The Venezuelan Revolution: 100 Questions-100 Answers
Coauthor Boudin--the Rhodes Scholar son of two 1970s activists incarcerated for their role in a high-profile armored car hold-up--traveled to Venezuela to research public policy and explore alternatives to American democracy. Written with the assistance of a Venezuelan journalist and a political analyst for the Chavez government, this book is Boudin's attempt to explain recent Venezuelan political developments to an American audience that knows relatively little about populist president Hugo Chavez, and in doing so, counterweigh the mainstream American media's generally hostile representations of the socialist Venezuelan governments. The questions are generally aimed at the skeptical (#63: Is it true that the media have functioned like political parties?). Their pithy responses demonstrate considerable sympathy for Chavez and his efforts, and are ultimately dedicated to revealing Chavez as a legitimately elected patriot bent on social justice through harnessed oil wealth. More an exuberant catechism than an in-depth academic analysis of Latin America's lurch to the Left, this account will alert readers to media discrepancies surrounding Venezuelan politics and perhaps inspire them to seek out other books on the subject.Brendan DriscollCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved