Alex

Motorcycle Diaries

Reading Question: How Did Che Guevara’s Experience at the San Pablo Leper Colony build into the framework of a Marxist Critique?

On the surface, the reality of the San Pablo leper colony may seem like a reasonable, natural division in society. It certainly was in the 1950s. While Che Guevara had expressed anger at the treatment of working people of lower socio-economic status in his travels, the arbitrary nature of class divisions is clear when the members of each class are not fundamentally different, but are rather the result of a larger social system. Leprosy of course carries with it a real socio-economic disadvantage that places the afflicted at the lowest point in the social hierarchy.

Che’s rejection of this boundary between people, where there is an obvious, yet superficial, physical difference between lepers and non-lepers is the one of the greatest expressions of his commitment to the ideal of egalitarianism. After having witnessed firsthand the stratification of Latin American societies, Che’s gravitation towards revolutionary politics makes a great deal of sense. To correct a system he views as so inherently corrupt, what can be characterized as an “extreme” stance seems to Him, and his fellow revolutionaries in the future, a reasonable one.

Narrowed Research Topic: The Figure of Hugo Chavez

My narrowed research topic is the philosophy of Hugo Chavez and how he cultivated the movement known as the Bolivarian Revolution, with him at the forefront. I am interested in what personal experiences shaped his mindset, as well as how it led him to view his own position of power as justified. I intend to focus on the figure of Chavez himself, as opposed to an analysis of his success (for example).

Primary Source:

Chavez, Hugo. “My First Life: Conversations with Ignacio Ramonet.” Translated by Ann Wright. Verso Books, Brooklyn, New York. 2016.

Secondary Sources:

Cannon, Barry. “Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution: Populism and Democracy in a Globalized Age.” Manchester University Press, New York City. 2009.

Ellner, Steve. “Hugo Chávez’s First Decade in Office: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings.” Latin American Perspectives, vol. 37, no. 1, 2010, pp. 77–96. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20684699. Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.

Frajman, Eduardo. “Broadcasting Populist Leadership: Hugo Chávez and ‘Aló Presidente.’” Journal of Latin American Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, 2014, pp. 501–526., www.jstor.org/stable/24544171. Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.\

Marsh, Hazel. “Alí Primera and Hugo Chávez in the 1990s: ‘Together in Hope and Song’”. In: Hugo Chávez, Alí Primera and Venezuela. Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music. Palgrave Macmillan, London. 2016, pp. 117-136.

Research Idea: Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution

I am interested in researching the life of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, and how his experiences and politics shaped Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. Chavez is an interesting and controversial figure, and the central role of his personality in Venezuelan reforms makes a biographical project on him valuable for building an understanding of (roughly) the last 30 years of Venezuela’s history. I have studied and enjoyed working on Venezuela before, but have not had a chance to really investigate key personalities in the nation’s modern History. Chavez seems like an excellent way to deepen my knowledge. In Chavez’s case, there is also a discussion to be had of perceptions and roles attributed to gender. Chavez is often characterized as a kind of reminiscent of Caudillos, due to his military background and cultivation of personal machismo. My focus would be on Chavez himself, with some conclusions potentially on the wider context of Venezuela’s history.