Left populism and Armed Forces: Venezuela versus Bolivia

Abstract

The objective of this research is to explain the role played by the Armed Forces in the development of left-wing populist regimes in Venezuela and Bolivia. The working hypothesis we developed is that «chavismo» was able to consolidate and remain in the first of these countries because it had the support of the military. On the contrary, «evismo» failed because it could not attract the Armed Forces to its political project. The sources used for its development have been mainly hemerographic and bibliographic.