Writing in 1995, historian Steve Ellner observed an emerging trend in modern Venezuelan historiography. He noted that some had begun to re-evaluate traditionally positive portrayals of the post-1945 democratic governments, as well as the commonly held negative images of the military/dictatorial governments of the first half of the twentieth century.Footnote 1 Brian S. McBeth's masterful study of the government of Juan Vicente Gómez represents a signal example of this new trend. In his encyclopaedic analysis of the politics of the Gómez regime, the author depicts Gómez as neither a simple tyrant nor a puppet of foreign interests, but as a consummately skilled politician who enjoyed broad domestic support. The author also provides a detailed and thoroughly researched account of the evolving opposition to the regime.
Known for his in-depth analyses of early twentieth-century Venezuelan politics, in Dictatorship and Politics McBeth challenges widely held beliefs about General Gómez and his long-lived regime. He credits the Tachiran leader with great political acumen and argues that, contrary to the prevailing historiography of the Gómez era, he did not govern without popular and political support. The author asserts that ‘Gómez, with his “rural and affable aspect”, surrounded himself with enlightened and prestigious men who helped modernise the country’ (p. 371). Indeed, after the tumult of Cipriano Castro's rule, many in Venezuela initially saw Juan Vicente Gómez as a reformer, even a liberator.
McBeth also puts the regime in a broader context of foreign relations. Whereas Gómez has often been treated as a puppet of multinational oil companies and their home governments, McBeth reveals that the relationship was not as cosy as often depicted. He attempts – though not entirely successfully – to remove oil as the main focus of political and international conflict. The author demonstrates that both oil interests and the British and United States governments did not immediately embrace Gómez, and indeed even considered cooperating with his opponents. Although anxious for the removal of Cipriano Castro in 1908, the US government did not support Gómez uncritically; Woodrow Wilson was initially quite cool to Gómez's regime, though later administrations embraced closer relations. McBeth notes that ‘the United States would continue to encourage Venezuelan conspirators, with US–Venezuelan relations remaining strained until 1922, when US oil needs modified America's policy toward the country’ (p. 123). He also shifts focus somewhat from the usual preoccupation with the United States and Britain by noting the role of Alvaro Obregón and Mexico's revolutionary government in seeking the overthrow of Gómez's regime.
The key focus of the book, however, remains the internal opposition to Gómez. McBeth discusses in detail more than 20 efforts to oust him, ranging from stillborn conspiracies to elaborate invasions from abroad, coordinated with internal uprisings. He depicts the anti-Gómez rebels as both politically sophisticated and dedicated, but plagued with two basic problems, ‘namely a lack of finance and disputes among themselves as to who would lead the revolution’ (p. 207). As a result, all these efforts to remove Gómez had in common their universal failure, allowing the caudillo to die still in power at an advanced age. The author also demonstrates the evolving nature of the militant opposition. ‘Liberal’ political and military groups dominated early efforts to oust Gómez; by the 1920s, the nature of the opposition had begun to change, with the emergence of new groups – the middle class, students and militant leftists – reflecting Venezuela's wider political evolution over 27 years. While providing a detailed discussion of the efforts to displace Gómez, McBeth leaves the impression that the threat was perhaps more perceived than real.
The study takes a generally chronological approach; the author begins with Juan Vicente Gómez's rise to power and ends with the aftermath of Gómez's death in December 1935. The book is divided into three sections; the first part, extending from 1908 to 1916, focuses on Gómez's rise to national power in the wake of his ouster of ailing predecessor Cipriano Castro. The second part, from 1917 to 1928, explores the consolidation of the regime's hold on power, while chronicling the steady stream of conspiracies and uprisings by those seeking to topple Gómez. The third part examines the last years of the Gómez era and centres on the most significant attempt to overthrow him, the famous Falke raid of 1929. It also narrates the waning years of the regime, culminating with Gómez's death in December 1935, and the complexities of succession. A series of useful appendices provides the reader with biographical information about key personalities in Juan Vicente Gómez's Venezuela, as well as key financial information for the regime.
The book is based heavily on archival research; given its focus, it is perhaps not surprising that the main sources of information are Venezuelan government archives, particularly the presidential archive at the Palacio de Miraflores, as well as the private archives of major players in the Gómez regime. The author also makes extensive use of foreign government sources, particularly diplomatic and consular correspondence from US and British archives, to tell the complex tale of intersection between Gómez's government and its opponents inside and outside of Venezuela.
McBeth's work represents a major scholarly achievement in Venezuelan history. It provides the reader with a comprehensive reassessment of the Gómez era in addition to a convincing demonstration of the tenacious opposition that the regime faced. But the very volume and detail of the study cannot help but raise a question: to whit, how realistic were the perceived threats to the regime? Intentionally or not, McBeth demonstrates very clearly that the obstacles facing those challenging Juan Vicente Gómez for power were very nearly insurmountable. Still, this is an essential book for anyone interested in modern Venezuelan history, and provides interesting insights into the contemporary political dynamics of that country.
