From System Collapse to Chavista Hegemony: The Party Question in Bolivarian Venezuela

During the 14 years Hugo Chávez was in office, Venezuela's party system experienced a 180-degree shift. When Chávez was elected in 1998, Venezuela's party system had collapsed because of a two-decade-long economic-cum-political crisis. His initial appeal was built, in large part, on his antiparty message, a stance that continued through the first half of his time in office. A series of factors, principally the need for a more cohesive organization to combat an intransigent opposition, led to the creation of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela - PSUV) in 2007. The PSUV quickly became Venezuela's largest party and the linchpin of a new hegemonic system. The contradictions of that system are manifested in the split between the PSUV's right and left wings, and the hegemony of Chavismo is now in doubt.