State of Health: Pleasure and Politics in Venezuelan Health Care under Chavez by Amy Cooper (review)

In State of Health, anthropologist Amy Cooper takes readers back to a time in the not-so-distant past, when the government of Hugo Chávez enacted a series of public sector reforms aimed at improving the lives of Venezuela's urban poor. In chapters on clinical encounters, medical pluralism, comm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the history of medicine 2020-07, Vol.94 (2), p.315-316
Main Author: Nading, Alex
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooper, Amy
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Participation
Politics
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In State of Health, anthropologist Amy Cooper takes readers back to a time in the not-so-distant past, when the government of Hugo Chávez enacted a series of public sector reforms aimed at improving the lives of Venezuela's urban poor. In chapters on clinical encounters, medical pluralism, community health work, and elder care, Cooper amasses evidence to show that at its zenith in the late 2000s, Barrio Adentro's clients reported improved physical well being as well as feelings of empowerment, inclusion, and even joy. While she is clear-eyed about the failings of Chávez's successor, Nicolas Maduro, to deal with the collapse of the petroleum economy—as well as the ongoing efforts of embittered elites to undermine the Bolivarian project)—she suggests that even relatively short periods of collective pleasure have much to teach the rest of the world.
ISSN:0007-5140
1086-3176
1086-3176
1896-3176
DOI:10.1353/bhm.2020.0052