Following Hugo Chávez’s election to the Venezuela’s presidency, where he remained from 1999 till his death of cancer in March 2013, the country went from being a representative, albeit flawed, democracy (1958–98) to being an “electoral authoritarian” or “competitive authoritarian” regime. But can the chavista model survive the demise of the strongman from whom it takes its name? By all appearances it has begun to break down with surprising speed since his death.
About the Author
Miriam Kornblith is director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. She has taught politics at the Central University of Venezuela, and from 1998 to 1999 served as a board member and vice-president of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council.
Hugo Chávez has been running a bounded competitive-authoritarian regime for some time, but its ability to compete is now slipping. Will this tend to make it less authoritarian—or even more…
