Usos e interpretaciones de la historia de Venezuela en el pensamiento de Hugo Chávez

this article is based on research undertaken within the framework of the project ？public space, participation and militarism in venezuela (1998-2002)？. the theoretical assumptions are derived from political philosophy and analysis of discourse. the author examines the relationship between chávez？ political thought, his use of history and the way he portrays different historical actors. the analysis examines the theme in terms of three dimensions: the reconstruction of the recent and more distant past; the illegitimizing of competing political actors; and the justification of the bolivarian project, all designed to foster hegemony in the sense proposed by gramsci.