A caudillo is a military leader or warlord and has particular importance in explaining the nature of Latin American politics. As a political symbol, a caudillo is a military leader who takes care of the people and advocates on their behalf. Hugo Chávez exemplified caudillismo (when a caudillo achieves political power) as a military officer who ran populist campaigns to win the Presidency with the promise of governing on behalf of the collective.

Caudillo

Venezuela has undergone revolutionary periods in the past, such as when Simón Bolívar led the Venezuelan War of Independence. Political struggles in Venezuela (and much of Latin America) have typically been elite-led as a political leader has galvanized public support to enact social, political, and economic change.

Wesleyan University

Venezuela has undergone a variety of regime changes and revolutions that have impacted the present crisis.

Venezuela’s Political History

Buxton, J. (2020). Continuity and change in Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. Third World Quarterly, 41(8), 1371-1387.

Buxton (2020)

Venezuela’s Revolutionary History

After oscillating between military dictatorships and democratic rule, Venezuela settled into a democracy dominated by two major parties from the 1950s to the 1990s. The political system was beset by corruption and election fraud. The economy was initially defined by reckless public spending, followed by neoliberal policies and a recession. 

Background of the Bolivarian Revolution

In the late 1990s, Hugo Chávez initiated the Bolivarian Revolution against neoliberalism and the Venezuelan establishment. The revolution was originally focused on bringing democracy back to Venezuela through the establishment of a Fifth Republic, though it eventually transitioned into becoming a socialist project. The Bolivarian Revolution saw the collapse of the major parties and effectively ended the old democratic regime as voters put Chávez in power.

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