Book

Barrio rising : urban popular politics and the making of modern Venezuela

Velasco, Alejandro, 1978- author

Overview

\"In the mid-1950s, in an effort to modernize Venezuela, the military government razed dozens of slums in the heart of the capital Caracas, replacing them with massive buildings to house the city's working poor. The project remained unfinished when the dictatorship fell on January 23, 1958, and in a matter of days city residents illegally occupied thousands of apartments, squatted on green spaces, and renamed the neighborhood to honor the emerging democracy: the 23 de Enero (January 23). Over the next thirty years, through eviction efforts, guerrilla conflict, state violence, internal strife, and official neglect, inhabitants of the barrio learned to use their strategic location and symbolic tie to the promise of democracy in order to demand a better life. Granting legitimacy to the state through the vote but protesting its failings with violent street actions when necessary, they laid the foundation for an expansive understanding of democracy--both radical and electoral--whose features still resonate today\"--Provided by publisher.

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Subject: Political participation Venezuela Caracas. / City planning Political aspects Venezuela Caracas. / Squatters Political activity Venezuela Caracas. / Venezuela Politics and government 20th century.
• ISBN: 9780520283312, 0520283317, 9780520283329, 0520283325

Item info:

1 item available

1 item total in all locations

Holdings :

Call Number	Copies	Material	Location
F2341.C257 V45 2015	1	BOOK	AUTOSTORE