Description

Dimensions of Democracy in Contemporary Venezuela

The heated debate over whether Venezuela is democratic or authoritarian hinges on the various conceptualizations of democracy that are used. Arguments that Venezuela is authoritarian tend to assume that neoliberalism is an essential component of democracy. However, when neoliberalism is detached from this logic, the essence of democracy as government by and for the people is confirmed for the case of Venezuela. In addition to survey data that consistently shows that most Venezuelans believe Venezuela is democratic, the author uses six dimensions of democracy elaborated by Michael Coppedge and over a dozen other scholars to demonstrate that Venezuela is essentially democratic.

democracy, capitalism, neoliberal, Venezuela, protest

Citation: Social Justice Vol. 40, No. 4 (2013): 88-105