Smilde, David, Zubillaga, Véronica and Hanson, Rebecca. 2022. The Paradox of Violence in Venezuela. Revolution, crime and policing during Chavismo

The Paradox of Violence in Venezuela.Revolution, crime and policing during Chavismo" offers an interdisciplinary and multi-method examination of a paradox, that is, the marked increase of violence despite notable poverty and inequality reduction, and its consequences for society, state institutions, politics, and subjectivities.Violence in Venezuela has risen steadily over the last three decades.While violence and crime were already a problem in the 1990s, violence reached unprecedented levels under the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.This occurred in the context of a significant reduction in poverty and inequality, fuelled by rising oil revenues.Between 2004 and 2011, the Venezuelan government expanded social policies and socio-economic indicators improved across the board.At the same time, violence skyrocketed; official statistics show that violence tripled during the Chávez period (p.3).Not only has Venezuelan society become more violent, but the security forces have become far more deadly and cruel.During Maduro's presidency, "necropolitical governance has become the dominant mode" (p.205).Building on the deep contextual knowledge of a diverse set of authors and in dialogue with the wealth of literature on crime, politics and violence in Latin America, the book offers a much-need analysis of the multiple dimensions of crime and violence in contemporary Venezuela.Moreover, the book locates the case study in the framework of broader debates on the linkages among violence, inequality, and the state, encouraging a reorientation of prevalent theories.The analysis likewise contributes to debates on security governance and the effects of mano dura policies in Latin America.