Resumen

PARKER, Dick. The Venezuelan Parliamentary Elections in December 2005 and the Question of Democracy. Revista Venezolana de Economía y Ciencias Sociales [online]. 2006, vol.12, n.3, pp.13-52. ISSN 20030507.

Abstract Just days before the Venezuelan parliamentary elections of December 2005, the main opposition parties withdrew their candidates, leaving the National Assembly in the hands of those parties which support the Chávez administration. Apparently, the decision was made, taking into account that the most reliable opinion polls indicated that the pro-government parties would manage to win more than the two-thirds majority necessary, according to the Constitution, in order to approve major legislative proposals. Nevertheless, the opposition parties explained their decision, adducing the lack of ‘democratic guaranties’. As both the opposition and the pro-government parties proclaimed their own democratic credentials and accused each other of being anti-democratic, the author of this article tries to examine what one and another understand when they talk about democracy

Palabras clave : Parliamentary Elections; Democracy; Political Ideology; Chávez; Venezuela.