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Participation without Deliberation

The Crisis of Venezuelan Democracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Nicole Curato
Nicole Curato*
Affiliation:
Australia New Zealand Institute for Governance, University of Canberra
*
nicole.curato@canberra.edu.au
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Abstract

The legacy of Hugo Chavez is contentious. Some lament the deterioration of Venezuelan democracy from one of Latin America's most stable political systems to a populist authoritarian regime. Others celebrate Chavez's participatory project of institutionalizing structures for community-driven development, redistributing oil wealth through welfare policies, and creating a political party closely linked to mass movements. This article provides an alternative assessment of Venezuela's democratic quality by drawing on deliberative democratic theory. I argue that Chavez's participatory project is incomplete because it fails to create structures for deliberative politics. Without these mechanisms, Venezuela remains vulnerable to crises brought about by “uncivil action,” such as military coups and violent protests, making deliberation an important component in averting crises in democratizing polities.

Keywords

deliberative democracydemocratizationparticipatory democracyVenezuela

Information

Type
Which Democracy Is in Crisis?
Information
Democratic Theory , Volume 1 , Issue 2: The Crisis of Democracy: Which Crisis? Which Democracy? , December 2014 , pp. 113 - 121
Copyright
Copyright © Democratic Theory 2014

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