What Does Gender Equality Mean? Deep Confusion within the Discourse of the Bolivarian Project of Venezuela

The main objective of the study is to discursively analyze how the official dis-course prevents the establishment of gender equality through the production of meaning. I argue that the official discourse of the Bolivarian Project con-structs gender relations that maintain a gendered hierarchy, preventing true gender equality. The theoretical framework that I apply is a social construction and postmodern feminist perspective, as well as Connell’s (1990) theory of the state as a gender regime. Critical Discourse Analysis is used as the methodolo-gy, along with some aspects of Feminist Discourse Analysis, to study the oral speeches performed by Hugo Chavez, the former President of Venezuela. Through the application of a detailed analysis table, several contradictory dis-courses are revealed. There is confusion within the official discourse about what gender equality truly means. Through these discourses, a gendered society is maintained. In effect, the production of gender equality meanings through the official discourse blocks the full transformation that is needed to achieve a comprehensive gender approach to developments.