The Good Leader Assessing Hugo Chavez's Presidency using the ideas set Research Paper

The Good Leader Assessing Hugo Chavez's Presidency using the ideas set forth by Joseph Nye in The Power to Lead - Research Paper Example He contends that such an evaluation can be made on the basis of a leader’s ethical conduct, and their effectiveness. However, in the context of Chavez’s leadership, we will restrict the discussion to his effectiveness. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning some of Nye’s other themes, including the distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ power, and his argument that the most successful leaders are able use a combination of the two, deployed according to the situation. His ideas on ‘hard power’ and ‘soft power’ – the latter referring to coercive means, and the former to attraction and persuasion – are well-known2, but in this latest book Nye also develops the concept of ‘smart power’ – that is, the successful and effective combination of both types. In this regard, the most effective leader is the one who is able to understand changing environments, and exploit events and trends to f urther their policies with a variety of techniques. As we will see, Chavez, while more effective in the early years of his presidency, has tended in recent years to use hard power almost to the exclusion of soft power, with diminishing returns in terms of effective rule. The efficacy of his policies is becoming less and less sure, and it is doubtful whether he will be able to face future challenges without having to rely more and more heavily on coercion and force, as his support dwindles. Smilde argued that despite all of this, ‘A clear majority is satisfied with a government they feel works on their behalf’3, but given recent election results, and some disturbing trends in Chavez’s policies, such a proposition is increasingly difficult to support. Chavez can still rely on his political allies to defend his effectiveness as a leader, as was displayed in an article penned by the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera4, which sought t o defend the President’s record, arguing that Chavez’s many critics fail to recognize the efficacy of his social policies. He makes the controversial suggestion that their assertions that Chavez would destroy democracy have been disproven, although that is doubtful, as we will see below. He goes on to list some statistics which seem to prove Chavez’ effectiveness. A 2007 Social Panorama of Latin America report, compiled for the United Nations, found that between 2002 and 2006, poverty in the country had been reduced by 18.4%, and extreme poverty by 12.3% and recognized that the ‘swift pace of progress considerably brightens the prospects for further reductions in poverty’5. Alvarez Herrera further argues that social spending has increased by 314% in real terms in the course of the Chavez presidency, which social programs are ‘both effective and popular’, with an increase in school attendance, and social initiatives so well received that the 2006 presidential opposition candidate pledged to keep them in place in the event of his victory6. Perhaps most strikingly, Alvarez Herrera cited a 2007 Latinobarometro report, based on popular polls which apparently showed that Venezuela was rated as the top country in the region on indicators including equality of opportunity, social security, employment opportunities, and even income distribution. All this would seem to suggest that President Chavez has been an extremely effective leader, able to formulate pertinent and popular policies