The Magical State: Nature, Money, and Modernity in Venezuela

by Fernando Coronil

In 1935, after the death of dictator General Juan Vicente Gómez, Venezuela consolidated its position as the world's major oil exporter and began to establish what today is South America's longest-lasting democratic regime. Endowed with the power of state oil wealth, successive presidents appeared as transcendent figures who could magically transform Venezuela into a modern nation. During the 1974-78 oil boom, dazzling development projects promised finally to effect this transformation. Yet now the state must struggle to appease its foreign creditors, counter a declining economy, and contain a discontented citizenry. In critical dialogue with contemporary social theory, Fernando Coronil examines key transformations in Venezuela's polity, culture, and economy, recasting theories of development and highlighting the relevance of these processes for other postcolonial nations. The result is a timely and compelling historical ethnography of political power at the cutting edge of interdisciplinary reflections on modernity and the state.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Nonfiction, Latin American History

465 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Ricardo Avella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fundamental book for anyone who seeks to understand the role of the State in Venezuela, the origins of a populist democracy, and above all the role that oil played in shaping a society and an economy where production was always subject to the capture of petrodollars for the generation of easy wealth. It is a book that questions the dependence on the extraction of natural resources and illuminates the risks that this practice entails in the persecution of the myth of modernity.

[Achmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent works! Discource analysis on political economy, from cultural repertoar, dramaturgy to machine factories. Oil is the main fuel for the transformation of Venezuela.

[Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un buen resumen sobre la transformación del estado venezolana en siglo XX y un buen ejemplo de la idea de transmodernidad

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of insider views of culture in venezuela.

[Fabiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

O melhor livro sobre o chavismo foi escrito antes de Chávez. Para entender a maldição da economia petroleira.