Chavismo

Not to be confused with Chauvinism

Chavismo is the progressive political ideology of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro. A form of left-wing populism, it combines ideas of democratic socialism, socialist patriotism, Bolivarianism, and Latin American integration. Policies include nationalization, social welfare, and opposition to imperialism and neoliberalism. Chavismo is considered an early example of what has come to be known as "socialism of the 21st century".

Chavismo is not against private property, but seeks to promote collective ownership. It has been criticized by some socialists, communists and Marxists as a form of state capitalism, owing to the country's large private sector (70% of Venezuela's GDP was created by the private sector, as of 2009). Followers or adherents of Chavismo are known as Chavistas or Chavists.

Chavismo is a model of social change constructed "from above" and "from below." Chávez's first actions as president featured the top-down replacement of the Council of Ministers, the "civic-military partnership" of Plan Bolivar 2000, and referendums for the convocation of a new Constituent Assembly and the adoption of a new constitution. These plans featured sweeping changes, particularly in the areas of public finance and land reform. The military, alongside civilian volunteers, was mobilized to, "conduct a census of the unemployed, provide medical care to the most needy, renovate schools, playgrounds, and ambulatory medical care centers, and clear garbage from streams and streets." The military also set up popular markets and programs for food distribution, new social welfare programs for the homeless, and mass vaccination campaigns.

The "from above" and "from below" approach is characterized by autonomous, grassroots, local organizations meeting state directives and funding: "The main idea was to form council structures of all kinds (communal councils, communes, and communal cities, for example), as bottom up structures of self-administration. Councils of workers, students, peasants, and women, among others, would then have to cooperate and coordinate on a higher level in order to gradually replace the bourgeois state with a communal state [...] The communal councils are financed directly by national state institutions."

In terms of the means of production and democratization of ownership, the Chavista approach has taken a few different directions. Since 1999, the Venezuelan government has promoted the proliferation of worker co-ops and asserted direct state control over the Venezuelan petroleum company (PDVSA). In 2005, the state began expropriating businesses directly in response to a strike-wave and attempted coup. With 2007, in a renewed pursuit of socialism after a successful reelection campaign, Chávez began promoting "socialist workers' councils, followed by the institution and promotion of Enterprises of Communal Social Property, enterprises that are owned and administrated by local communities.

Origins

Chavismo is based on the teachings of Simón Bolívar, Simón Rodríguez, and Ezequiel Zamora. Bolívar fought for the sovereignty of Latin America, Zamora fought for the peasantry against the aristocratic ruling class, and Rodríguez developed educational theories based on equality and originality.