Populist Discourse and The Remaking of Political Opposition in Venezuela

Abstract

In recent years, two main political poles have consolidated in Venezuela, those in favor of the late President Hugo Chávez or Chavistas and those in opposition. Despite their divergent propositions and deep social polarization, the two camps share similarities, and in a way each camp has reinforced the existence of the other through its discursive practices. This paper investigates the role of the opposition in consolidating a populist discourse in Venezuela. Through a qualitative content analysis of online news articles, the paper shows that the ideas and discourse of the anti-Chávez movement between 2000 and 2012 consolidated the populist discourse of the Chavista government.