8. Dialogue in the dynamics of political practice

An approach to dialogue is presented that combines Conversational Analysis, the study of evaluation in discourse, and a critical interactionist perspective. The research concentrates on the changes that Venezuelan dialogue has undergone in the last ten years, beginning especially with President Hugo Chávez’s government. The focus of the analysis is on conflictive moments and the social actors that participate in the macro-dialogue. Dialogue is examined along four broad dimensions: the dialogue between presidents and the Venezuelan people at the moment of inauguration; the dialogue between President Chávez and his followers and opponents; the polarization between opponents and followers who evaluate the exchanged insults during the most conflictive moments; and the conflictive dialogue extended to the international level.