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Hugo Chávez has taken on the mantle of the people's will. He has also taken on an ever-larger share of political power and shown an increasing interest in spreading his "Bolivarian revolution" to the downtrodden in nearby Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

McCoy, J.: One act in an unfinished drama. - S. 109-123 Kornblith, M.: Elections versus democracy. - S. 124-137

Describes election of President Hugo Chávez, focusing on the huge gap he must face between campaign promises, political problems, and economic realities.

Describes the Oct. 1996 elections, prospects for democracy in its aftermath, and issues relating to property and privatization.

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction -- PART I: Antecedents: The Foundations of the Punto Fijo Regime of Representative Democracy -- 1 The Normalization of Punto Fijo Democracy -- PART II: The Actors: Making Political Demands -- 2 Urban Poor and Political Order -- 3 The Military: From Marginalization to Center Stage -- 4 Entrepreneurs: Profits without Power? -- 5 Civil Society: Late Bloomers -- 6 Intellectuals: An Elite Divided -- 7 The United States and Venezuela: From a Special Relationship to Wary Neighbors -- 8 The Unraveling of Venezuela's Party System: From Party Rule to Personalistic Politics and Deinstitutionalization -- PART III: Policy Making and Its Consequences -- 9 Decentralization: Key to Understanding a Changing Nation -- 10 The Syndrome of Economic Decline and the Quest for Change -- 11 Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and Regime Stabilization -- PART IV: Conclusion -- 12 From Representative to Participatory Democracy? Regime Transformation in Venezuela -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Glossary -- References -- List of Contributors -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

Interest in populist voters has risen with the election of Donald Trump in the United States, the rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe, and the longevity of populist leaders in countries like Italy, Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela. Yet, little attention has been given to what mechanisms may affect populist attitudes, leaving us without recommendations for media or politicians on how to mitigate populism's known negative effects. This study investigates one such mechanism—political rhetoric working through emotional states—to determine whether grievances centered on subjective perceptions of injustice and inequities in the system operate through negative emotions to increase populist attitudes, as is often assumed in the literature, and whether an antidote to those perceptions may be found in a sense of solidarity and mutual support. For our analysis, we conducted a nationally representative online survey experiment of 2,006 respondents in the United States in November 2018. Broadly, we find evidence that negative emotional states increase populist attitudes, but positive emotions do not have an impact. Likewise, political rhetoric reinforcing a sense of unfair advantage for some people further increases populist attitudes. Importantly, we find that reducing these negative emotions by emphasizing solidarity can reduce populist attitudes. These findings not only deepen our understanding of the triggers of populism, but also take the first step in building a tested toolbox of strategies to minimize its negative effects.