For decades, the idea of a political alliance between Venezuela and the United States has seemed impossible with Caracas defining itself by Chavismo, a left-wing populist ideology rooted in anti-imperialism and confronting Washington\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n
But after US President Donald Trump ordered the abduction<\/a> of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, followed by US insistence that Caracas\u2019s interim government must take orders from Washington, questions about the future of Chavismo in Venezuela have begun to emerge.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n So what is Chavismo? Is it still a living movement \u2013 or has it morphed so far from its origins that it is in effect dead?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know:<\/p>\n Chavismo is named after its founder, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela\u2019s late, outspoken socialist politician and leader. It is based on his policies and reforms when he served as president from 1999 until his death in 2013.<\/p>\n Inspired by the ideologies of Venezuelan military officer Simon Bolivar, who fought for the independence of Latin American states from Spanish colonialism in the mid-1800s, Chavez introduced many social reforms that he believed would reduce poverty and bring about equality in the country.<\/p>\n These reforms included the government supporting social welfare programmes, nationalising industries and confronting what Chavez called imperialist policies from countries like the US, which, according to Chavez, prioritised capitalism over human rights.<\/p>\n During a trip to the US in 2006, Chavez said: \u201cCapitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you really want to look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ, who I think was the first socialist, only socialism can really create a genuine society.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides Chavez\u2019s political party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, other parties like the far-left Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro and Fatherland for All also support the political ideology.<\/p>\n After Chavez\u2019s death, Maduro, a former bus driver from Caracas who was a longtime supporter of Chavez and is often seen as his protege, became president.<\/p>\n Speaking at Chavez\u2019s funeral in March 2013, Maduro promised to continue the Chavismo of his predecessor and said Venezuela would be ruled by democracy and socialism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll continue protecting the poor. We\u2019ll continue giving food to those who need it. We\u2019ll continue building the education of our children. We\u2019ll continue building the Grand Homeland. We\u2019ll continue building peace, \u2026 peace for our continent, the peace of our people,\u201d he said at the time.<\/p>\n However, it is hard to define Chavismo as a socialist ideology because it is heterogeneous, said Yoletty Bracho, an associate professor of political science at France\u2019s Avignon University who focuses on Venezuela.<\/p>\n \u201c[Chavismo] is a political movement that was built upon the reunion of diverse actors across the political and social spectrum: social movements, historical left-wing parties, military actors. Maintaining a kind of coherence between these various sectors was one of the challenges during the Chavista democratic era,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cLater on, due to authoritarian consolidation, Chavismo reduced its heterogeneity to serve the interests of the political and military elites and their capacity of staying in power,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n According to a March 2013 report<\/a> by the European nonprofit Center for Economic and Policy Research, after Chavez came to power, poverty in the country \u201cdecreased significantly\u201d, dropping by nearly 50 percent, while extreme poverty dropped by more than 70 percent. At the same time, nationalisation of the oil industry led to the economy growing.<\/p>\n But some critics said, despite this, Venezuela\u2019s private sector still dominated the economy.<\/p>\n A 2010 report by The Associated Press news agency citing Venezuela\u2019s Central Bank said despite Chavez seeking to make the country a socialist economy, the private sector still controlled two-thirds of its economy, which was the same level as when he was elected in 1998.<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with American TV presenter John Stossel in 2017, scholar and political activist Noam Chomsky said Chavez\u2019s ideology \u201cwas quite remote from socialism\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cPrivate capitalism remained. \u2026 Capitalists were free to undermine the economy in all sorts of ways,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Many critics also argued that Chavismo is already dead \u2013 that it died under Maduro\u2019s rule when the ousted president ruled the country in a hardline manner.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
What is Chavismo?<\/h2>\n
![\"Hugo](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2006-09-20T120000Z_1652922241_GM1DTNTKBSAA_RTRMADP_3_UN-ASSEMBLY-1694709361.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C568&quality=80\")
Has Chavismo worked in Venezuela?<\/h2>\n