Gates examines how Ch\u00e1vez won over voters and even obtained the secret allegiance of a group of business \u201celite outliers,\u201d with a reinterpretation of the relationship between business and the state during Venezuela\u2019s era of two-party dominance (1959-1998).

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was the first anti-neoliberal presidential candidate to win in the region. "Electing Chavez" examines the circumstances that facilitated this pivotal election. Gates examines how Chavez won over voters and even obtained the secret allegiance of a group of business "elite outliers," with a reinterpretation of the relationship between business and the state during Venezuela's era of two-party dominance.