Transformación de la democracia en Venezuela: una lectura crítica de la constitución del 99

This article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the crisis in Venezuela from an original perspective. It argues that rather than solving the problems of the Venezuelan political system, some of the provisions contained in the 1999 Constitution have served instead to making them worse, sometimes expectedly, but also in unexpected and unintentional ways. The article contributes to the debate on the current travails of democracy in Venezuela from a different angle, avoiding an exclusive focus on President Chavez as the ultimate cause of the recent developments in that country. The current crisis in Venezuela cannot be attributed, exclusively, to the actions or omissions of its President. The central argument in this article is that beyond Chavez’ controversial personality, it is the institutional arrangement designed by the Constituent Assembly of 1999, especially its accentuated presidentialism, what has contributed to the deinstitutionalization and polarization that characterize the current impasse of Venezuelan politics.