The Political History of Brazil and Venezuela

Abstract

This chapter compares the political dynamics of Brazil and Venezuela throughout the second half of the 20th century. It analyzes the (re)evolution, conflicts, and threats against democracies these countries faced. They are good examples of the political struggles the South American subcontinent has gone through the time, in an attempt, often permeated by failure, to build less than unequal and more democratic societies. Lastly, it analyzes the prospects of the consolidation of Brazilian democracy and the full breakdown in Venezuela. It compares the pendulum turning toward the right and left, as well as the new model of Brazilian democratic social welfare and the slow deterioration of the political conditions, until the eventual overthrow of democracy, in Venezuela.