Chavez: Weakening Democracy Essay -- Government

What is democracy? According to the online version of the Miriam Webster dictionary, democracy is "government by the people" also "is a government in which supreme power is invested by the people and it is exercised by the people directly or indirectly through a representational system in which periodically held free elections." Venezuela as well as other countries in Latin America has undergone constant changes in their democracy, produced by their rulers. The primary function of the government is to ensure the safety of the state, its territory and its inhabitants. Also their objective is to strength the democratic institutions that ensure the democratic liberties and rights. Unfortunately, not all the leaders are capable of respecting these functions and get corrupted by the power granted by the people, or they simply came to power with the idea of governing for their benefit and not for the benefit of its citizens. President Chavez is no exception to the rule, after being impri soned for a failed coup against Carlos Andres Perez in 1992 which was provoked by the severe economic situation that affected the country in the 90's. In this essay, I would like to present the premise that Hugo Chavez Frias, even though was selected by the people and still today has the support of the majority of the people, has been constantly weakening the democracy in Venezuela. To support this argument I am going to present chronological examples of the different actions committed by Chavez and his government since his ascension to power in 1998. Hugo Chavez, a former lieutenant colonel in the militia resulted president in 1998. Shortly after having come to power instead of focusing on solving the precarious economic situation in which the cou... ... Works Cited Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. . Schuyler, George W. (2001), "Health and Neoliberalism: Venezuela and Cuba" (PDF), retrieved April 21, 2012 Corrales, Javier. "A Setback For Chavez." Journal of Democracy 1st ser. 22 (2011): 122-36. Print. "Comparing Democratic Institutions in Venezuela and Canada." Venezuela News, Views, and Analysis. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. . Kornblith, Miriam, and Vinay Jawahar. "Elections versus Democracy." Journal of Democracy 16.1 (2005): 124-37. Print. Corrales, Javier. â€Å"Hugo Boss† Foreign Policy (2006), No. 152. pp. 32-40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25461989 Corrales, Javier, and Michael. Penfold-Becerra. "Venezuela: Crowding Out the Opposition." Journal of Democracy 18.2 (2007): 99-113. Print.