Under the auspices of his Bolivarian revolution, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has drastically undermined the country’s democratic institutions, concentrated power in his hands, and engaged in costly “petrodollar” diplomacy as poverty and insecurity have grown at home. Although Chávez’s recent speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in October damaged his international reputation (and did not help his bid for a UN Security Council seat), how will Venezuelans evaluate their president in the December 3 elections? Given his declared eagerness to remain indefinitely as president as well as the jarring changes to Venezuela’s institutions, could there be life after Chávez?

At this conference, panelists will discuss events leading up to the presidential elections and prospects for post-vote Venezuela, with a special focus on the media, the role of state-owned oil company PDVSA in both domestic and foreign policy, the decay of democratic institutions, and the state of civil society.