Radical Cause: Difference between revisions

The Radical Cause

La Causa Radical
The Radical Cause La Causa Radical
Leader	Andrés Velásquez
President	José Ignacio Guédez
Mayor of Ciudad Bolivar	Victor Fuenmayor
Founded	1971
Ideology	Democratic socialism; Labourism; Radicalism
Political position	Centre-left
National affiliation	Unitary Platform
Colors	Blue and yellow
Seats in the National Assembly	0 / 277
Seats in the Latin American Parliament	0 / 12
Governors of States of Venezuela	0 / 23
Mayors	2 / 337
Website
	lacausarbolivar.com
	Politics of Venezuela; Political parties; Elections;

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The Radical Cause (Spanish: La Causa Radical, LCR), stylized as La Causa Я, is a minor left-wing political party in Venezuela, and today part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Nicolás Maduro.

At its peak in the early 1990s, the party came within touching distance of winning the 1993 presidential elections. However, the party split in 1997 when a number of members left to form Patria Para Todos, now part of the pro-government Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) electoral alliance. LCR has now lost much of its national profile, but retains some influence in its home region of Guayana.

History

Early history

LCR was founded in 1971 by es:Alfredo Maneiro, an intellectual and former guerrilla who had been expelled from the Communist Party of Venezuela.^[1] The new revolutionary socialist party grew quickly, benefiting from the collapse of the Communist Party.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the party focused on organizing factory workers in the Guayana region of Bolivar state through the so-called Matanceros Movement, as well as workers on the west side of Caracas, Catia, Caracas and Catia. The party gained control of the leadership of the SUTISS metalworkers' union at SIDOR, the largest steel company in Venezuela.^[1]

Maneiro's premature death, caused by a heart attack in 1982, left the party's leadership in the hands of the young labor activists he had trained.^[2]

Electoral challenges

With the 1989 introduction of elections for local and regional offices, LCR had its first opportunity to compete electorally with a chance of success. In December 1988, LCR sent three deputies to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies.^[3] In 1989, one of LCR's leaders, Andrés Velásquez, became the first Venezuelan elected governor who did not belong to either of the two major political parties (Accion Democratica and COPEI), winning the Bolívar governorship on the LCR ticket.

In the 1992 local elections, Aristóbulo Istúriz was elected mayor of Caracas for LCR, where he initiated processes of citizen participation which, although canceled after his term ended in 1995, would later influence the Bolivarian Revolution.

In the 1993 presidential elections, the party nominated Andrés Velásquez as its candidate. Velásquez finished in fourth place with 22%, according to the official results, close to winning candidate Rafael Caldera's 30.5%. However, Velásquez and his party alleged that electoral fraud had taken place and that he had actually come in second place.^[4]

Francisco Arias Cárdenas, one of the main co-conspirators in Hugo Chávez's 1992 coup attempt, later joined LCR and was elected Governor of Zulia State.

Split

In 1997, the party split into two factions, a radical faction led by Pablo Medina, Aristóbulo Istúriz and Alí Rodríguez Araque and a moderate faction led by Andrés Velásquez. The radical faction, which was favored by a majority of party members, left to found a new party Patria Para Todos (PPT) and went on to support Hugo Chávez's candidacy for the presidency the following year.

After losing a majority of its members, LCR's influence was diminished. It retained its name, moderated its radical ideology, and later went into opposition to the Chávez government. The party remained strongly opposed to the Chávez government, joining the Coordinadora Democrática in 2002, supporting Manuel Rosales in the 2006 presidential elections, and opposing the 2007 proposed constitutional reform.

The party won four seats in the 2000 Venezuelan general election, but lost them all four years later. In the 2008 Venezuelan regional elections, held on November 23, Andrés Velásquez narrowly failed in his bid to win the Bolívar State governorship once again, due to splits within the opposition. LCR's Victor Fuenmayor was elected mayor of the state's second largest city, Ciudad Bolívar, the party's best result in the election. The party earned less than 1% of the nationwide vote for the various governorships.^{[citation needed]}

External links

References

^ ^a ^b "'Teochoro' Petkoff, the man who stole the workers' benefits". 12 November 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
^ Chalmers, Vilas, Hite, Martin, Piester, Segarra (1997). The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation. England: OUP Oxford. p. 128. ISBN 0191525138.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Margarita López-Maya, "The Rise of Causa R in Venezuela", in Douglas A. Chalmers, Carlos M. Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott B. Martin, Kerianne Piester, Monique Segarra (editors), The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p130
^ "Venezuela se sacude del fraude". El Tiempo. 12 December 1993. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/732

[imt-1] "'Teochoro' Petkoff, the man who stole the workers' benefits". 12 November 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

[2] Chalmers, Vilas, Hite, Martin, Piester, Segarra (1997). The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation. England: OUP Oxford. p. 128. ISBN 0191525138.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[3] Margarita López-Maya, "The Rise of Causa R in Venezuela", in Douglas A. Chalmers, Carlos M. Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott B. Martin, Kerianne Piester, Monique Segarra (editors), The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p130

[4] "Venezuela se sacude del fraude". El Tiempo. 12 December 1993. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Political party in Venezuela}}
 {{More citations needed|date=May 2012}}
 {{Infobox political party
-| colorcode = {{Radical Cause/meta/color}}
+| colorcode = {{party color|Radical Cause}}
 | country = Venezuela
 | name = The Radical Cause
@@ Line 20: / Line 21: @@
 | membership_year =
 | membership =
-| ideology = {{Nowrap|[[Democratic socialism]]<br>[[Laborism]]<br>[[Political radicalism|Radicalism]]}}
+| ideology = {{Nowrap|[[Democratic socialism]]<br>[[Labourism]]<br>[[Political radicalism|Radicalism]]}}
-| position = [[Left-wing]]
+| position = [[Centre-left]]
-| national =
+| national = [[Unitary Platform]]
-| international = ''None''
+| international =
 | colors = [[Blue]] and [[yellow]]
 | seats1_title = Seats in the [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]]
-| seats1 = {{Composition bar|4|167|hex={{Radical Cause/meta/color}}}}
+| seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|277|hex={{party color|Radical Cause}}}}
 | seats2_title = Seats in the [[Latin American Parliament]]
-| seats2 = {{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{Radical Cause/meta/color}}}}
+| seats2 = {{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Radical Cause}}}}
 | seats3_title = [[List of Governors of States of Venezuela|Governors of States of Venezuela]]
-| seats3 = {{Composition bar|0|23|hex={{Radical Cause/meta/color}}}}
+| seats3 = {{Composition bar|0|23|hex={{party color|Radical Cause}}}}
 | seats4_title = Mayors
-| seats4 = {{Composition bar|2|337|hex={{Radical Cause/meta/color}}}}
+| seats4 = {{Composition bar|2|337|hex={{party color|Radical Cause}}}}
 | website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719223256/http://www.lacausarbolivar.com/ lacausarbolivar.com]
 }}
-The '''Radical Cause''' ({{lang-es|La Causa Radical}}, '''LCR'''), stylized as '''La Causa Я''', is a working-class [[political party]] in [[Venezuela]].  This political party is part of the Venezuelan opposition to president [[Nicolás Maduro]]. Despite ''La Causa Я'' no longer having a true national presence, the party still remains influential in its home region of [[Guayana Region|Guayana]]. In 1997 the party divided, leading many members to join the [[PSUV]].
+The '''Radical Cause''' ({{lang-es|La Causa Radical}}, '''LCR'''), stylized as '''La Causa Я''', is a minor [[left-wing]] [[political party]] in [[Venezuela]], and today part of the Venezuelan opposition to president [[Nicolás Maduro]].
+At its peak in the early 1990s, the party came within touching distance of winning the [[1993 Venezuelan presidential election|1993 presidential elections]]. However, the party split in 1997 when a number of members left to form [[Fatherland for All|Patria Para Todos]], now part of the pro-government [[Great Patriotic Pole]] (GPP) electoral [[alliance]]. LCR has now lost much of its national profile, but retains some influence in its home region of [[Guayana Region|Guayana]].
 ==History==
 ===Early history===
-La Causa Я was founded as a [[revolutionary socialist]] [[political party]]. It was formed in 1971 by Alfredo Maneiro, an intellectual and one-time [[Communist Party of Venezuela]] guerrilla.  Maneira believed that the [[Communist Party of Venezuela|Communists]] and the [[Movement towards Socialism (Venezuela)|Movement towards Socialism]] were not serious enough about organizing the working class as a revolutionary force.  La Causa was born and grew quickly.  The communist party was collapsing at this time, and La Causa benefited from it.
+LCR was founded in 1971 by [[:es:Alfredo Maneiro]], an intellectual and former guerrilla who had been expelled from the [[Communist Party of Venezuela]].<ref name="imt">{{cite web|url=https://www.marxist.com/teochoro-petkoff-the-man-who-stole-the-workers-benefits.htm|title='Teochoro' Petkoff, the man who stole the workers' benefits|date=12 November 2018|access-date=8 February 2019}}</ref> The new revolutionary socialist party grew quickly, benefiting from the collapse of the Communist Party.
-The party's focus throughout the 1970s and 1980s was organizing factory workers in the [[Guayana Region]] (officially: [[Bolivar (state)]]) through the so-called Matanceros Movement, as well as workers on the west side of Caracas, Catia, Caracas and Catia.
+Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the party focused on organizing factory workers in the Guayana region of [[Bolivar (state)|Bolivar state]] through the so-called Matanceros Movement, as well as workers on the west side of Caracas, Catia, Caracas and Catia. The party gained control of the leadership of the SUTISS metalworkers' union at [[SIDOR]], the largest steel company in Venezuela.<ref name="imt" />
-Maneiro's premature death, caused by a heart attack in 1982, left the party's leadership in the hands of the young labor activists he had trained.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation|last=Chalmers, Vilas, Hite, Martin, Piester, Segarra|first=|publisher=OUP Oxford|year=1997|isbn=0191525138|location=England|pages=128}}</ref>
+Maneiro's premature death, caused by a heart attack in 1982, left the party's leadership in the hands of the young labor activists he had trained.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation|last=Chalmers, Vilas, Hite, Martin, Piester, Segarra|publisher=OUP Oxford|year=1997|isbn=0191525138|location=England|pages=128}}</ref>
-===Elections===
+===Electoral challenges===
-With the 1989 introduction of elections for local and regional offices, La Causa had its first opportunity to compete electorally with a chance of success. In December 1988, La Causa sent three deputies to the [[Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>Margarita López-Maya, "The Rise of Causa R in Venezuela", in Douglas A. Chalmers, Carlos M. Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott B. Martin, Kerianne Piester, Monique Segarra (editors), ''The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p130</ref> In 1989, one of La Causa's leaders, [[Andrés Velásquez]], became the first Venezuelan elected governor who did not belong to either of the two major political parties ([[Accion Democratica]] and [[COPEI]]), winning the Bolívar governorship on the Causa R ticket.
+With the 1989 introduction of elections for local and regional offices, LCR had its first opportunity to compete electorally with a chance of success. In December 1988, LCR sent three deputies to the [[Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>Margarita López-Maya, "The Rise of Causa R in Venezuela", in Douglas A. Chalmers, Carlos M. Vilas, Katherine Hite, Scott B. Martin, Kerianne Piester, Monique Segarra (editors), ''The New Politics of Inequality in Latin America: Rethinking Participation and Representation'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p130</ref> In 1989, one of LCR's leaders, [[Andrés Velásquez]], became the first Venezuelan elected governor who did not belong to either of the two major political parties ([[Accion Democratica]] and [[COPEI]]), winning the Bolívar governorship on the LCR ticket.
-In the [[Venezuelan presidential election, 1993|1993 presidential elections]], the party nominated [[Andrés Velásquez]], and came close to winning. Many party activists, including Velasquez, believed he had been denied the presidency through fraud.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} In the 1992 local elections, [[Aristóbulo Istúriz]] was elected mayor of Caracas for La Causa, where he initiated processes of citizen participation which, although canceled after his term ended in 1995, would later influence the [[Bolivarian Revolution]].
+In the 1992 local elections, [[Aristóbulo Istúriz]] was elected mayor of Caracas for LCR, where he initiated processes of citizen participation which, although canceled after his term ended in 1995, would later influence the [[Bolivarian Revolution]].
+In the [[1993 Venezuelan presidential election|1993 presidential elections]], the party nominated [[Andrés Velásquez]] as its candidate. Velásquez finished in fourth place with 22%, according to the official results, close to winning candidate [[Rafael Caldera]]'s 30.5%. However, Velásquez and his party alleged that [[electoral fraud]] had taken place and that he had actually come in second place.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-273039|title=Venezuela se sacude del fraude|date=12 December 1993|access-date=8 February 2019|newspaper=[[El Tiempo (Colombia)|El Tiempo]]}}</ref>
-[[Francisco Arias Cárdenas]], one of the main co-conspirators in [[Hugo Chávez]]'s [[1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts|1992 coup attempt]], later joined La Causa Я and was elected Governor of [[Zulia State]].
+[[Francisco Arias Cárdenas]], one of the main co-conspirators in [[Hugo Chávez]]'s [[1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts|1992 coup attempt]], later joined LCR and was elected Governor of [[Zulia State]].
-In 1997, the Party split into two factions, a radical faction led by [[Pablo Medina]], [[Aristóbulo Istúriz]] and [[Alí Rodríguez Araque]] and a moderate faction led by Andrés Velásquez. The radical faction, which was favored by a majority of party members, left to found a new party [[Fatherland for All|Patria Para Todos]] (PPT) and went on to support [[Hugo Chávez]]'s candidacy for the presidency the following year.
-==Post-split==
+===Split===
+In 1997, the party split into two factions, a radical faction led by [[Pablo Medina]], [[Aristóbulo Istúriz]] and [[Alí Rodríguez Araque]] and a moderate faction led by Andrés Velásquez. The radical faction, which was favored by a majority of party members, left to found a new party [[Fatherland for All|Patria Para Todos]] (PPT) and went on to support [[Hugo Chávez]]'s candidacy for the presidency the following year.
-After the 1997 breakaway of a majority of its members and their moving to the [[Patria Para Todos]], La Causa's influence was diminished. It retained the name Causa R, shed most of its radical ideology, and later went into opposition to the Chávez government. Today it maintains a token presence in various areas of the country, and is strong only in [[Bolívar (state)|Bolívar]] state.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} The party remained strongly opposed to the Chávez government, joining the [[Coordinadora Democrática (Venezuela)|Coordinadora Democrática]] in 2002, supporting [[Manuel Rosales]] in the 2006 presidential elections, and opposing the [[Venezuelan constitutional referendum, 2007|2007 proposed constitutional reform]].
+After losing a majority of its members, LCR's influence was diminished. It retained its name, moderated its radical ideology, and later went into opposition to the Chávez government. The party remained strongly opposed to the Chávez government, joining the [[Coordinadora Democrática (Venezuela)|Coordinadora Democrática]] in 2002, supporting [[Manuel Rosales]] in the 2006 presidential elections, and opposing the [[2007 Venezuelan constitutional referendum|2007 proposed constitutional reform]].
-In the [[Venezuelan general election, 2000]], the party won 4 out of 165 seats in the [[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]]. Four years later, it won no seats amid high oppositional abstention.
-In the [[Venezuelan regional elections, 2008]], held on November 23, Andrés Velásquez narrowly failed in his bid to win the Bolívar State governorship once again, due to splits within the opposition. Causa R's Victor Fuenmayor was elected mayor of the state's second largest city, [[Ciudad Bolívar]], the party's best result in the election. The party earned less than 1% of the nationwide vote for the various governorships.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}
+The party won four seats in the [[2000 Venezuelan general election]], but lost them all four years later. In the [[2008 Venezuelan regional elections]], held on November 23, Andrés Velásquez narrowly failed in his bid to win the Bolívar State governorship once again, due to splits within the opposition. LCR's Victor Fuenmayor was elected mayor of the state's second largest city, [[Ciudad Bolívar]], the party's best result in the election. The party earned less than 1% of the nationwide vote for the various governorships.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}
 == External links ==
 * [https://lacausar.org.ve/ La Causa Я website]
-* [https://twitter.com/LaCausaRVe La Causa Я twitter]
+* [https://twitter.com/LaCausaRVe La Causa Я Twitter]
 == Further reading ==
-* {{Cite journal |first=Daniel |last=Nogueira-Budny |title=Great Promise, but Poor Performance: Understanding the Collapse of Venezuela’s Causa Radical |url=http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/732/730 |journal=Journal of Politics in Latin America |volume=6 |number=1 |year=2014 |pages=109–136}}
+* {{Cite journal |first=Daniel |last=Nogueira-Budny |title=Great Promise, but Poor Performance: Understanding the Collapse of Venezuela's Causa Radical |url=http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/732/730 |journal=Journal of Politics in Latin America |volume=6 |number=1 |year=2014 |pages=109–136|doi=10.1177/1866802X1400600104 |s2cid=55279130 |doi-access=free }}
 ==References==

v t e Political parties in Venezuela
National Assembly (277 seats)	Great Patriotic Pole (253) United Socialist Party of Venezuela 219 Fatherland for All 8 Tupamaro 7 We Are Venezuela Movement 5 PODEMOS 4 Alliance for Change 3 People's Electoral Movement 3 Authentic Renewal Organization 2 Venezuelan Popular Unity 2 Democratic Alliance (18) Democratic Action 11 Progressive Advance 3 Hope for Change 3 Copei 1 United Venezuela Alliance (2) Venezuela First 2 Popular Revolutionary Alternative (1) Communist Party of Venezuela 1
Extra-parliamentary	Agreement for Change Movement for Socialism Democratic Republican Union Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Venezuela Red Flag Party Ecological Movement of Venezuela National Council of Venezuelan Indians National Convergence Citizen Force (es) Cambiemos Movimiento Ciudadano Justice First A New Era Popular Will Radical Cause Progressive Movement of Venezuela (es) Clear Accounts (es) Project Venezuela Come Venezuela Fearless People's Alliance Emergent People (es) Republican Bicentennial Vanguard Humanist Popular Front
Portal:Politics List of political parties Politics of Venezuela