tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post1067739281504942029..comments2024-02-21T05:16:22.788-05:00Comments on Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog: Venezuela Conspiracy TheoriesGreg Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765114859595124082noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-18887584617688616632013-08-19T20:11:41.520-04:002013-08-19T20:11:41.520-04:00Both Hernaiz and Smilde make good points about how...Both Hernaiz and Smilde make good points about how conspiracy theories stifle internal debate within Chavismo. Chavez's emphasis upon conspiracy theories was not altogether healthy for democracy. Nevertheless, it is worth contemplating whether Maduro might have a point about how party primaries can be manipulated by moneyed interests. The political scientists Ira Katznelson, Alan Draper and Mark Kesselman suggest that it is an open question as to whether party primaries in the United States have really been a boon for American democracy. They suggest that having candidates chosen in party conventions might actually make the process less beholden to concentrated economic power. The problem with our primaries, at any rate, is that no candidate that fails to raise oodles of money and/or challenges moneyed interests can make it through the primary season.Justin Delacourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01343303383195336825noreply@blogger.com