Venezuelan processes of Transitional Justice: how far will Chávez be able to go?

Rodrigo Acuña, Estela Valverde

    Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstract

    Abstract

    Until recent years, Venezuela had rarely occupied the media headlines. Since the coming to power of Hugo Chávez Frías, perhaps the most controversial Latin American political figure since Cuba's Fidel Castro, the country has been under close scrutiny by the international community. Transitional Justice (TJ) -understood as the study of those mechanisms, judicial and non-judicial, employed by communities, states and the international community to deal with a legacy of systematic human rights abuses and authoritarianism in order to promote social reconstruction- has been perceived as important by the Chávez government. However, TJ processes to address past crimes have often been stalled due to the transitional character of the new Republic itself and complicated by both the opposition's control of key government and judicial institutions, and the government's centralization and repolitisation of bureaucracies. Recently, TJ has been moving forward in the past few months as a result of key changes in government institutions, in particular the restructuring of State Security Forces and the judiciary. This paper will explore how TJ would solidify the government's claims of transparency and social justice and would consolidate its claims of establishing a more equitable and egalitarian republic. But will Chávez be able to deliver?
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages10
    Number of pages1
    Publication statusPublished - 8 Jul 2010
    EventIndependence! Two Centuries of Struggle: IX Biennial Association of Iberian and Latin American Studies of Australasia Conference - Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
    Duration: 7 Jul 20109 Jul 2010
    Conference number: 9th

    Conference

    ConferenceIndependence! Two Centuries of Struggle
    Abbreviated titleAILASA 2010
    Country/TerritoryAustralia
    CityCanberra
    Period7/07/109/07/10

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