In Venezuela, a profound social transformation identified as the Bolivian process has been underway since Hugo Chavez's governmental takeover in 1998. It concerns a broad process of self organization, from which has developed a progressive constitution, a labor law; new educational possibilities, and a number of further reforms for the impoverished majority of the population of what is potentially a wealthy state. The government's politics, which take an open stance against neo-liberalism, have experienced vehement rejection from Venezuela's major private industries and from the U.S., expressed in two attempted coups and boycotts. Nonetheless, Chavez and his government enjoy the trust of the majority of the population. The society is heavily politicized; many people who had never thought of what they wanted to change are now a part of a profound transformation taking place in the country.