Even far from the political and economic splendor that it exhibited in the past, the chavista government has chosen to harden their power project and radicalize the bases of the so-called Bolivarian revolution as a formula to guarantee its continuity, even in the face of a possible scenario of confrontation with the United States, he outlined The Country from Spain.
From the Miraflores Palace, Nicolas Maduro and the Chavista high command face the current political and diplomatic siege promoted by the former president donald trump with a clear strategic objective: to make the revolutionary State model irreversible, deepening the political, territorial and social control of the country.
According to the analysis of The Countrythis turn responds to a historical logic of Chavismo: Each confrontation with the opposition or with international actors has been followed by a new “turn of the screw.”intended to reinforce its institutional dominance. In 25 years of power, the project initiated by Hugo Chávez has systematically moved towards greater concentration of power.
Less dissidence, more territorial control
To consolidate this model, the ruling party has further reduced the margins of public debate, increased arrests of opposition leaders and promoted a new government architecture. The recent release of 99 political prisonersannounced by the Executive, is interpreted as a maneuver to gain time and project gestures of good will, without altering the underlying decision to radicalize the revolution.
The central axis of this strategy is the consolidation of the Communal Stateconceived as the arrival point of the Bolivarian process. In Maduro’s words, it is about overcoming “the old bourgeois model” and moving towards a supposed direct democracy and popular self-management.
The government assures that there are 5,300 communes in the process of consolidationterritorial organizations that seek to guarantee political control block by block. These structures now receive more resources and institutional supportand they have a growing military presence through the Comprehensive Defense Communal Units, which are part of the regime’s civil-military scheme.
PSUV and the “armed phase” of the revolution
He United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) recently held an extraordinary plenary session in which it agreed to move towards an eventual “armed phase of the revolution”inspired by the Maoist principle of the “prolonged people’s war”, in the face of possible external aggression.
On national television, Maduro ordered the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino Lópezaccelerate the enlistment of public workers and “distribute weapons” to guarantee national defense “in every factory in the country”, an unmistakable sign of militarization of the civil apparatus.
At the same time, the president decreed the beginning of a “union constituent”aimed at reorganizing and subjecting labor circles to a new legal framework that reinforces their loyalty to the revolutionary State and neutralizes any dissidence.
Chavismo is also preparing a constitutional reform, scheduled to be discussed in a plenary assembly of social movements in January. The project, announced in early 2025, could grant constitutional status to the communesmodify electoral rules, weaken regional autonomy, erode political pluralism and expand the role of the Armed Forces in political life.
If implemented, this reform would give definitive shape to the so-called “revolutionary state”strengthening the so-called People Poweran instance through which the communes would directly receive resources from the national treasury to execute local projects, under the control of the Executive.
For almost two years, the Government has promoted this scheme through the National Popular Consultationa mechanism that allows communal projects to be selected through voting organized by the State itself. Four consultations have already been made.
Social surveillance and increasing repression
Mature and Diosdado Hair have openly called on communal militants – known as “cooperating patriots” – to monitor their surroundings, identify adversaries and report suspicious activities through the government application VenApp.
This entire process occurs in a context of greater political and military pressure from the United States, while the government tightens censorship, persecutes the media and approves laws that impose sentences of up to 30 years in prison for supporting or even qualifying international sanctions.
Recent arrests include political leaders, unionists and analystsincluding members of Vente Venezuela and the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV).
Although Chavismo insists on legitimizing its actions through “non-bourgeois” popular consultations, various analysts cited by The Country indicate that the Communal state today generates distrust and disinterest in the majority of Venezuelansafter years of investments without tangible results.
Despite this, the regime maintains the hope of regaining popular support if political conditions improve. In an extreme scenario, the analyst warns Moisés Naímeven small groups could cause “enormous damage” if an armed conflict occurs that the Government fails to neutralize.
