Commentary

Venezuela - A Very American Coup

In a stunning reversal of fortunes for the United States, an American inspired and organized coup d'etat against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez fizzled late Saturday night and Chavez was reconfirmed as president in the early hours of Sunday, April 14.

On April 11, following the deaths of 12 people in CIA-organized anti-government demonstrations, the Venezuelan military announced the removal of Chavez as Venzuela's president. The next day it announced the appointment of Pedro Carmona Estanga , a leading oil company executive and leader of the coup, as interim president. Before he was even sworn in as president, Carmona dissolved the National Assembly, Supreme Court and Constitution in an effort to undo the reforms initiated by the Chavez government. Faced with massive demonstrations by the Venezuelan people supporting Chavez and the loss of support from the armed forces, Carmona withdrew his claim on the presidency on April 14 and has been placed under arrest, along with other coup leaders.

Chavez was elected president in 1998 with 80 percent of the vote, promising to bring a social revolution to Venezuela. He was re-elected in 2000 with another massive majority. Despite enormous oil reserves which make Venezuela the richest country in Latin America, its people are amongst the poorest in the region. Immediately after his election Chavez began a program of land reform, as well as bringing education and health care to the country's poorest. During his four years in office over one million of Venezuela's poor were provided with free education facilities.

Chavez also earned a reputation as one of the few Latin American leaders courageous enough to stand up to American bullying. He was an outspoken critic of neoliberal globalization and refused to accept the U.S. blockade against Cuba. He also refused to collaborate with the U.S. in its "Plan Colombia" campaign against the revolutionary forces in Colombia. He was a strong advocate of solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposed Venezuela's oil industry undercutting the OPEC price for crude oil.

The domestic and foreign policies pursued by Chavez earned him the hatred of not only the U.S., but also the oil-rich Venezuelan oligarchy and the corrupt trade union movement, both of which advocate pro-American positions. For some time now, the CIA and other American agencies have been organizing these anti-national elements into an effective opposition movement and encouraging them to use economic sabotage to destabilize the government, just as was done in Chile in 1973 in preparation for the overthrow of the Allende government.

Last year, as part of its preparations for the coup, the U.S. State Department, Pentagon and National Security Agency began a propaganda campaign against the Chavez government, accusing it of supporting terrorism in Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. The U.S. stated that it would "put Venezuela in diplomatic isolation" and Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Chavez to correct "his understanding of what a democracy is all about." The IMF and other international financial institutions also got into the act, warning of an impending crisis in the country.

On December 10, 2001 Venezuela's chamber of commerce began a general business strike to oppose the redistribution of land and the shifting of some of the countries oil revenues to the poorest members of society. The country's largest trade union federation, the Confederacion de Trabajdores de Venezuela (CTV) joined the strike.

Following this attempt by the oligarchy and trade union bureaucracy to derail his reform policies, Chavez moved to weaken the oligarchy by replacing five members of the board of directors of the state-owned oil company, PDVSA, with new members loyal to him. The oil company's management protested with a campaign of oil production slowdowns. After two weeks, the CTV joined the campaign and called for a general strike on April 9.

On April 11, an anti-Chavez demonstration of over 100,000 people was organized in Caracas. After several hours, the organizers called on the demonstrators to march on the presidential residence. As they neared their objective, they were met by police and supporters of Chavez and soon after shooting started. While American news agencies are reporting that Chavez' supporters opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators, killing 12 and wounding 96, eyewitness reports indicate that snipers belonging to an oppositional group began firing and that most of the dead and injured belonged to the group of Chavez supporters defending the president. Regardless, a group of army officers, citing the violence and deaths, detained President Chavez and announced that he had "resigned".

Chavez was held in custody on a military base off the coast of Venezuela for two days while the pro-American plotters attempted to consolidate their power. However, the members of the CVT rebelled against their leaders, who were forced to withdraw the support of the trade union central for the coup. In addition, many army officers were shocked by Carmona's complete disregard for Venezuela's democratic institutions and refused to support his bid for power. With his base of support fading rapidly and tens of thousands of Chavez supporters descending on his offices, Carmona "resigned" and fled. Within hours Chavez returned to office and his government was reaffirmed.

The failure of this coup represents a major victory for the Venezuelan people and a serious setback to U.S. policy in the region. The Americans will no doubt continue their attempts to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Hugo Chavez, but their position has been greatly weakened, while the position of the pro-independence forces has been further strengthened.