Hugo Chávez’ election as Venezuela’s president in 1998 as a political outsider with 56 percent of the vote attests largely to his appeal among those excluded from the nation’s political, economic and cultural life. Most of these so-called “marginalized” Venezuelans work in the informal economy, while others belong to the rural work force. Their important political role is significant because it helped shaped the social programs that the Chávez government implemented, particularly their innovative and experimental aspects.
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