Venezuela: Search for a Middle Ground

This small pocketbook has an interesting account of the geographical situation of Venezuela. The authors expertly examine the land and the people of the country and review the Venezuelan historical background. Separate chapters deal with economic development and the political context. The book ends with a study guide and a glossary to acquaint the readers with local terminology. Several maps and pictures illustrate the text. The abundance of detailed information could have made the book valuable as an introductory text for high school students or as a travel guide for visitors. However, whereas factual and descriptive information seem scrupulously checked-out, interpretations of events and facts (especially in the chapter on politics) are precipitous and not as accurate. This leads the authors to some questionable conclusions: e.g., that a factor behind the mob scenes and attacks on Nixon was Eisenhower’s support of Pérez Jiménez, an assumption easily demonstrated as false by the exdictator’s election to the Senate in 1969 and the authors’ own observation that “there seems to be considerable sympathy with Pérez Jiménez in Venezuela not only amongst rightist groups but also amongst the common people.” In mentioning the works of various American agencies in Venezuela (Peace Corps, Ford, Rockefeller, AID) the authors say that “one feels this cannot but create good will for our country.” It would be wonderful if it were that simple. These assumptions could lead readers to conclude that anti-Americanism in Venezuela is rooted merely in political, rather than also in ideological and economic factors, an argument not too convincing for those of us who know the political system under study.