For decades, the idea of a political alliance between Venezuela and the United States has seemed impossible with Caracas defining itself by Chavismo, a left-wing populist ideology rooted in anti-imperialism and confronting Washington’s policies.But after US President Donald Trump ordered the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, followed by US insistence that Caracas’s interim government must take orders from Washington, questions about the future of Chavismo in Venezuela have begun to emerge.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listSo what is Chavismo? Is it still a living movement – or has it morphed so far from its origins that it is in effect dead?Here’s what to know:What is Chavismo?Chavismo is named after its founder, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s late, outspoken socialist politician and leader. It is based on his policies and reforms when he served as president from 1999 until his death in 2013.Inspired by the ideologies of Venezuelan military officer Simon Bolivar, who fought for the independence of Latin American states from Spanish colonialism in the mid-1800s, Chavez introduced many social reforms that he believed would reduce poverty and bring about equality in the country.These reforms included the government supporting social welfare programmes, nationalising industries and confronting what Chavez called imperialist policies from countries like the US, which, according to Chavez, prioritised capitalism over human rights.During a trip to the US in 2006, Chavez said: “Capitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation.” Advertisement “If you really want to look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ, who I think was the first socialist, only so …
