism as an inherently contradictory phenomenon that has constituted an ambivalent and transitory process in response to the gradual closure of liberal (post)democracy. Chavista “caesaro-plebeian” populism is construed as a site of tension and contention, which entails both promises and dangers for democracy. To make these points, the article draws on the discursive analysis of populism and on a new, productive shift in the study of populism in Venezuela, which pursues ethnographic field research on social movements instead of focusing exclusively on the figure of the leader.

Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , Fall 2016 , pp. 51 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2016

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