Bolivarismo e Chavismo: aproximações, mitificação e paradoxos

Abstract

This research Bolivarism and Chavism: similarities, mystification and paradoxes intend to make a rescue of the political thought of Simon Bolivar in order to examine how the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, appropriates the legacy of The Liberator . The symbolic expression of Bolivar is analyzed in the light of a reflection on the role of political myths in modern societies. Despite a presumed rationalization of contemporary political life, the myths still present themselves as powerful instruments for the maintenance of consensus and, as in the case of Hugo Chavez, to legitimize and give substance to an alleged proposal to break. Beyond this symbolic dimension, the research aims to answer whether there is indeed a material correspondence between the Bolivarian ideas and the political project undertaken by the Venezuelan president. The hypothesis is that the mythical legacy of Bolivar plays a key role in the Chavez project, but the relationship between Simon Bolivar and Hugo Chavez does not end only in the symbolic plan. Finally, it reflects the relationship of both with the people , indicating that there is, in this particular aspect, a paradoxical component: Chavez subverts the impressions of Bolivar on the masses for supposedly implement the Liberator Hispanic American unfinished project