Post-populism in Latin America: On Venezuela after Chávez

After the death of president Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, Venezuela represents a very interesting and unique case of institutionalized populist system. In this article, I will attempt to explain some analytical elements by which we may speak of an institutionalized post-populist condition. It is interesting to understand why the populist Chavist system continues to endure, even if with difficulty, in spite of many unfavourable factors like: the death of a charismatic leader and the presence of a weak leadership; and unfavourable and adverse geopolitical and geo-economical conditions, especially when compared with those of the initial phase of ascent and prosperity. The objective of this article is to study in its complexity the typicality of the post charismatic phase of Venezuela’s system and present a case study of the post-populist condition to be able to compare it in a global and comparative perspective.