A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies
by
Barbra Bastidas Escobar
August 2004
Florida International University, Miami.
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my parents, Aimara Escobar (“Mamara”) and Orlando Bastidas (“Papando”), whose continued support, love and devotion to making of me a happy and fulfilled human being, made possible the completion of this work. I also dedicate the research to all those Venezuelans who wake up early every morning to work for our country and to construct a better nation for us: the new generations. These simple, humble and hard-working people are our country’s “secret heroes.” Running into many of them during the field research, allowed me to rediscover my country’s socio-political reality, and reminded me of how proud I am of being a deep-rooted Venezolana.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank the patience and guidance of the members of my committee, not only through the completion of his work, but mostly throughout the enriching academic experience that the MALACS program offered me. Specially, I want to thank Dr. Eduardo Gamarra for waking up my curiosity and passion for the political subject in Venezuela. Also, I owe millions of thanks to my Major Professor, Dr. Félix Martín, for accepting to accompany me during this long and compromising academic experiment. I thank him very much for being so neatly demanding and for always trying to get the best of my intellectual capacity to conclude a good work.Last, but not least, I wish to thank Dr. Mike Collier for patiently guiding and correcting my methodological approaches.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the LACC staff. Specially to María Young, whose opportune advises at the personal and academic level gave me strength to keep on in difficult times. She will always be my angelito and wherever I am, she will count upon my sincerest love and friendship. Likewise, I am highly indebted to my good friend Marielly Ramírez, who shared my worries and frustrations in times of “intellectual block.” I have no words to thank her time and dedication in helping me to edit and proofread this work. Finally, I wish to thank my spiritual partner Damián Borges who, without knowing, encouraged me to follow my heart and opened my senses to encounter my True Self. I appreciate his support and company during those terribly uncomfortable road trips I had to make to conduct the interviews for this thesis.
CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE
“Many nations who have shaken off oppression … have speedily returned to their old political vices, because people rather than governments repeatedly drag tyranny in their train. The habit of being ruled makes them insensible to the attractions of national prosperity… and to the glory of living under the protection of laws dictated by their own free will…” Simón Bolívar (February, 1819. The Angostura Address)
In Latin America, the transition from authoritarianism to democracy began in the 1980s. Since then, the newly democratic countries have made great strides to reassert civilian control over the military. For this reason, limitations on political involvement and other constraints have been imposed on the military (Huntington, Reforming Civil-military Relations 6). Since its transition to democracy in 1958, Venezuela is often classified as a model case of democratic consolidation and “political harmony” in the region (Domínguez 5-6). However, a series of socio-political upheavals, like the 1989 Caracazo, and the 1992 coup attempts changed the image of “political harmony” in Venezuela. This image stemmed from the relative popular support enjoyed by successive governments during the previous forty years, and the absence of major expressions of popular discontent.
The civil and military riots that began in February 1989 revealed the growing dissatisfaction of the Venezuelan people with the traditional political system constituted with the Punto Fijo agreement. More importantly, there was an increasing discontent with the failure of previous governments to deliver: a) economic equality, and b) social well-being. Conditions have been ripe for the return of a militarized form of government to Venezuela. Concurrently, such circumstances called for a redefinition of democratic performance. The new performance is characterized by the use of free elections by military leaders to access legitimate power.
In 1998, Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez Frías, ex-leader of the February 4th 1992 failed coup, was elected constitutional President. As a result of this election, the political role of the military increased considerably in Venezuela. Thus, a new chapter in the country’s politics is marked by an increasing participation of the military in the political, administrative and governing processes of the country. As a result of this changed role of the military in politics, there has been a gradual militarization of the political system since 1999. The scenario suggests the risk of the militarization of political space in Latin America. In this sense, this study addresses the following general question: To what extent does the militarization of the Venezuelan political system under Hugo Chávez’s government represent the emergence of a new type of military democracy in the region? By the expression military democracy this work refers to a system where the military has access to power through legitimate democratic elections.
The focus of this thesis is to explore the central issues of the military role in Venezuelan politics since President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. To achieve this purpose the work focuses on two specific questions: 1) How has the process of militarization of Venezuelan politics evolved since 1999? And 2) Why did the political space in Venezuela become militarized under Chávez’s government? The answers to these questions entail an in-depth examination of issues such as military prerogatives granted by the government, military presence in key political positions and intrusion of the military into civilian spaces in Venezuela.
LITERATURE
Many scholars have analyzed the role of the military in politics (Claude Welch 1987; Bruce Farcau 1996; Samuel Finer 1962; Louis Goodman 1990; David Collier 1979). And a considerable number have examined several aspects of civil-military relations in authoritarian regimes. Some, like Samuel Huntington (1957), Alfred Stepan (1988), Windfield Burggraaff (1972), and Juan Linz (1978), have studied the levels, patterns and professionalism of the military. Some of these works are presented in order to offer a general picture of the literature available on the subject. But specifically, this study takes a different approach for analyzing the civil-military dynamic. This angle centers on the militarization of politics under a democratically generated government in Venezuela. The aim is to evaluate how this process of militarization evolved since 1999 and why it occurred. For these purposes, this study revisits the works of Alfred Stepan, Juan Linz, Scott Mainwaring, Timothy Scully and Michael Coppedge.
