Polarization, Participatory Democracy, and Democratic Erosion in Venezuela’s Twenty-First Century Socialism

AuthorAna Mallen,María Pilar García-Guadilla
Date01 January 2019
DOI10.1177/0002716218817733
Published date01 January 2019
Subject MatterII. Democratic Erosion under New Elites
62 ANNALS, AAPSS, 681, January 2019
DOI: 10.1177/0002716218817733
Polarization,
Participatory
Democracy, and
Democratic
Erosion in
Venezuela’s
Twenty-First
Century
Socialism
By
MARÍA PILAR
GARCÍA-GUADILLA
and
ANA MALLEN
817733ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYPolarization, Participatory Democracy, and Democratic Erosion in Venezuela
research-article2018
This article analyzes the emergence and consolidation
of political polarization in Venezuela during the so-
called Bolivarian Revolution, led by Hugo Chávez and
his successor Nicolás Maduro from 1999 to 2018. We
also examine the conditions under which polarization in
Venezuela became pernicious, and contributed to ero-
sion of democracy. Given the underlying class cleavages
that were associated with pro- and anti-Chavista identi-
ties, we argue that the central dimension of polarization
began with a political-ideological rift around competing
concepts of democracy—participatory and representa-
tive, the rights that each vision privileged (individual
civil and political rights vs. collective social and eco-
nomic rights), and the interpretation of participatory
democracy as a complement or substitute for repre-
sentative democracy. As a result, the inclusion of repre-
sentative and participatory models of democracy in the
1999 Bolivarian constitution failed to deepen democ-
racy. Instead, they came to be seen as mutually exclu-
sive or incompatible. The result was a polarized
democracy that became increasingly authoritarian.
Keywords: polarization; participatory democracy;
polarized democracy; Venezuela; twenty-
first-century socialism
Venezuela represents an extreme case of
polarization that we will define as perni-
cious,1 exclusionary and, more recently, frag-
mented. Following Anderson (1983), Fraser
(1992), Habermas (2000), Horkheimer and
Adorno (2002), and Warner (2005), we under-
stand polarization as part of the public sphere,
where antagonistic political narratives are exac-
erbated to such a degree that they act as prisms
through which all forms of public social interac-
tion are interpreted.
María Pilar García-Guadilla is a professor of political
and urban sociology at the Universidad Simón Bolívar,
Venezuela. She specializes in social movements, popular
organizations, and democracy from below. Her most
recent book is, Venezuela Polarized Politics: The
Paradox of Direct Democracy under Chávez (Lynne
Rienner 2017), coauthored with Ana Mallen.
POLARIZATION, PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY, AND DEMOCRATIC EROSION IN VENEZUELA 63
Polarization implies two conflicting forces or groups (divided by social class,
political ideologies, or other characteristics) that are usually opposites; that is,
groups that hold values, principles, interests, and ideologies that are perceived as
incompatible and exclusionary. In this context, rational debate based on shared
constitutional principles seems impossible because there are no common values
and interpretations through which to engage in dialogue and conciliation. The
differences between the groups tend to stimulate conflict and make it difficult to
achieve the ideological, political, and social consensus needed for democratic
governability. In the extreme form of polarization, where principles, interests,
and/or ideologies are perceived as antagonistic, attempts to eliminate or suppress
the “other,” frequently considered an enemy, may justify exclusion and the use of
violence (Mallen and García-Guadilla 2017; McCoy, Rahman, and Somer 2018;
Lozada 2002).
Polarization in Venezuela’s Participatory Democracy
Mallen and García-Guadilla (2017) define the polarization that took place in
Venezuela under the presidency of Hugo Chávez (1999–2013) as “a state of
heightened tension between citizens, whose very subjectivity [was] subsumed
under their perceived political affiliation” (p. 4). From 2001 to 2018, tensions and
conflicts from polarization became so severe that “all forms of public social inter-
action [were] interpreted through antagonistic political narratives” (p. 5). In other
words, political identities became social identities, with all of the accompanying
dynamics of intergroup conflict in which group members trust and like their own
group but distrust and dislike the “other” group.
Polarization has been linked to poverty and social exclusion (Chakravarty
2009; Knox and Pinch 2010; Moulaert, Rodriguez, and Swingedouw 2003) and to
heightened social class cleavages (García-Guadilla 2003, 2007; Ellner 2003). It
has also been associated with the transition from authoritarian regimes to repre-
sentative democracy, as in Turkey, the Arab Spring countries, and Hungary after
the disintegration of the Soviet Union (Agh 2012; McCoy, Rahman, and Somer
2018). Somer and McCoy (2018) have pointed out three theoretical possibilities
in the relationship between democracy and polarization: polarization
Ana Mallen has researched Venezuelan politics for 15 years and has worked with communities
in Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela. She coauthored the book, Venezuela Polarized
Politics: The Paradox of Direct Democracy under Chávez (Lynne Rienner 2017), with María
Pilar García-Guadilla.
NOTE: The empirical information for analyzing polarization in Venezuela comes from numer-
ous databases, documents, interviews, and other primary and secondary material that were
collected for the research project, Participatory democracy and the constitutionalization of
new citizenship and rationalities: Social actors and sociopolitical conflict in Venezuela under
Chávez, FONACIT-USB (2001–2012). This research project was coordinated by María Pilar
García-Guadilla. Additional databases were used for 2013–2018 (GAUS-USB 2013-20118).
The theorization and conceptualization of polarization are based on Mallen and García-
Guadilla (2017).

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