Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution

by Richard Gott

The authoritative first-hand account of contemporary Venezuela, Hugo Chávez places the country’s controversial and charismatic president in historical perspective, and examines his plans and programs. Welcomed in 1999 by the inhabitants of the teeming shanty towns of Caracas as their potential savior, and greeted by Washington with considerable alarm, this former golpista -turned-democrat took up the aims and ambitions of Venezuela’s liberator, Simón Bolívar. Now in office for over a decade, President Chávez has undertaken the most wide-ranging transformation of oil-rich Venezuela for half a century, and dramatically affected the political debate throughout Latin America.

In this updated edition, Richard Gott reflects on the achievements of the Bolivarian revolution, and the challenges that lie ahead.

Genres: History, Politics, Biography, Nonfiction, Latin American History

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2005

Reviews

[Vacho]

Creo que como fonte sobre os pensamentos de Chávez e a evolución do seu goberno ate o 2006 esta moi ben a verdade. Creo que peca do que ao final menciona no epílogo. Quedou fascinado polo carisma e isto fixo que non haia crítica ou algo que fixese mal Chávez. No dudo do descrito no libro pero resultan raras certas cousas. En calqueira caso moi interesante.

[Zachery · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I disliked about the book was that it seemed like it was written as an essay for a standardized test like the GRE or MCAT - lots of 50-cent words and overly descriptive adjectives.

[Tony el Oso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educative good, but a very dry read.

[Rohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well-written and fawning account of Hugo Chavez and his rise to power in Venezuela. This is a mostly a work of journalism, with a lot of winding first-person narratives and observations and anecdotes, interspersed with dives into history, so don't expect any citations; on the flip side, this makes this a very colorful and enjoyable and easy read. Especially interesting was the discussion of the political situation of the 1990s, and what Chavez and other leftists were up to, which a lot of accounts of Chavez and Venezuela seem to gloss over.

However, it is worth noting that this is basically a pro-Chavez polemic; the author cannot find a bad word to say about him, and is close to uncritical about him and his program and politics, and relentlessly dismissive about the Venezuelan opposition. This is actually fairly persuasive in the bulk of the book, which is about the lead-up to his electoral victory, since it contains a lot of information and analysis. But in this updated version, the writing on the first few years of the Chavez administration and his wranglings with the opposition read much more thin.

[C. Quabela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a fine job of describing the philosophy and achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution. However, the author has a tendency to dismiss many of the virtues of Chavez and the Venezuelan people with flippant rhetoric. Despite denouncing the racism of the elite against the poor in Latin America, there are stereotypes that are perpetuated without much regard, Chavez is often painted as a demagogue and his "rhetoric" passed off as almost charlatanism, despite the fact that his words are backed up throughout the work with achievements and integrity.

[Hazim Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, well-written overview of Chavez and a good overview if visiting Venezuela. Only problem is it needs an update for the current political catastrophe that is happening in Venezuela. Will there be an updated or new version discussing his legacy in the context of current climate?

[Zoilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una obra fundamental y esclarecedora sobre la cuestión de la Revolución Bolivariana. Ahonda, no sólo en el desarrollo histórico y politico de Chávez, sino también en el aparato ideológico de las raíces Latinoaméricas, como Bolivar, Simón Rodirguez y Zamora.
Un 10/10

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look into how the man came to power

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most compelling writing, but very informative, good history of the Pink Tide and the Bolivarian Revolution.

[orl3gh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really couldn’t fault this book! Very good read, very interesting stuff… something to explore academically further down the line.

[Liam Tobiason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using this as a placeholder for shorter book by Vijay Prishad and current VP of Venezuela about Hugo

I am now a chavista

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that every Freedom House/Leopoldo Lopez loving liberal in the United States needs to read. If you regularly find yourself regurgitating state department propaganda about Chavez, this is your corrective, the antidote to your poison (and God bless the revoking of RCTV, and the curtailing of other virulently right wing corporate hegemons). There are more sophisticated accounts of Chavez, more deeply theoretical, etc., but this is a book for all the naysayers, the Bernie Sanders fanboys who think Chavez is just a "dead communist dictator," etc. The accomplishments of Chavez in 12 years (this book ends in 2011, before his death and before Maduro) are astonishing. Maduro now faces a difficult situation of continuing the Bolivarian process without Chavez, and God knows he's been tested. If you're interested in a narrative about Venezuela you won't receive on CNN of the NYTimes, please pick this up. It's especially pertinent with the upcoming elections in Venezuela in December.

[Mehdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book details the post and preview of the Bolivarian revolution. I read another book about Hugo Chavez last week and it was incredibly biased.It makes me sad to know that the great Bolivarian leader Hugo Chavez is not longer alive but his legacy will never die and he will live in the hearts of millions and millions of poor people of Venezuela and around the world. Hugo Chavez, a dictator according to USA because Chavez never worked for the wishes of the yankee imperialism isn't a very complicated man. Chavez from the very first day declared himself to be the president of poor.Rich people of in Venezuela hate Chavez because of his worked for the poor,lower socioeconomic and indigenous people. Hugo Chavez is a champion of human rights, a champion of gay rights, a champion of indigenous people, a champion of liberty, a champion of freedom, a champion of revolution.
Viva la Chavez.
Viva la Che Guevara.
Viva la Fidel Castro.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Gott's book on Hugo Chávez is a sympathetic (but not uncritical) left take on Chávez and the ongoing revolutionary process in Venezuela, which rejects the premise that its subject is a completely new phenomenon. Instead, it works to place Chávez in context, both historically and in the Venezuelan Left as it has existed. Originally titled "In the Shadow of the Liberator," Gott's book necessarily touches on the connections to Simón Bolívar; Chávez draws these quite explicitly himself. But it also shows that Chavismo is a popular phenomenon, rooted in the failure of all sectors of the traditional Venezuelan left. What is going on in Venezuela today is deeply important and should not be passed off lightly.

[Danielle Bassi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gott gives an unbiased insight of Chaves which is essential to understand the current situation of Venezuela. Being a foreign correspondent in the region for several years, she clearly explain how Chaves reached the power and where he got all wrong.
There have been many cases of democratic saviors such as Lula or Chaves in Latin American who, after centuries of neglect by the ruling elite, would finally address the overwhelming poverty. As Gott shows in this book, ignoring the middle class and allowing urban criminality take over have been their unforgivable mistakes.
I would recommend the book even for those who are not keen on Chaves.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book provides one of the few looks that we have of Hugo Chavez. His dictatorship in Venezuela is one of the more unique in the world especially when analyzing his power base. A word of caution when reading this book however is that Gott is fiercely anti-American so a lot of the book is taken up with his rabid viewpoints. It is still one of the best portraits we have of Chavez and if you can look past the anti-American bias the book is very useful. If you want to learn about modern Venezuela you really can't go wrong with this book.

[Abe]

It's been a while since I've read this book, but it is a good narrative to the Hugo Chávez Frías' "Revolución Bolivariana". It discusses the various "misiones" that intend to move Venezuela's government to socialism.

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chavez is a teddy bear.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My attempt to understand the man behind the madness