중남미

President Hugo Chvez Fras has taken power three times since the 1998 election with a slogan of “21st century socialism.” Why did the Venezuelan people elect the left-leaning Chvez continuously with increasing votes in spite of 40 years’ stable rule by two major centrist parties and the prevailing “Washington Consensus” after the early 1990s? This paper argues that a multi-ideological voter coalition was formed to punish traditional parties for their failure in economic stability and political reform, and to support a new, leftist party with hope for better leadership in the 1998 presidential election. Loyal supporters to Chvez (Chavistas) and lower classes formed a new coalition for the leftist candidate in the 2006 presidential election. Economic boom in the mid-2000s enabled the majority of center-leaning leftist voters to coalesce with the leftist Chvez government. Voter’s policy preference is a useful indicator for the rise of leftist parties when independent voters and economic malaise are prevalent.