Venezuela: Right-wing Coup Overturned in Two Days
May 15th, 2002
On April 11th, a group of generals, including several trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly known as the School of the Americas), staged a coup against the Venezuelan government, thus deposing leftist President Hugo Chavez. A prominent businessman, Pedro Carmona, was installed as the new head of government, whereupon he swiftly dissolved parliament and the Supreme Court and moved to lower oil prices. This overthrow of a democratically-elected government was condemned by Latin American leaders, meeting at the time in a neighboring country, but the Bush administration immediately hailed it as a “victory for democracy.”
To everyone’s amazement, however, President Chavez, who had reportedly resigned after being led out of the palace by coup leaders, returned to the Palace less than 48 hours later and was reinstated. It turns out, Chavez had been warned of the impending coup by OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez and had hidden several hundred loyal troops in secret corridors underneath the Presidential Palace. After installing himself in the Palace, coup leader Carmona found himself captive to troops loyal to Chavez, and promptly resigned, whereupon he was arrested along with other coup leaders.
The coup occurred in the wake of a general strike leading to clashes between pro and anti-Chavez demonstrators, on which snipers opened fire from the rooftops. The coup leaders and corporate media claimed that these snipers were hired by Chavez to crush the demonstration and charged him with these murders. Chavez supporters denied this, maintaining that the snipers were from the other side and actually fired at the pro-Chavez demonstrators, not the right-wingers.
Given the US history of backing right-wing coups in Latin America and the Bush Administration’s animosity toward Chavez, it appears likely that the attempt to overthrow him was covertly orchestrated by the American government. Coup leaders had reportedly met with and received funding from U.S. officials. Chavez told BBC, "I have written proof of the time of the entries and exits of two US military officers into the headquarters of the coup plotters - their names, whom they met with, and what they said - proof on video and on still photographs.”
A former paratrooper, Chavez was elected in 1998 and again in 2000 on a leftist reform platform, after defeating the two pro-business parties which had dominated Venezuelan politics previously. His support is among the poor majority and his proposals of moderate social reform have repeatedly won referenda, while alienating large sections of the ruling class. The latter accuse him of imposing socialist tyranny and violating property rights. He did institute modest land reform and advocated mild programs to help the poor. However, he also privatized electricity and deregulated the financial system. So far he has done little to change the massive inequalities in Venezuela, where 70% of the population continues to live in poverty.
Chavez had angered the President Bush in a number of ways during the past year. In addition to calling the U.S. war in Afghanistan “fighting terrorism with terrorism,” and refusing to cooperate with the U.S. “war on drugs,” he has maintained friendly relations with Cuba, cooperated with OPEC, and raised oil prices to pay for social programs. At the time of the coup he was seeking to double the royalties charged foreign oil companies controlling Venezuela’s extensive wells, principally U.S. giant Exxon/Mobil.
Bush’s hasty applause for the coup has been a source of embarrassment for the Bush Administration. Hopefully this will put a brake on future sponsorship of coups against democratically elected governments, though it seems more likely that Bush will make another attempt to oust Chavez.