num_pages: 195
description: Since he was first elected in 1999 Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez Frias has reshaped a frail but nonetheless pluralistic democracy into a semi-authoritarian regimean outcome achieved with spectacularly high oil income and widespread electoral support. This eye-opening book illuminates one of the most sweeping and unexpected political transformations in contemporary Latin America. Based on more than fifteen years' experience in researching and writing about Venezuela Javier Corrales and Michael Penfold have crafted a comprehensive account of how the Chvez regime has revamped the nation with a particular focus on its political transformation. Throughout they take issue with conventional explanations. First they argue persuasively that liberal democracy as an institution was not to blame for the rise of chavismo. Second they assert that the nation's economic ailments were not caused by neoliberalism. Instead they blame other factors including a dependence on oil
language: English
title: Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela
publisher: Brookings Institution Press