This volume adds to the growing number of narrative studies of recent and contemporary Venezuelan affairs. Beginning with the familiar events of the 1928 Semana de Estudiantes and subsequent outbursts against the Gómez tyranny, the author carries his volume through the first four years of the Betancourt administration. Although the material is handled competently, there is relatively little for those knowledgeable with twentieth-century Venezuela.
The task of covering over a quartercentury necessitates a degree of selectivity, and Luzardo’s judgments are not startling. There have been a number of controversial issues in the recent past; among these are the true orientation of the Medina government, the role of Acción Democrática in the October Revolution, the enigmatic place of Carlos Delgado Chalbaud in the turmoil of November, 1948, and the policy of the Betancourt administration in combating subversion and terriorism since 1959. On none of these does one find much enlightenment.
Given the unevenness of the author’s chronological approach, his frequent forays into the economic field are unexceptional. At no point does he write with an explicit ideological viewpoint, although a brief concluding reference praises the spirit of papal encyclicals issued by Leo XIII, Pius XI, and John XXIII. Throughout the book Luzardo writes with moderation, and while there are few if any major political figures to escape certain criticism, none are dealt with unsympathetically.
A rather heterogeneous appendix includes two items which are in scarce supply even in Venezuela today. One is the so-called “Red Book” of 1936 that accuses opponents of López Contreras as being Communist; the other is the official version of the 1931 “Plan of Barranquilla” that was intended as further proof of foreign ideology on the part of the regime’s opponents.
These add further interest to a volume that, despite certain merits, cannot be regarded as an important addition to the literature.
