Kellogg Institute Series on Democracy and Development

Intrigue, Betrayal, and Survival in Venezuela, 1908-1935

Brian S. McBeth

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9780268086749
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Global Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Dictatorship and Politics presents the first major study of General Juan Vicente Gómez's regime in Venezuela from 1908 to 1935 and the efforts of Gómez's enemies to overthrow him during his twenty-seven years in power. In this reappraisal of the Gómez regime, Brian S. McBeth demonstrates that Gómez's success in withstanding opponents' attacks was not only the result of his political acumen and ruthless methods of oppression. The political disagreements, personal rivalries, financial difficulties, occasional harassment by foreign powers, and at times plain bad luck of his opponents, usually in exile, were important contributing factors in the failure of their plots to overthrow him. In examining the opposition to the Gómez dictatorship, McBeth also intentionally removes the politics of oil from the center stage of the regime's foreign relations and instead focuses on the tolerance and intolerance by foreign governments of the exiles' activities.

This monumental work of scholarship encompasses political correspondence, personal memoirs, newspapers, British and U.S. sources, and various public and private archives in Venezuela. Historians, as well as political scientists working on themes related to dictatorships and opposition, will find the book of interest.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• PART I: Establishment of Power,1908 ‒ 1916
• PART II: Consolidation of Power,1917 ‒ 1928
• PART III: Maintenance of Power,1929 ‒ 1935
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Background Information on Important Political Actors of the Gómez Era
• Appendix B: Currency and Exchange Rate Information
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index