After Hugo Chávez’s demise on March 5, 2013, speculations regarding his early death spread across the press and social media around the world, triggering different opinions and projections regarding the fate of Venezuela. Would his death bring the so-called Bolivarian Revolution to an end? Would the Chavismo ideology survive without Chávez?

Nearly four years later, the book “Estado e democracia nos tempos de Hugo Chávez (1998-2013)” [State and democracy under Hugo Chávez (1998-2013)], written by historian Mariana Bruce and published by FGV Publisher, takes a closer look at Chávez’s government and the profound transformations of the Venezuelan State.

The author’s research explains the relationship between organized social action, which inherited a historical legacy and a community-oriented approach from long before Hugo Chávez’s administration, and political power as an arena of contention and also a vector for social growth, despite contradicting interests at play and the challenges of an ever-changing process.

The book sheds light on the strength of Latin American social movements spreading like wildfire across the entire region, either coming from the streets or from within the governments themselves.

For more information, in Portuguese, please click here.