From “Tree of Three Roots” to External Intervention: The Political Anatomy of 21st Century Socialism and the Crisis of the Bolivarian Regime

Abstract

This article examines the historical, ideological, and political dimensions of the Bolivarian Revolution, which began in Venezuela in 1999 with Hugo Chávez’s rise to power and was plunged into deep uncertainty on January 3, 2026, when Nicolás Maduro was overthrown following U.S. intervention. Adopting a qualitative historical-political analytical approach, the study highlights the eclectic nature of the Bolivarian movement and demonstrates how it interprets its founding ideas in different ways. In this context, the study conveys to the reader how Bolivarianism emerged, starting with the teachings of Simón Bolívar, Simón Rodríguez and Ezequiel Zamora (Tree of Three Roots), which form its intellectual foundation, what it aimed to achieve, and how it took shape throughout the historical process. Within this framework, it analyses how Bolivarianism, initially a public-spirited doctrine nourished by republican ideals, gradually became authoritarian and disregarded democratic institutions. The research concludes that the revolution, which initially set out promising social equality and full independence, has, over time and partly due to the influence of a rentier economic model based on oil, transformed into a non-competitive authoritarian regime that lost its legitimacy during the Maduro era. The emergence of a new privileged class (boliburguesía), the migrant crisis exceeding 5.9 million people, and the isolation brought about by international sanctions have rendered the system unsustainable. In conclusion, it has been concluded that the regime has been plunged into deep uncertainty by the US operation and is seeking various options to extricate the country from its spiral of crisis.