The battle of Venezuela

Michael McCaughan, Latin America Bureau, 166 pages, paperback, £7.99

Since Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998, Venezuela has experienced enormous upheaval, including an unsuccessful military coup and a failed two-month-long bosses' lockout. In August Chávez faced a referendum on his presidency but won comfortably.

This book by journalist Michael McCaughan contains a comprehensive account of Chávez, his reforms that have benefited poor people in Venezuela and the state of the labour movement.

In particular the book describes the creation of a new union confederation, the National Union of Workers (UNT). It was founded in April 2003 by trade unionists who left the old confederation, the CTV, after it helped the employers organise the coup and lock out.

The book is a useful introduction to the recent history of Venezuela.