Laureano Vallenilla Lanz

Who was Laureano Vallenilla Lanz?

Laureano Vallenilla Lanz was a Venezuelan intellectual and sociologist. Vallenilla Lanz held a number of positions under the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez and is well known as an apologist for his regime. In his best-known work, Cesarismo Democrático, he justified the caudillo system by stating that due to the character of the Venezuelan people, rule by a dictator was necessary to maintain public order. In his view, this system was democratic in the sense that it was due to the "unconscious suggestion of the majority".