Hugo Chávez and the diffusion of Bolivarianism

This article analyses the mechanisms of influence, learning, and emulation used by Hugo Chávez to diffuse Bolivarianism across Latin America and the world. Different from autocratic types of diffusion that are instrumental and motivated by self-preservation, Chávez promoted what he depicted as a superior model of democracy and a populist strategy of political transformation using constitution making, heavy state intervention in the economy, and anti-imperialism. Even though Chávez promoted his script for regime change across Latin America and the Caribbean, his model was emulated only when opportunities opened up in nations such as Bolivia and Ecuador that experienced crises of political parties and the institutional framework of democracy. Bolivarianism was not emulated in nations where political parties and democratic institutions remained functioning, and where the left and civil society valued democracy, pluralism, and liberal rights due to brutal autocratic experiences. Despite its democratizing promises Bolivarianism did not lead to the radicalization of democracy but to its erosion and its displacement towards authoritarianism. The fear of Bolivarianism also led to a coup against president Zelaya in Honduras. Bolivarian strategies of populist rupture crossed the Atlantic and were adapted by PODEMOS that became the third largest political party in Spain.