State and social rights in Venezuela (1958-1998): from the oil expansion to the "dismantlement"

Abstract

Since 1999, when Hugo Chavez became president of Venezuela, the debate on what is known as the Bolivarian Revolution is acquiring an increasingly higher importance on the agenda of press agencies, political organizations and social scientists from around the world. Quite controversial, the issue can not be understood disassociated from the recent history of Venezuelan democracy, marked by a moment of great stability in the 1970s, and severe crisis that affected it during the following decades. This article analyzes the main social and economic aspects of this process, which resulted on the complex conjuncture that caused a response by the bolivarian movement.