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One of the more interesting books I read in recent years is undoubtedly Nikolas Kozloff's detailed work on Hugo Chavez. Kozloff's writings provide the reader with a critical insight into the Chavez phenomenon, his rise to fame and the performance of his administration. Where many books regarding the rise to fame of Venezuela's current president either idealize his struggle against alleged U.S. imperialism, or picture Chavez as a threat to hemispheric stability, Kozloff manages to draw a picture closer to reality in my opinion.
By idealizing Chavez's seemingly ideological struggle, one tends to ignore failures of his administration to bring about prosperity and social justice for the Venezuelan population (a key electoral promise in 1998 red.). By condemning him on the other hand and denouncing him as a hemispheric security threat, one fails to grasp the reason for his rise to fame in the first place. Kozloff chooses an approach that is more fact based, preventing his book from taking a distinct pro- or anti-Chavez stance. As a doctor in Latin American history from Oxford, who is well connected in Venezuelan society, he understands the issue well.
Kozloff analyses Chavez by focusing on the central role that oil played and continues to play in Venezuelan politics, the ideological struggle against the U.S, the civil-military alliance in contemporary Venezuela, the information ‘'war'' against the Bush administration and Chavez's foreign policy and his ties with countries such as Bolivia, Iran, Belarus and Russia. In doing so the reader is able to grasp very well what it means to run such an oil rich country as Venezuela and the immense opportunities and risks it carries. In my opinion Kozloff does a good job at acknowledging the relative success of several of the Bolivarian missions that Chavez launched upon taking office (e.g.: Robinson, Ribas, Sucre and Barrio Adentro). This undoubtedly brought about a relative shift in wealth and prosperity amongst the Venezuelan population. However, one has to judge Chavez's presidency based on the full picture and this is exactly what Kozloff does, thereby making his book stand out amongst many others. One cannot help but have mixed feelings about the good of the Bolivarian revolution after reading through the aftermath of the 2002 PDVSA strike and the revision of Venezuela's civil-military ties and its implications for Venezuelan society.
I invite everyone to read this book. It enables anyone ranging from the casual reader to the ardent Chavez believer or hater alike to understand the Chavez phenomenon in full.
Nikolas Kozloff is Senior Research Fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs (Washington, D.C.). He writes regularly for Counterpunch, Political Affairs, and other political magazines. He received his doctorate in Latin American history from Oxford University in 2002
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
One of the more interesting books I read in recent years is undoubtedly Nikolas Kozloff's detailed work on Hugo Chavez. Kozloff's writings provide the reader with a critical insight into the Chavez phenomenon, his rise to fame and the performance of his administration. Where many books regarding the rise to fame of Venezuela's current president either idealize his struggle against alleged U.S. imperialism, or picture Chavez as a threat to hemispheric stability, Kozloff manages to draw a picture closer to reality in my opinion.
By idealizing Chavez's seemingly ideological struggle, one tends to ignore failures of his administration to bring about prosperity and social justice for the Venezuelan population (a key electoral promise in 1998 red.). By condemning him on the other hand and denouncing him as a hemispheric security threat, one fails to grasp the reason for his rise to fame in the first place. Kozloff chooses an approach that is more fact based, preventing his book from taking a distinct pro- or anti-Chavez stance. As a doctor in Latin American history from Oxford, who is well connected in Venezuelan society, he understands the issue well.
Kozloff analyses Chavez by focusing on the central role that oil played and continues to play in Venezuelan politics, the ideological struggle against the U.S, the civil-military alliance in contemporary Venezuela, the information ‘'war'' against the Bush administration and Chavez's foreign policy and his ties with countries such as Bolivia, Iran, Belarus and Russia. In doing so the reader is able to grasp very well what it means to run such an oil rich country as Venezuela and the immense opportunities and risks it carries. In my opinion Kozloff does a good job at acknowledging the relative success of several of the Bolivarian missions that Chavez launched upon taking office (e.g.: Robinson, Ribas, Sucre and Barrio Adentro). This undoubtedly brought about a relative shift in wealth and prosperity amongst the Venezuelan population. However, one has to judge Chavez's presidency based on the full picture and this is exactly what Kozloff does, thereby making his book stand out amongst many others. One cannot help but have mixed feelings about the good of the Bolivarian revolution after reading through the aftermath of the 2002 PDVSA strike and the revision of Venezuela's civil-military ties and its implications for Venezuelan society.
I invite everyone to read this book. It enables anyone ranging from the casual reader to the ardent Chavez believer or hater alike to understand the Chavez phenomenon in full.
Nikolas Kozloff is Senior Research Fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs (Washington, D.C.). He writes regularly for Counterpunch, Political Affairs, and other political magazines. He received his doctorate in Latin American history from Oxford University in 2002
Buy at Amazon.com or Amazon.de
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