Synopses & Reviews
In this vivid ethnography of social movements in the barrios, or poor shantytowns, of Caracas, Sujatha Fernandes reveals a significant dimension of political life in Venezuela since President Hugo Chandaacute;vez was elected. Fernandes traces the histories of the barrios, from the guerrilla insurgency, movements against displacement, and cultural resistance of the 1960s and 1970s, through the debt crisis of the early 1980s and the neoliberal reforms that followed, to the Chandaacute;vez period. She weaves barrio residentsandrsquo; life stories into her account of movements for social and economic justice.
Who Can Stop the Drums? demonstrates that the transformations under way in Venezuela are shaped by negotiations between the Chandaacute;vez government and social movements with their own forms of historical memory, local organization, and consciousness.
Fernandes portrays everyday life and politics in the shantytowns of Caracas through accounts of community-based radio, barrio assemblies, and popular fiestas, and the many interviews she conducted with activists and government officials. Most of the barrio activists she presents are Chandaacute;vez supporters. They see the leftist president as someone who understands their precarious lives and has made important changes to the state system to redistribute resources. Yet they must balance receiving state resources, which are necessary to fund their community-based projects, with their desire to retain a sense of agency. Fernandes locates the struggles of the urban poor within Venezuelaandrsquo;s transition from neoliberalism to what she calls andldquo;post-neoliberalism.andrdquo; She contends that in contemporary Venezuela we find a hybrid state; while Chandaacute;vez is actively challenging neoliberalism, the state remains subject to the constraints and logics of global capital.
Review
andldquo;In the Spirit of Negro Primero is a marvelous contribution to the literature on social movements, neoliberalism, cultural politics, and Venezuela. While most analyses of the country portray Hugo Chandaacute;vez as either a liberating figure fighting neoliberalism to help the poor, or an authoritarian caudillo preserving his own power while destroying liberties and human rights, Sujatha Fernandes goes far beyond such polarities. By concentrating on the experiences of poor activists in Caracas, she provides a unique and nuanced perspective on a complicated political process, and reveals the Chandaacute;vez government as much more complicated and interesting than most other scholars have allowed.andrdquo;andmdash;Nancy Postero, author of Now We Are Citizens: Indigenous Politics in Post-Multicultural Bolivia
Review
andldquo;Too much of the scholarly and political writing on the Venezuelan government centers on President Hugo Chandaacute;vez and his style and rhetoric. In this original, timely, and important book, Sujatha Fernandes focuses on the barrio residents who form the social base of the Chandaacute;vista movement. Along the way, she demonstrates a detailed understanding of Venezuelaandrsquo;s culture and recent political history.andrdquo;andmdash;Steve Ellner, author of Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Conflict, and the Chandaacute;vez Phenomenon
Review
andldquo;This ethnography uses testimomios, field work, histories of popular participation, and official discourse, offering a mosaic of sources and representations that not only demonstrate popular participation but is also an example of work of a hybrid genre. There is no doubt that this hybrid characteristic of Fernandesandrsquo; investigation is attractive to a varied public of anthropologists, sociologists and literary scholars with an interest in popular dynamic expressions, self-representation via community media and the popular discourse that activates movements and social alliances in negotiating with the Venezuelan state.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;The Venezuelan people and their cultures and struggles deserve more attention and should be the subject of more scholarly work in their own right. Who Can Stop The Drums? is an excellent point of departure that should stimulate more explorations of this kind.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Sujatha Fernandes reveals a world of activism deeply influenced by the history of Left movements in Latin America, but vulnerable to the kind of technocratic, bottom-line reasoning regrettably necessary for the state's economic success.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Fernandes elegantly places the struggles of the local poor in a larger political framework to allow readers to understand how residents make their own history by negotiating their post-neoliberal visions with their current social circumstances. Recommended.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[A]n excellent, well-written, and engaging workand#160;of activist scholarship. It provides not only rich empirical data, but also theoretical insights on some of the key issues confronted by contemporary Latin American social activists. This book is highly recommended for scholars and activists with an interest in social movements and Latin America.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;[T]his book certainly adds a flavorful icing, one that is certainly long overdue and more than welcome, to the existing literature on Venezuela.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Fernandes forges a new and promising analytical approach to the study of social movements: that of examining the and#39;everyday wars of position.and#39; andhellip; If others take up Fernandesandrsquo;s research agenda, we will be rewarded with greater insight into the dynamics of contention within clientelism and revolution.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This book is a must read for scholars interested in Venezuela, as [Fernandes] provides an historical account of the growth of Caracas and the relationship between barrio residents and the state over time. The book would also be excellent for a graduate course on social movements or social change, as well as in a methods course on ethnography as a beautiful example of how to weave together ethnographic and interview data to provide a vivid and intellectually engaging work of scholarship.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;This well written and interesting book captures quite a lot about the ambiguities of urban politics, and the conditions of barrio life, in Caracas. . . . The book could certainly be recommended to students with some assurance that they would enjoy reading it. They will learn from it at the same time.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Looks at the influence of poor urban activists' social movements in Caracas, Venezuela, demonstrating the insufficencies of top-down, simplistic explanations of the country's political transitions and cultural politics.
Synopsis
A vivid ethnography of social movements in the barrios, or poor shantytowns, of Caracas, Venezuela.
About the Author
Sujatha Fernandes is Associate Professor of Sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is the author of Cuba Represent! Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures, also published by Duke University Press.