Paradojas de la democracia en Venezuela: dualidad y conflicto en las representaciones y en la política actual

Through the analysis of empirical findings from a national study, this article offers an interpretative hypothesis in order to explain conflicts and contradictions in contemporary Venezuelan democratic culture. Complexity in Venezuelan political culture is expressed through pluralism and authoritarianism, opposing attitudes as to political parties, political in- terest and participation, and loyalty and hostility toward democracy are associated with different social strata and diverse patterns of political socialization. The hypothesis explains the origin of these oppositions in terms of the wide social diffusion resulting from the return to democracy in 1958 and to democratic and Jacobin programs. The diffusion process would have created two contradictory cultural and cognitive matrixes that in the nineties offered rational conflicting choices to democratic political actors. The article also aims to comprehend the most recent political developments in Venezuela and the conflictive, dynamic and ideological polarization which suggest a tendency to democratic deconsolidation. Key words: Democratic culture, understanding, democratic political actors, Jacobinism.