Violent Caracas: Understanding Violence and Homicide in Contemporary Venezuela

Abstract

Venezuela has recently experienced soaring rates of violent crime, in particular homicides; Caracas presently ranks among the cities with highest homicide rates globally. This article moves beyond established explanations and suggests an alternative approach to the problem of homicide in contemporary Venezuela. In particular, it explores political and institutional causes of violence in a polarized society under the government of Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) and his Bolivarian Revolution. The research focuses on the city of Caracas, as the epicenter of the political life of the country with highest levels of socio-economic segregation, urban poverty, and homicide. Both the city and the country are ``paradoxical'' cases, as violence soared while programs addressing social inequality, exclusion and poverty were quite successful. The results show that political polarization during the Bolivarian Revolution, institutional weakening, delegitimization of civilian security forces, and absence of a coherent public security policy were more closely linked than social exclusion to homicidal violence.