Spain and the Wider World since 2000 by Morten Heiberg

Author:Morten Heiberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030273439
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

6.2 Why Don’t You Shut Up?

The Bolivarian Revolution introduced by Chávez in 1999 and continued after his death in 2013 by Nicolás Maduro may appear at first glance to be a very odd phenomenon. On the surface, it represents a kind of political and religious syncretism, where the figure of Simón Bolívar, the Latin American general and liberator, is worshipped like a saint. The Neo-Bolivarian movement began in military quarters in the 1970s and was constituted by officers from the poorer parts of the population that had been deeply affected by the economic crisis. They were appalled by the corruption of the military elite and took the side of soldiers who suffered abuse from their superior officers. This gave birth to their fundamental idea of fighting discrimination and disparity across the whole of Venezuelan society. Educated in the spirit of Bolívar, they were also inherently nationalist. In accordance with these principles, in 1983 the group around Chávez formed a secret organization whose goal was to give new impetus to patriotic values, dignify the military career and, not least, fight corruption. This humble and idealistic origin also largely explains the movement’s fascination for vast sectors of the marginalized Venezuelan poor, who saw in Chávez a man who would redistribute wealth and provide them with a more dignified life. In 1992, Chávez’s group organized a coup d’état, which however failed.37

Thus, Bolivarianism is essentially a left-wing civic-military alliance, which in spite of fierce political opposition and attempted counter coups has effectively held onto power since 1999. Its powers have been legitimated by both referendums and general elections, although this has also been made possible by the opposition’s occasional refusal to partake in the parliamentary process. Bolivarianism represents a new kind of populist left-wing movement in Latin America determined to fight neoliberal capitalism. Yet it is also a very heterogeneous group, and until 2013, its different fractions were kept in constant tension and held together by Chávez’s charismatic and authoritarian leadership. During its first decade in power, it was able to initiate a major redistribution of wealth and thus—according to official figures—to lift millions out of poverty.38

After the polemics surrounding the Carmona affair, Spain’s relationship with the Bolivarian leadership in Venezuela continued to be difficult. The challenges in Venezuela were to some extent similar to the ones experienced in Bolivia and other countries in Latin America, but the problems with Caracas were magnified by Chávez’s difficult personality and the special US concerns about this strategically important country. On a more general level, the crisis in Venezuela in 2002 also raised the more complex question of how Spain, as well as the rest of the international community, could most effectively react toward weak states on the South American continent that were considered strategically important but which were also challenged by radical political ideologies. In Bolivia, for example, the Spanish Foreign Ministry knew the former elite well and had developed a series of policies over the years that had suited both Spanish and local hierarchical interests.

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