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Chávez and Populism

Mar 13, 2013 Editorial

Now that Hugo Chávez is gone, he is attracting a wide range of labels: dictator, socialist hero, autocrat, demagogue, etc. But the label that fits him best is ‘populist”, which in Venezuela today is synonymous with “Chavismo”. Populism, however, is a loaded word that is tossed around with abandon in the popular press, usually to denigrate some disliked politician.
Although there is an ongoing discussion about how to define populism properly, there is growing consensus that populism should be conceived of as a specific set of ideas. Populism is a moral worldview that relies on the Manichean distinction between ‘the people’ – the true holders of sovereignty – and ‘the corrupt elite’ who have taken away the ‘people’s power’.
Populism proposes that politics should be the expression of an allegedly self-evident general will. If it is true that populism is first and foremost a set of ideas, those who analyse Chavismo should not forget that large sections of the Venezuelan population not only share the populist ideology, but also have emotional and rational motives for adhering to the Manichean worldview inherent in populism.
This means that it is flawed to assume that Venezuelans believe in populism because they have been simply ‘fooled” by the charismatic figure of Hugo Chávez. Given the corruption and nepotism of the parties that governed the country in the past, Venezuelan citizens have good reasons to interpret the political reality through the lenses of populism. In many other countries, such as the US, as large sections of the people become disenchanted with the belief that there is an elitist ‘democracy’, populism is growing with movements such as the “Tea Party”.
So in what ways was Chávez a populist? First and foremost, he presented himself as the true voice of ‘the people’ – the successor to Simon Bolivar. He confidently assured Venezuelans: “you are not going to re-elect Chávez really, you are going to re-elect yourselves – the people will re-elect the people. Chávez is nothing but an instrument of the people”.
His version of ‘the people’ primarily included the poor of the country. He initially opposed ‘the people’ to old party elites from the “puntofujismo” system, but this began to expand as his presidency went on, with his version of ‘the enemy’ gradually taking in the domestic opposition, and finally an international conspiracy led by the United States.
In Chávez’s eyes, the division between ‘the people’ and their enemies was not merely political. He framed the struggle of ‘the people’ versus ‘the elite’ as a cosmic battle, claiming that “we are in the times of the Apocalypse. You can no longer be on the side of the evil and the side of God”. He linked his mission to God, calling Jesus Christ his ‘commander-in-chief’.
Chávez also used his likeable and charismatic manner to credibly identify himself as one of ‘the people’. He called himself a ‘farm kid’ and referred to his childhood poverty. On his weekly television show, Aló Presidente!, he delighted in using folksy manners, talking openly about his personal life, singing traditional songs, dancing and making crude remarks about his opponents.
No one can deny that Chávez succeeded in making life much better for those who fit into his version of ‘the people’ – his social programs increased the life chances, wealth and political participation of the poor of his country. They were the vast majority of the country. He essentially cut poverty rates in half, and delivered autonomy to those who had never known it before. Many are asking whether “Chavismo’ will continue after Chávez.
The answer lies in the dissatisfaction felt by those who are excluded by the model of ‘liberal democracy’ that is contraposed with populism. Detractors of the model of democracy advanced by populist forces argue that the defence of popular sovereignty at any cost can well lead to the formation of (competitive) authoritarian regimes. This fear is not unfounded. But whether called Chavismo or not, populism will continue to reign in the region, once the majority of the people are excluded from governance.

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