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Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela
Beginning in the late 1950s political leaders in Venezuela built what they celebrated as Latin America’s most stable democracy. But outside the staid halls of power, in the gritty barrios of a rapidly urbanizing country, another politics was rising―unruly, contentious, and clamoring for inclusion.
Based on years of archival and ethnographic research in Venezuela’s largest public housing community, Barrio Rising delivers the first in-depth history of urban popular politics before the Bolivarian Revolution, providing crucial context for understanding the democracy that emerged during the presidency of Hugo Chávez.
In the mid-1950s, a military government bent on modernizing Venezuela razed dozens of slums in the heart of the capital Caracas, replacing them with massive buildings to house the city’s working poor. The project remained unfinished when the dictatorship fell on January 23, 1958, and in a matter of days city residents illegally occupied thousands of apartments, squatted on green spaces, and renamed the neighborhood to honor the emerging the 23 de Enero (January 23).
During the next thirty years, through eviction efforts, guerrilla conflict, state violence, internal strife, and official neglect, inhabitants of el veintitrés learned to use their strategic location and symbolic tie to the promise of democracy in order to demand a better life. Granting legitimacy to the state through the vote but protesting its failings with violent street actions when necessary, they laid the foundation for an expansive understanding of democracy―both radical and electoral―whose features still resonate today.
Blending rich narrative accounts with incisive analyses of urban space, politics, and everyday life, Barrio Rising offers a sweeping reinterpretation of modern Venezuelan history as seen not by its leaders but by residents of one of the country’s most distinctive popular neighborhoods.
Based on years of archival and ethnographic research in Venezuela’s largest public housing community, Barrio Rising delivers the first in-depth history of urban popular politics before the Bolivarian Revolution, providing crucial context for understanding the democracy that emerged during the presidency of Hugo Chávez.
In the mid-1950s, a military government bent on modernizing Venezuela razed dozens of slums in the heart of the capital Caracas, replacing them with massive buildings to house the city’s working poor. The project remained unfinished when the dictatorship fell on January 23, 1958, and in a matter of days city residents illegally occupied thousands of apartments, squatted on green spaces, and renamed the neighborhood to honor the emerging the 23 de Enero (January 23).
During the next thirty years, through eviction efforts, guerrilla conflict, state violence, internal strife, and official neglect, inhabitants of el veintitrés learned to use their strategic location and symbolic tie to the promise of democracy in order to demand a better life. Granting legitimacy to the state through the vote but protesting its failings with violent street actions when necessary, they laid the foundation for an expansive understanding of democracy―both radical and electoral―whose features still resonate today.
Blending rich narrative accounts with incisive analyses of urban space, politics, and everyday life, Barrio Rising offers a sweeping reinterpretation of modern Venezuelan history as seen not by its leaders but by residents of one of the country’s most distinctive popular neighborhoods.
342 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 28, 2025
Sometimes the most useful histories are those that keep a tight focus, and here Valasco keeps a very tight focus on the high rise housing developments that shaped Venezuelan politics for decades. I was drawn to this by the current situation in that country, in which many hopes have been betrayed. The book helps to understand the tangled nature of politics in Venezuela, the long history of both populism and betrayal, and the highly politicised culture. It is jammed with great anecdotes drawn from oral histories - one of my favourites is of student radicals organising out of the buildings, whose support from the locals comes more from parental concern than strong ideological agreement, being told to "leave the bombs at the door" as they are brought in for shelter.
I don't know what lies ahead for this country, but the book is a timely reminder of what has been survived and what the people, in the right conditions, can build.
I don't know what lies ahead for this country, but the book is a timely reminder of what has been survived and what the people, in the right conditions, can build.
November 27, 2023
A really good and insightful book. I have zero knowledge of Venezuelan history, and I learned so much from this book. Although, why were the chapters so long? No hate, it's just, that I felt like I was making no progress while reading.
One of the main things I enjoyed was the incorporation of testimonies from Venezuelan people, and how their experiences reflect the government in Venezuela, particularly 23 de Enero as a symbol of Venezuelan Democracy.
Anyways, superb and awesome book.
One of the main things I enjoyed was the incorporation of testimonies from Venezuelan people, and how their experiences reflect the government in Venezuela, particularly 23 de Enero as a symbol of Venezuelan Democracy.
Anyways, superb and awesome book.
dnf
May 23, 2024It’s very dry and I feel like I’m reading the information but not processing it if that makes sense 😂 it’s like in one ear and out the other so it’s a DNF for me. The true sign was that I preferred staring at the wall during a workout rather than continuing this book
March 19, 2022
read half of this for class, insightful view into a truly grassroots movement and the dichotomy within the Venezuelan democracy of popular protest + electoral politics
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews