Hugo Chávez and the diffusion of Bolivarianism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7743589 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carlos De La Torre (0000-0003-3477-8884, Sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1271-1288 |
| Publication date | 2017-11-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Democratization (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13510347.2017.1307825 |
| OpenAlex | W2606164862 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 31 |
| References cited | 25 |
This article analyses the mechanisms of influence, learning, and emulation used by Hugo Chávez to diffuse Bolivarianism across Latin America and the world. Different from autocratic types of diffusion that are instrumental and motivated by self-preservation, Chávez promoted what he depicted as a superior model of democracy and a populist strategy of political transformation using constitution making, heavy state intervention in the economy, and anti-imperialism. Even though Chávez promoted his script for regime change across Latin America and the Caribbean, his model was emulated only when opportunities opened up in nations such as Bolivia and Ecuador that experienced crises of political parties and the institutional framework of democracy. Bolivarianism was not emulated in nations where political parties and democratic institutions remained functioning, and where the left and civil society valued democracy, pluralism, and liberal rights due to brutal autocratic experiences. Despite its democratizing promises Bolivarianism did not lead to the radicalization of democracy but to its erosion and its displacement towards authoritarianism. The fear of Bolivarianism also led to a coup against president Zelaya in Honduras. Bolivarian strategies of populist rupture crossed the Atlantic and were adapted by PODEMOS that became the third largest political party in Spain
Authoritarianism · Autocracy · Constitution · Democracy · Democratization · Dictatorship · Latin Americans · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Radicalization · Sociology · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America · Politics and Society in Latin America
Making the World Safe for Dictatorship
Transnational Authoritarianism
Do longer constitutions corrupt
Contesting the EU? China’s engagement with Türkiye and the Western Balkans
Beyond Autocracy Promotion
The Prospects for Socialist Politics in South Africa
Protocol for public opinion survey, Ecuador 2025
Media anti-populism and political parallelism in Latin America
The Popularity of Donald Trump in India – Explained
New Directions in the Study of Populism in International Relations
Populism and plebiscitarianism 2.0
Beyond ‘economic nationalism’
From “permanent opposition” to “power”
Playing the regional card
Nationalism and Economy
Countering Illiberalism in Liberal Democracies
From community politics to the politicisation of community
Populism without borders. Notes on a global history
Authoritarian diffusion or cooperation? Turkey’s emerging engagement with China
On Populism and Democracy
Limits of US Influence
Dual agent of transition
Authoritarian legal harmonization in the post-Soviet space
Xs we share
On populism and social movements
The Political Sociology of 21st-Century Populism in Latin America
Democracies’ support for illiberal regimes through sovereignty-protective regional institutions
Exporting the Chavista Model
The Social Foundations of Academic Freedom
Faith in Nations
Why Latin American Parties Are Not Coming Back
The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America
The Resurgence of the Latin American Left
Making Waves
The promise and perils of populism
A right-to-left policy switch? An analysis of the Honduran case under Manuel Zelaya
Peru’s 2011 Elections
Latin America’s Authoritarian Drift
Trouble in Central America
The Authoritarian Resurgence
Peru’s 2011 Elections
Introduction
From Shocks to Waves
Responding to radical populism
Populism and competitive authoritarianism in the Andes
Populist polarization and the slow death of democracy in Ecuador
Morales's MAS Government
Evo Morales, the 'Two Bolivias' and the Third Bolivian Revolution
The Missionary Politics of Hugo Chávez
Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century
| Unique citing works | 31 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,88 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 31 |