Venezuela: The Life and Times of the Party System - Political ...

shifting set of potential partners have made for growing resort to short-term coalitions. This
practice is likely to gain further strength from recent electoral reforms that, as noted, enhance the
ability of smaller groups to compete in nonpresidential races.
Electoral Reform and Party Dynamics in the 1980s
During the 1980s, the political system (and in particular, domination by the political
parties) came under increasing criticism. Despite many important achievements, particularly
when compared to the predemocratic years or to the record of other countries in Latin America,
the tendency in the 1980s and early 1990s in Venezuela has been to highlight deficiencies rather
than successes. One criticism has focused on the political system’s inability to guarantee a better
standard of living for Venezuela’s growing population. Once major threats to regime stability had
been overcome, demands for greater political and especially socioeconomic participation grew
sharper. Failures in this area have eroded the legitimacy of the party system and of the
democratic regime as a whole. Appeals to ‘belt tightening’ during the country’s present economic
difficulties seem absurd to many, especially in light of the successive oil-driven economic booms
of the 1970s and 1980s. 1 Corruption is another source of criticism and disenchantment. The
inability of the judicial system to guarantee equal treatment and to punish the public officials and
private persons involved in administrative scandals has discredited the regime. Political parties
have also been widely accused of manipulating the judicial system to protect their members and
supporters. In response to growing critiques of the party system, debate has turned to the need
for electoral and more general political reforms that would affect the party system, and the state,
as well as the relationships among the state, parties, social organizations, and individuals.
With respect to the electoral system, two somewhat contradictory points can be noted.
Its relative simplicity stimulates and facilitates participation both by social organizations and
individual citizens. The act of voting is simple, requirements for the registration of candidates and
parties are very liberal, and voter registration functions smoothly. Parties win seats in Congress
and state legislatures with a minimal number of votes. Based on the principles of extending
political rights to the entire population and of including and representing the maximum possible
1 In the 1980s Venezuela’s economy entered a serious decline, and hopes for improvement in
the socioeconomic situation of the population have been frustrated. The combination of declining
prices for petroleum, ineffective economic policies, and the pressure of debt service payments
have produced currency devaluation, inflation, and a sharp drop in real income. The exchange
rate fell from 4.3 bolívares to the dollar in February 1983 to over 68 to the dollar in early
September 1992. Inflation, which had remained in single digit figures until the mid-1970s, rose to
over 80 percent in 1990. This rise has been concentrated in areas like shelter and food, with
sharply negative results for the living standards of workers and marginal groups.