Acknowledgments  ix

Map of Venezuela  xii

Introduction. What People? Whose History?  1

1. A Guerrilla History  22

2. Reconnecting with the Masses  45

3. Birth of the "Tupamaros"  67

First Interlude. The Caracazo: History Splits in Two  88

4. Sergio's Blood: Student Struggles from the University to the Streets  105

5. Manuelita's Boots: Women between Two Movements  126

6. JoséLeonardo's Body and the Collapse of Mestizaje  146

Second Interlude. Every Eleventh Has Its Thirteenth  166

7. Venezuelan Workers: Aristocracy or Revolutionary Class?  180

8. Oligarchs Tremble! Peasant Struggles at the Margins of the State  200

9. A New Proletariat? Informal Labor and the Revolutionary Streets  218

Conclusion. Dual Power against the Magical State  234

Notes  257

Index  307

Jeff St. Andrews

“Ciccariello-Maher’s history of the Venezuelan left is essential to understanding the Chávez era.”—Dorothy Kronick, The New Republic

“Terrific.”—Greg Grandin, The Nation

“[A] crisply written social and political history of the critical decades leading up to Chávez's election in 1998. . . . For those who want to see the revolution continue, Ciccariello-Maher has made a critical contribution to our understanding, which is in and of itself enough to recommend this book without reservation. But more than that, We Created Chávez brilliantly demonstrates how social history scholarship can mine the lived experiences of rank-and-file activists and radical leaders for precious stones, and then set those gems in a visible and rigorous theoretical frame that allows us to see history in motion.”—Todd Chretien, Socialist Worker

[translated from the Spanish] "Ciccariello-Maher's book constitutes a relevant contribution for understanding the genesis and present of Venezuelan politics; with fluid prose and a narration that oscillates between interviews with the protagonists of social movements, testimonial, and historiographic research... this book has the merit of constituting an unavoidable reference-point for recent American History."—Lucas Benielli, Rey Desnudo

“We Created Chavez contributes enormously to understand Venezuela today, what is going on in the country, the Bolivarian process, the person Chavez and the question haunting us: will Chavismo survive and Venezuela continue in the path proclaimed by Chavez. Ciccariello-Maher ... does an excellent job in acquainting the reader with the history of Venezuela – the peoples' history. What makes the book an absorbing read is that, he concentrates extensively on the movements and struggles that laid the conditions for Chavismo, rather than on Chavez himself. This is an interesting departure from many of the narratives that are emerging from the continent, ever since Chavez had brought Venezuela, an obscure, far-off country into the everyday discussions of everyone who is concerned for a better future.”—R Arun Kumar, People’s Democracy

“I've been looking for this book for years.” —Steve Henshall, Socialist Review

"The book is a fascinating look into Venezuelan politics and clearly shows how it was the strength of the mass movement that created Hugo Chávez, not the other way around. Written before Chávez’ death, the author doesn’t directly address the question of what will happen without him; however, the degree of popular mobilization he describes is reassurance that the revolution will continue.”—Mike Wold, Real Change

"In addition to providing readers with an irreplaceable genealogy of the Revolutionary Left in Venezuela and its role in the making of the present, We Created Chávez deftly illustrates the tensions between constituent and constituted power that make the Bolivarian Revolution a dialectical process rather than a presidential term in office. We Created Chávez is also a masterful contribution to a thankfully growing body of work responding to dominant portrayals of the Bolivarian process in Venezuela enraptured or enraged by the figure of el Comandante.”—Donald V. Kingsbury, Theory & Event

“We Created Chávez is indispensable toward understanding the process that is the Bolivarian Revolution and the path taken by Venezuela.”—Systemic Disorder blog

“In its endeavor to look beyond Chavez, the book offers invaluable lessons to people anywhere in the world who wish to contribute to democratic revolutions.”—Joe Emersberger, Venezuela Analysis

“Ciccariello-Maher’s history of the Venezuelan left is essential to understanding the Chávez era.”—Dorothy Kronick, The New Republic

“Terrific.”—Greg Grandin, The Nation

“[A] crisply written social and political history of the critical decades leading up to Chávez's election in 1998. . . . For those who want to see the revolution continue, Ciccariello-Maher has made a critical contribution to our understanding, which is in and of itself enough to recommend this book without reservation. But more than that, We Created Chávez brilliantly demonstrates how social history scholarship can mine the lived experiences of rank-and-file activists and radical leaders for precious stones, and then set those gems in a visible and rigorous theoretical frame that allows us to see history in motion.”—Todd Chretien, Socialist Worker

[translated from the Spanish] "Ciccariello-Maher's book constitutes a relevant contribution for understanding the genesis and present of Venezuelan politics; with fluid prose and a narration that oscillates between interviews with the protagonists of social movements, testimonial, and historiographic research... this book has the merit of constituting an unavoidable reference-point for recent American History."—Lucas Benielli, Rey Desnudo

“We Created Chavez contributes enormously to understand Venezuela today, what is going on in the country, the Bolivarian process, the person Chavez and the question haunting us: will Chavismo survive and Venezuela continue in the path proclaimed by Chavez. Ciccariello-Maher ... does an excellent job in acquainting the reader with the history of Venezuela – the peoples' history. What makes the book an absorbing read is that, he concentrates extensively on the movements and struggles that laid the conditions for Chavismo, rather than on Chavez himself. This is an interesting departure from many of the narratives that are emerging from the continent, ever since Chavez had brought Venezuela, an obscure, far-off country into the everyday discussions of everyone who is concerned for a better future.”—R Arun Kumar, People’s Democracy

“I've been looking for this book for years.” —Steve Henshall, Socialist Review

"The book is a fascinating look into Venezuelan politics and clearly shows how it was the strength of the mass movement that created Hugo Chávez, not the other way around. Written before Chávez’ death, the author doesn’t directly address the question of what will happen without him; however, the degree of popular mobilization he describes is reassurance that the revolution will continue.”—Mike Wold, Real Change

"In addition to providing readers with an irreplaceable genealogy of the Revolutionary Left in Venezuela and its role in the making of the present, We Created Chávez deftly illustrates the tensions between constituent and constituted power that make the Bolivarian Revolution a dialectical process rather than a presidential term in office. We Created Chávez is also a masterful contribution to a thankfully growing body of work responding to dominant portrayals of the Bolivarian process in Venezuela enraptured or enraged by the figure of el Comandante.”—Donald V. Kingsbury, Theory & Event

“We Created Chávez is indispensable toward understanding the process that is the Bolivarian Revolution and the path taken by Venezuela.”—Systemic Disorder blog

“In its endeavor to look beyond Chavez, the book offers invaluable lessons to people anywhere in the world who wish to contribute to democratic revolutions.”—Joe Emersberger, Venezuela Analysis

"We Created Chávez provides a systematic, bottom-up approach to Venezuelan politics from 1958 to the present. It offers a much-needed new perspective on Hugo Chávez's rise to power. Writing in a lively style and demonstrating a thorough command of the issues and personalities in recent Venezuelan history, George Ciccariello-Maher has produced a book essential to understanding the phenomenon of 'Chavismo,' which has attracted widespread interest throughout the world."—Steve Ellner, author of Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chávez Phenomenon

"In the United States, accounts of Venezuela have been fixated on the figure of Hugo Chávez. We Created Chávez breaks with this obsession, instead showing the dynamic and contradictory relationship that exists between Venezuela's president and the social forces that gave rise to and sustain the government. It is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the internal dynamics of social change underway in Venezuela today."—Miguel Tinker Salas, author of The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela

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