Federico Britto Figueroa ( La Victoria, 2 November 1921 - Caracas, 28 April 2000) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n Marxist

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and anthropologist. Brito's ideas and writings played an important role in the ideological formation of

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

, former president of Venezuela. Born in La Victoria in Venezuela, Brito was a member of Venezuela's National Democratic Party ('' Partido Democrático Nacional'' — PDN, which later renamed Acción Democrática) in 1936. Britto, after profound schisms appeared in the Venezuelan left, joined the Venezuelan Communist Party ( Partido Comunista de Venezuela — PCV), together with Domingo Maza Zavala and

Luis Miquilena Luis Manuel Miquilena Hernández (July 29, 1919 – November 24, 2016) was a Venezuelan politician. He was involved in politics in the 1940s, and again after the 1958 restoration of democracy, but retired from politics in 1964 until the early 1 ...

. In 1946, Britto entered the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional (National Teaching Institute) to obtain the title of professor of social sciences. Britto later travelled to

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

. There, he studied in the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National School of Anthropology and History). Along with Wenceslao Roces and François Chavalier, Brito graduated with a degree in

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. Britto returned to Venezuela in 1959, after

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 19 ...

's toppling, and began studies at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and was licensed as a historian and obtained his doctorate in anthropology. Britto's doctoral thesis was the renowned and influential work ''La estructura económica de Venezuela colonial'' (The Economic Structure of Colonial Venezuela), which he wrote in 1963 and published in 1978. Key points of his works included the elucidation of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, the study of Venezuelan "Federal War" general Ezequiel Zamora, and a critical and probing analysis of the socioeconomic underpinnings of both

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

and

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, ...

Works

* ''Ezequiel Zamora. Un capitulo de la historia nacional'', Caracas, 1951 * ''Liberacion de los esclavos'', Caracas, 1951 * ''Venezuela, siglo XX'', 1967 * ''La estructura económica de Venezuela colonial'', Caracas, 1978 * ''Tiempo de Ezequiel Zamora'', Caracas, 1981 * ''El problema tierra y esclavos en la historia de Venezuela'', Caracas, 1982 * ''Historia económica y social de Venezuela: Una estructura para su estudio'', Caracas, 1979/1987

References

* ''Federico Brito Figueroa (1922–2000)'', Tomás Straba, semanario ''Otra Opinión'', 1 September 2000, pg. 28. Digital version available at
base de datos
at the Biblioteca Nacional de Venezuela. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brito Figueroa, Federico 1921 births 2000 deaths People from Aragua Marxist historians 20th-century Venezuelan historians Venezuelan male writers Central University of Venezuela alumni Democratic Action (Venezuela) politicians Communist Party of Venezuela politicians