{"id":496557,"date":"2026-01-03T10:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/timeline-chavism-in-venezuela-from-hugo-chavezs-rise-to-the-2026-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:18:08","slug":"timeline-chavism-in-venezuela-from-hugo-chavezs-rise-to-the-2026-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/international\/timeline-chavism-in-venezuela-from-hugo-chavezs-rise-to-the-2026-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeline | Chavism in Venezuela: from Hugo Ch\u00e1vez’s rise to the 2026 crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"Caracas.\u2013<\/strong> Chavismo has marked the political history of Venezuela for more than two decades, from the irruption of Hugo Ch\u00e1vez on the public scene to the complex scenario of national and international tension that is being experienced in 2026. Below, a tour of the main milestones that defined this political process.\n\n\n

Origins of Chavismo<\/h3>\n\n\nIn 1992<\/strong>, Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, then a lieutenant colonel in the Army, led a failed coup against President Carlos Andr\u00e9s P\u00e9rez. Although the attempt failed, his phrase \u201cfor now<\/strong>\u201d projected him as a national figure.\n\nSix years later, in 1998<\/strong>, Ch\u00e1vez won the presidential elections with 56% of the votes<\/strong>, promising a profound transformation of the Venezuelan political system.\n\n\n

Arrival to power and consolidation<\/h3>\n\n\nIn 1999<\/strong>, Ch\u00e1vez assumed the Presidency, promoted a Constituent Assembly<\/strong> and promoted a new Constitution that changed the country’s name to Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela<\/strong>.\n\nHe was re-elected in 2000<\/strong>, already under the new constitutional framework, consolidating the power of the Executive. In 2002<\/strong>, he faced a coup that removed him from power for 48 hours, an episode that deepened political polarization.\n\nIn 2003<\/strong>, an oil strike paralyzed PDVSA for more than two months, after which the government fired thousands of workers from the state-owned company.\n\n\n

Re-elections and 21st century socialism<\/h3>\n\n\nCh\u00e1vez survived a revocation referendum in 2004<\/strong> and was re-elected in 2006<\/strong>, announcing the deepening of “21st century socialism<\/strong>.” In 2007<\/strong>, he lost his first election when a constitutional reform failed, although in 2009<\/strong> he managed to eliminate the limits on indefinite re-election.\n\nIn 2012<\/strong>, he won his fourth presidential election, already affected by a cancer he kept secret.\n\n\n

Chavism without Ch\u00e1vez<\/h3>\n\n\nHugo Ch\u00e1vez died in March 2013<\/strong>, and Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/strong> won the elections by a narrow margin. From 2014<\/strong>, anti-government protests left dozens dead.\n\nIn 2015<\/strong>, the opposition obtained the majority in the National Assembly, which led to a confrontation between powers. In 2016<\/strong>, the Supreme Court limited the functions of Parliament and blocked a recall referendum.\n\n\n

Institutional crisis and international isolation<\/h3>\n\n\nIn 2017<\/strong>, the government convened a National Constituent Assembly<\/strong>, unrecognized by the opposition and several countries. The protests of that year left more than a hundred dead.\n\nMaduro was re-elected in 2018<\/strong> in questioned elections, which led to a tightening of international sanctions. In 2019<\/strong>, the deputy Juan Guaid\u00f3<\/strong> proclaimed himself interim president, being recognized by the United States and other countries, although Chavismo maintained control of power.\n\n\n

Migration and Political Stagnation<\/h3>\n\n\nBetween 2020 and 2022<\/strong>, Chavismo regained control of Parliament, while the UN estimated that more than 7 million Venezuelans<\/strong> had migrated. Signs of partial economic stabilization were recorded, without resolving the humanitarian crisis.\n\nIn 2023<\/strong>, the opposition held primaries, won by Mar\u00eda Corina Machado<\/strong>, who remained disqualified. The 2024<\/strong> elections took place amid questioning and adjustments to sanctions by the United States.\n\n\n

2025\u20132026: Critical Point<\/h3>\n\n\nBy 2025<\/strong>, 26 years after Ch\u00e1vez came to power, Chavismo maintained institutional control, although analysts warned of signs of exhaustion of the model and the absence of a clear democratic transition.\n\nIn 2026<\/strong>, the scenario escalated dramatically after a military intervention by the United States<\/strong>, according to preliminary reports. Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife would have been arrested, with the collapse of presidential command and a climate of high internal tension<\/strong> being recorded. International organizations have called for containment, protection of civilians and a political solution<\/strong> to the conflict.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caracas.\u2013 Chavismo has marked the political history of Venezuela for more than two decades, from the irruption of Hugo Ch\u00e1vez on the public scene to the complex scenario of national and international tension that is being experienced in 2026. Below, a tour of the main milestones that defined this political process. Origins of Chavismo In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":496558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[15851,40230,110],"class_list":["post-496557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-25aZ","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/5c0822f978abc.jpeg","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["International"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/5c0822f978abc.jpeg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}