ABSTRACT

Under the late Hugo Chávez’ rule in Venezuela, the country’s oil dependency was framed as a pernicious condition to overcome, at the same time as oil became a centerpiece for his social, political and symbolic nation-building project called ‘the Bolivarian process’. This article disentangles this multifaceted ambiguity through an exploration of how the near-90 years old Venezuelan political dictum of ‘sowing the oil’ was conceptualized under Chávez’ rule, situated within a historical analysis of the role of oil in Venezuela’s state formation, development trajectories and societal configurations throughout the twentieth century. Through entering into dialogue with the late Fernando Coronil’s extensive work on Venezuela, this article approaches Venezuela’s project of nation-building under Chávez as a reflection of the conditions and contradictions embedded in the country’s post-colonial, natural resource-exporting constitution. It is argued that a historical and structural analysis is indispensable for understanding the Bolivarian process’ conception and demise.

摘要

在委内瑞拉已故的雨果·查韦斯（Hugo Chávez）统治下，该国对石油的依赖被认为是一种需要克服的有害状况，与此同时，石油成为他的社会、政治和象征性国家建设项目“玻利瓦尔进程”的核心。本文通过探索委内瑞拉近 90 年来“播种石油”的政治格言是如何在查韦斯的统治下被概念化的，从而解开了这种多方面的歧义，并位于对石油在委内瑞拉国家形成、发展轨迹中的作用的历史分析中和整个二十世纪的社会结构。通过与已故费尔南多·科罗尼尔（Fernando Coronil）在委内瑞拉的广泛工作进行对话，本文将委内瑞拉在查韦斯领导下的国家建设计划视为该国后殖民时期自然资源出口宪法中所包含的条件和矛盾的反映。有人认为，历史和结构分析对于理解玻利瓦尔进程的概念和消亡是必不可少的。