Dictatorship and Politics

Brian S. McBeth

Description

Dictatorship and Politics presents the first major study of General Juan Vicente Gómez’s regime in Venezuela from 1908 to 1935 and the efforts of Gómez’s enemies to overthrow him during his twenty-seven years in power. In this reappraisal of the Gómez regime, Brian S. McBeth demonstrates that Gómez’s success in withstanding opponents’ attacks was not only the result of his political acumen and ruthless methods of oppression. The political disagreements, personal rivalries, financial difficulties, occasional harassment by foreign powers, and at times plain bad luck of his opponents, usually in exile, were important contributing factors in the failure of their plots to overthrow him. In examining the opposition to the Gómez dictatorship, McBeth also intentionally removes the politics of oil from the center stage of the regime’s foreign relations and instead focuses on the tolerance and intolerance by foreign governments of the exiles’ activities.

This monumental work of scholarship encompasses political correspondence, personal memoirs, newspapers, British and U.S. sources, and various public and private archives in Venezuela. Historians, as well as political scientists working on themes related to dictatorships and opposition, will find the book of interest.

Sujets

• Comparative Politics
• Political Science
• Latin American
• HISTORY
• General officer
• Latin America
• World
• General
• Caribbean
• Juan Vicente Gómez

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780268086749
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

B     S . M B E T H

Dictatorship &Politics

Dictatorship & Politics

          

Scott Mainwaring,general editor

The University of Notre Dame Press gratefully thanks the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies for its support in the publication of titles in this series.

Yemile Mizrahi From Martyrdom to Power: The Partido Acción Nacional in Mexico(2003)

Charles D. Kenney Fujimori’s Coup and the Breakdown of Democracy in Latin America(2004)

Alfred P. Montero and David J. Samuels, eds. Decentralization and Democracy in Latin America(2004)

Katherine Hite and Paola Cesarini, eds. Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy in Latin America and Southern Europe(2004)

Robert S. Pelton, C.S.C., ed. Monsignor Romero: A Bishop for the Third Millennium(2004)

Guillermo O’Donnell, Jorge Vargas Cullell, and Osvaldo M. Iazzetta, eds. The Quality of Democracy: Theory and Applications(2004)

Arie M. Kacowicz The Impact of Norms in International Society: The Latin American Experience, 1881–2001(2005)

Roberto DaMatta and Elena Soárez Eagles, Donkeys, and Butterflies: An Anthropological Study of Brazil’s “Animal Game”(2006)

Kenneth P. Serbin Needs of the Heart: A Social and Cultural History of Brazil’s Clergy and Seminaries(2006)

Christopher Welna and Gustavo Gallón, eds. Peace, Democracy, and Human Rights in Colombia(2007)

Guillermo O’Donnell Dissonances: Democratic Critiques of Democracy(2007)

Marifel PérezStable, ed. Looking Forward: Comparative Perspectives on Cuba’s Transition(2007)

Jodi S. Finkel Judicial Reform as Political Insurance(2008)

Robert R. Wilson, Peter M. Ward, Peter K. Spink, and Victoria E. Rodríguez Governance in the Americas: Decentralization, Democracy, and Subnational Government in Brazil, Mexico, and the USA(2008)

For a complete list of titles from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, see http: // www.undpress.nd.edu

B R I A N S . M c B E T H

Dictatorship & Politics

Intrigue, Betrayal, and Survival in Venezuela,‒

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright ©by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging inPublication Data

McBeth, B. S. (Brian Stuart),– Dictatorship and politics : intrigue, betrayal, and survival in Venezuela, ‒/ Brian S. McBeth. p. cm. “Recent titles from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN: (cloth : alk. paper) . Venezuela—Politics and government—‒.. Dictatorship— Venezuela—History—Kellogg Institute forth century. I. Helen International Studies. II. Title. F.M  .'—dc 

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

This book is dedicated to Ramón J. Velásquez, a man of immense personal

courage and great intellectual and political powers, who has served Venezuela

and his native Táchira with distinction for more than fifty years, becoming

president of the country in. His political career started in thes, and

he was later imprisoned and tortured for many long years for opposing the

Pérez Jiménez dictatorship in thes. He was secretary general of the

presidency (‒) during the difficult years of Rómulo Betancourt’s ad

ministration and assumed the reigns of power after Betancourt was wounded

on June,, during an attempted assassination paid for by the Domini

can dictator general Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. Velásquez was first elected

senior senator for his home state of Táchira inand represented the state

until, returning later inuntil. While a senator he headed a

number of important committees. He has written a large number of erudite

and immensely readable books on modern Venezuelan history, bringing to

light a period of darkness in the country’s history. He was editor ofEl Na

cionalnewspaper for many years (‒and‒). He saved and nur

tured theArchivo Histórico de Miraflores,publishing a vast array of documents

from the archive. He also founded FUNRES, an institution dedicated to

saving historical archives on Venezuela. Velásquez is a truly modern Renais

sance man.

       

List of Tables

ix

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction



xiii

xi

Part I. Establishment of Power,‒

  A New Era



  Gómez Takes Over



  An Opportunity for the Exiles



Part II. Consolidation of Power,‒

  TheOdin/HarrierExpedition

  TheAngelitaExpedition





  The CivilMilitary Movements of



viii

—

Contents

Part III. Maintenance of Power,‒

  Renewed Hope for the Rebels

  TheFalkeExpedition

  One Last Try





  The Succession Is Resolved

Conclusion







Appendix A. Background Information on Important Political Actors of the Gómez Era

Appendix B. Currency and Exchange Rate Information

Notes



Bibliography

Index







           

Table.Cabinet Ministers and State Presidents Who Became Exiles

Table.Distribution of State Presidents between Single, Double, and Multiple States,‒

Table.Cabinet Ministers Who Were Also State Presidents

Table.Percentage Increase of Trade with Venezuela,‒

Table.Shell Crude Oil Production: Mexico and Venezuela (in millions of tons)



ix