ABSTRACT
Ybiskay González and Barry Cannon demonstrate how right-wing groups in Venezuela have made use of the democracy/authoritarianism dichotomy in their discourse against Chavista governments in order to broaden their coalition and polarise the country, while at the same time hiding their neoliberal and conservative distinctive features. Their discourse analysis is based on an exploration of texts found in public documents and on interviews with major political figures of the opposition. Their analysis considers discourse as an articulating practice within a system of meaning, which depends on and is specific to each society and its struggles for hegemonic control. This chapter also highlights the heterogeneity of right-wing groups in Venezuela, building from a historical analysis that includes the origins of Chavista governments, the opposition and its tactics against the government, as well as antagonistic relations between these two factions.
