Socialism of the 21st century

A political project promoted in Latin America, especially by Hugo Chávez, that combines socialist economics with participatory democracy and regional independence.

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Participatory democracy: A form of governance in which people directly shape public decisions alongside or instead of elected representatives. Communal councils and popular assemblies were presented as ways to exercise political power from below.
Caracazo: The 1989 protests and riots in Venezuela against austerity measures, followed by a deadly state crackdown. The uprising weakened confidence in Venezuela’s established political order before Chávez’s rise.
Social democracy: A political tradition that pursues social equality through democratic institutions and a regulated market economy. Unlike many social-democratic programs, Chávez’s project sought extensive state ownership and a break with neoliberal policy.
Venezuelan oil industry: The extraction, processing, and export of petroleum in Venezuela, dominated by the state company PDVSA. Oil revenues financed social programs, while political control of the industry became central to the state’s power.
Communal council: A local Venezuelan body through which residents deliberate on community priorities and manage public projects. Chávez’s government promoted councils as grassroots institutions of popular participation.
Hugo Chávez: Venezuelan military officer and president from 1999 to 2013 who led the Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez popularized the phrase and made it the guiding label of his political project.
Neoliberalism: An approach favoring market competition, privatization, deregulation, and reduced state direction of the economy. The project defined itself against the privatization and market reforms it associated with neoliberalism.
Petrocaribe: A Venezuelan-led initiative that supplied Caribbean countries with oil on favorable financing terms. It extended Venezuela’s regional influence through energy cooperation and subsidized oil.
Nationalization: The transfer of privately owned assets or industries into state ownership. State control of strategic industries was used to fund social programs and expand public economic power.
Bolivarian Revolution: The political and social transformation pursued in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez beginning in 1999. The Venezuelan revolution was the central national setting in which the project took shape.