Book excerpt: ¿Brilliant.... One of the most important books on Venezuela that have come out in recent years.¿ --Daniel Hellinger, Webster University ¿Delivers one of the most penetrating, illuminating, and convincing explanations for the extreme sociopolitical polarization in Venezuela¿s Bolivarian republic.¿ --Eduardo Silva, Tulane University During Hugo Chávez¿s presidency, Venezuelan society underwent a sudden¿and vicious¿split between the Chavistas and the Opposition. What accounts for the extreme intensity of the split? How did differences so quickly become irreconcilable? What role did the media play? Answering these and related questions, Ana Mallén and María Pilar García-Guadilla explore how participatory democracy led to profound social polarization in Venezuela. Ana L. Mallén has researched Venezuelan politics for fifteen years. She has worked with communities in Mexico, the United States, and Venezuela. María Pilar García-Guadilla is professor of political and urban sociology at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela.