Le peuple existe-t-il au Venezuela ? Le cas des conseils communaux de la planification publique

Abstract

This article depicts the formation of an original popular subjectivity in the contemporary Venezuela, within the institutional framework of the Consejos comunales de planificación publica. This contribution tries to improve our comprehension of this complexe phenomenon that is “chavism”, which is usually diminished in the social sciences analysis to its political dimension (power concentration, demagogic style, neo-castrist ideology). Regarding to the analytical instruments offered by F. Dubet “subjective experience sociology” and social imaginaire analytical theories (P. Ricoeur, E. Laclau, C. Castoriadis, B. Anderson), the author proposes a definition of latino-american neo-populist regimes which considers the “forgiven dimension of people”, within an epistemological framework of an embryionic “sociology of chavism” based on an hermeneutic analysis of popular speech acts in the Communal Councils. Moreover, the post-2nd December actuality in Venezuela shows us the foundamental importance of the relationship power-people, as a struggle between populist hegemony and popular counter-hegemony, to understand contemporary Venezuela.

Keywords

• chavism
• Communal councils
• direct democracy
• populism
• Venezuela