The photographer's body: Populism, polarization, and the uses of victimhood in Venezuela

Abstract

Political antagonism between supporters and opponents of former president Hugo Chávez has been a defining feature of daily life in Caracas for more than a decade. Despite their different political orientations, the antagonistic poles of “chavismo” and “the opposition” share striking similarities, starting at the level of political practice. I argue that Venezuela's political polarization reflects the shared logic of populism. Through the story of Jorge Tortoza—a photojournalist killed during the failed 2002 coup d’état against President Chávez—I describe how the chavista–opposition divide is produced and policed through performances of victimhood, performances that are essential to populist mobilization in Venezuela.

“I Embrace You with the Affection and Loyalty of Always”: Personalism and Exchange in Argentine Populism

“…In anthropology, the theme of populism has been addressed both directly and indirectly. While some anthropologists have explicitly engaged with the theme of populist politics (Albro 2000; Chowdhury 2019; Morris 2012; Rosa and Bonilla 2017; Samet 2013, 2019; Samet and Schiller 2017; Sánchez 2016; Song 2010), our discipline's general interests in political systems, social crisis, and community render our work an innately meaningful contribution to how we understand the appeal and rising influence of populist parties and movements across the world (Mazzarella 2019). Political anthropologies of Latin American politics have long emphasized the centrality of ritual, rhetoric, and state fetishism in political practices and discourse (Coronil 1997; Coronil and Skurski 1991; Lomnitz 2001; Sánchez 2016; Taussig 1997).…”

The Subject of Wrongs: Crime, Populism, and Venezuela’s Punitive Turn

“…It is on the subject of wrongs that anthropology may have the most to contribute to analyses of the punitive turn and populism more broadly. Elsewhere, I have explained how populism pits a victimized “Us” against a perpetrating “Them” (Samet , 532). Familiar targets of populist ire include corrupt politicians, foreign powers, and financial or cultural elites.…”

“I Don't Know How People on Minimum Wage Make it”: The Semiotic Scaling of Political Crisis and Emotions in Venezuela

“…There is a thriving literature in English on Venezuela's social movements, media, and politics under Chavismo, see, for example, Fernandes (), Ciccariello‐Maher (, ), Valencia (), Velasco (), Sanchez (), Wilde (, ), Schiller (, , , ), Samet (, ), Smilde and Hellinger (2011), and Ellner ().…”

“…, Velasco (2015), Sanchez (2016), Wilde (2017aWilde ( , 2017b, Schiller (2011aSchiller ( , 2011bSchiller ( , 2011cSchiller ( , 2013, Samet (2013Samet ( , 2016, Smilde andHellinger (2011), andEllner (2008). 4 Intentionally or not, the ethnographic material supporting this article is in many cases autoethnographic.…”