Hugo Chavez Hybrid Regime
In order to understand the democratic state of Venezuela it is essential to understand the workings of Hugo Chavez and what is considered a hybrid regime. Hybrid regimes are political systems in which the tools for determining access to state office combines both democratic and autocratic practices. In other words, in hybrid regimes, freedom exists and the opposition is allowed to compete in election, but the system of checks and balances has become inoperative (Corrales 1). Hybrid regimes typically display the following features as well: government negotiations with opposition forces are rare, hardcore loyalists are given benefits and placed at top level government positions (which further undermines the system of checks and balances), the
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The key changes took place between 1999-2001 directly before the 2003-2008 oil boom (Corrales 14). Chavez started by creating a hyper presidential constitution. Shortly after Chavez took office the 1961 constitution was rewritten and gave substantially more power to the executive. He focused on rewriting the rules governing relations among the branches of government, with a profound focus on expanding the presidential powers. The constitution was also written in just 3 months and lacked input from the opposition, which was yet another tactic to expand presidential power. Furthermore, the presidential term was expanded from 5 years to 6 years and immediate reelection for a second term was granted. The president was also given complete control over promotions within the armed forces without legislative approval, the senate was eliminated which got rid of checks and balances within Congress and between the legislative and executive branch, the president was allowed to activate any kind of referendum without legislative action, and public financing for political parties was banned (Corrales 19). A constitution that allows for so much executive power is hard to fathom in a democratic atmosphere. In fact, separation of power and the voice of the opposition are key factors in a democratic system. This constitution produced a system in which the stakes of holding power were very high and the incentive for incumbents to give up the power was very low (Corrales
The key changes took place between 1999-2001 directly before the 2003-2008 oil boom (Corrales 14). Chavez started by creating a hyper presidential constitution. Shortly after Chavez took office the 1961 constitution was rewritten and gave substantially more power to the executive. He focused on rewriting the rules governing relations among the branches of government, with a profound focus on expanding the presidential powers. The constitution was also written in just 3 months and lacked input from the opposition, which was yet another tactic to expand presidential power. Furthermore, the presidential term was expanded from 5 years to 6 years and immediate reelection for a second term was granted. The president was also given complete control over promotions within the armed forces without legislative approval, the senate was eliminated which got rid of checks and balances within Congress and between the legislative and executive branch, the president was allowed to activate any kind of referendum without legislative action, and public financing for political parties was banned (Corrales 19). A constitution that allows for so much executive power is hard to fathom in a democratic atmosphere. In fact, separation of power and the voice of the opposition are key factors in a democratic system. This constitution produced a system in which the stakes of holding power were very high and the incentive for incumbents to give up the power was very low (Corrales