The Causa R and the Nuevo Sindicalismo in Venezuela

Bibliographic Data

ID4500322
AuthorsDaniel Hellinger (corresponding author)
Year1996
Volume23
Issue3
Pages110-131
Publication date1996-07-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0094582x9602300307
OpenAlexW2102043462
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited14

The Causa (the R is reversed in the party logo) of Venezuela emerged into national prominence as a regional obrerista party, much as the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers' party-PT) did in Brazil. In December 1992 it cast off its regional identity by winning control of the mayoralty and city council of Caracas; in the same election Andres Velasquez, the Causa governor of the eastern, industrial state of Bolivar, secured reelection in a landslide. In 1993 Velasquez ran a strong fourth in official returns for the presidential election, and the Causa won the fourth-largest bloc of seats in Congress, displacing the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism-MAS) as Venezuela's largest leftist party.' Causa lost some ground electorally in the state and local elections of December 1995, in part, apparently, because of electoral fraud but also because it did not have roots elsewhere (especially in Caracas) as broad and deep as in Bolivar. Party leaders insisted that in any case the Causa would remain a force in Venezuelan politics because its struggle was anything else social (Notiluz, December 6, 1995). Indeed, before it achieved influence in Bolivar Causa had been active organizing neighborhood associations in Caracas and in the western oil state of Zulia, and it was the struggle for union democracy, a nuevo sindicalismo or new unionism, that provided its deepest roots. Like the PT in Brazil, the Causa may find it difficult to reconcile its electoral and social goals (see Keck, 1992). Its reluctance to define itself ideologically is appealing to social movements suspicious of the traditional left, but some observers (e.g., Ellner, this issue) believe that Causa has not articulated a project appropriate to a party with significant responsibilities in government and opposition. Its reluctance to enter alliances has been criti

Art · Humanities · Political science · International Relations in Latin America · Politics and Society in Latin America · Social and Political Issues

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