Oil Endowment as a Facilitator to Chávez's Ascension to Power

How is Venezuela’s oil dependency associated with the authoritarian rise of Hugo Chávez Frías? This question can be addressed in three varying pathways; short, medium and long-term explanations. This paper attempts to construct profound insights into the rise of Chávez as a populist competitive authoritarian leader. In order to comprehend the popularity of a leader with authoritarian characteristics, the political and socio-economic context must be understood. Chávez’s rise is often seen as a consequence of the collapse of the Punto Fijo system. However, this only provides medium-term explanations. Instead, it should be asked why the collapse of puntofijismo entail the rise of authoritarianism. To answer this question, this thesis commences its research by exploring the foundations of the pact of Punto Fijo. It finds that Venezuela did not consolidate its democracy and, as a consequence, during social upheaval, its democratic institutions withered when confronted with the rise of...Show moreHow is Venezuela’s oil dependency associated with the authoritarian rise of Hugo Chávez Frías? This question can be addressed in three varying pathways; short, medium and long-term explanations. This paper attempts to construct profound insights into the rise of Chávez as a populist competitive authoritarian leader. In order to comprehend the popularity of a leader with authoritarian characteristics, the political and socio-economic context must be understood. Chávez’s rise is often seen as a consequence of the collapse of the Punto Fijo system. However, this only provides medium-term explanations. Instead, it should be asked why the collapse of puntofijismo entail the rise of authoritarianism. To answer this question, this thesis commences its research by exploring the foundations of the pact of Punto Fijo. It finds that Venezuela did not consolidate its democracy and, as a consequence, during social upheaval, its democratic institutions withered when confronted with the rise of authoritarianism. Furthermore, it explores the social grievances that led to Chávez’s rise and analyzes the role of petroleum in his ascension to power. The findings conclude that the pact of Punto Fijo, which prevailed for 40 years, prolonged the existence of peace and disguised democracy in Venezuela because it was built on clientelist strategies that were supported by oil rents. The decline of the world price of oil in the 1980s meant the collapse of an unsustainable system alongside the Venezuelan quality of life which opened the route for the rise of an authoritarian leader, such as Chávez.Show less

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Oil Endowment as a Facilitator to Chávez's Ascension to Power