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'The death and resurrection of Hugo Chavez'By Gabriel Ash,April 16, 2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was ousted on Friday by a group of conspirators lead by an oilman and a general. The international press hastened to bury Chavez with summaries of his ill-fated career. But after spending only two days in military limbo, Chavez returned triumphantly to his palace on Sunday, carried by huge popular support. The events were stunning. Chavez was democratically elected in 1998 in a landslide that signaled the bankruptcy of the old political order. He is a hard and polarizing figure, but those who call him a demagogue are wrong. Chavez is a real populist. Under his eye, Venezuela ratified one of the most progressive constitutions ever written. Using the new political procedures, Chavez dismantled the power of the old elite. Then, not only did he push policies of land redistribution and free education and health services for the poor, but in order to pay for these policies he found the courage, or the temerity, to take on U.S. corporate oil interests. Nobody can accuse Chavez of not taking his pledges to the voters seriously. But the tiny former ruling class has not accepted the loss of power. Using its ownership of the media and control of oil production, and with the help of the dubious trade union leaders, the old elite has been trying to bring Chavez down through chaos. Chavez's own genius of alienating supporters and his divisive rhetoric helped his enemies recruit the small but significant middle class. The recent fight was over the control of the national oil company. The oligarchs mobilized a huge strike and demonstration. Taking advantage of a fire exchange near the palace that left a number of people dead, the coup leaders accused Chavez of disregard for human rights and kidnapped him after he refused to resign. It is not clear who shot whom and on whose orders, but that did not stop the Associated Press from reporting without qualifications that Chavez ordered the army to shoot at demonstrators. In fact, the international press churned uncritically what was essentially the press releases of the coup. It almost worked. But "almost" is the distance between the palace and the jailhouse. Many people have a lot to learn from this stillborn coup d'etat. Many forces combined to defend the constitutional order. The interim president installed instead of Chavez, Pedro Carmona, revealed the deep hatred that animates the oligarchy when, barely seated in his new office, he annulled practically everything Chavez did – the constitution, the National Assembly, the laws, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and Comptroller offices, etc. He then sent the police to arrest all the cabinet ministers and hunt Chavez supporters. This vengeful demolition job frightened and divided the top brass. And for good reasons. A significant portion of the army, especially the field units, remained loyal to Chavez. These soldiers closed ranks with the civilian population, not with their generals. On the other end of society, parliamentarians and ministers refused to accept Chavez’s alleged resignation, demanding adherence to the constitution, which requires the National Assembly to ratify the resignation. No less important was the refusal of many Latin American governments to recognize the new government. The Organization of American States (OAS) was apparently considering sanctions. But the counter coup would not have materialized without the popular mobilization throughout Venezuela, and especially the people of Caracas, who took to the streets, surrounded the presidential palace, and, joined by the soldiers, demanded Chavez back. The first message of the coup is a new strength of constitutionalism in Latin America. The rule of law is no longer the gift of soldiers. It is an idea that begins to command allegiance from politicians, soldiers, and common people alike. Generals cannot expect a "no questions asked" deference from other governments, and they cannot trust their armies to march against a popular elected president. Since unpopular ones can be defeated at the polling booth, one can hope military coups become rarer. That message should not be lost on Argentina, whose political elite is as discredited as was that of Venezuela in 1998. The second message of the coup is directed to the U.S., which finds itself again with egg yolk dripping from its face. The White House, virtually alone in the world (but how trite and overused this phrase sounds), welcomed the new regime with barely disguised glee. Even the obedient Vicente Fox declined to follow Washington's example, choosing instead to condemn the coup. Likewise, inside Venezuela, Chavez's defiance towards Washington is popular with his supporters, some of whom hold the quite plausible belief that the U.S. was privy to the conspiracy. It is a disgrace that this Administration sold America's most hallowed principle, respect for the rule of law, for thirty barrels of oil. But then, how can we expect that this president, himself owing his office to finessing the law, would come out in defense of another country's constitution, when he holds his own in such poor esteem? The message for this Administration is that a foreign policy that stands for nothing leads nowhere because nobody follows it. The third message is for Chavez himself. Having survived, Chavez is stronger today than before the coup. But the source of his strength is not where he believed it to be. The army, on which he has so far relied, could not decide where it stood. With its political unity shattered, the army is now a far less important political factor. Chavez was saved by the trust of the people, but also by the constitution he has himself shaped. He ought to remember that as he tries to rethink his role as president after the coup. His "Bolivarian Revolution" has a better chance to become reality if he gives up the habit of barking orders to his country. His government should stop the inflammatory rhetoric, and provide instead a unifying legal framework in which policy follows the active participation of the people. And he should strive to neutralize the corrupt oligarchs who resent the political opening of Venezuela through the court system. Was that not the whole point behind drafting an ultra progressive constitution? The last message is about the media. The Venezuelan media, mostly privately owned, participated in the coup. The media campaigned against Chavez, provided steady information about mobilization against him, and a free platform for the coup leaders. Once Chavez was arrested the media put a blackout on the mobilization against the coup. Chavez supporters had to physically conquer the broadcasting station so that the messages of the constitutional government could be made public. The U.S. corporate media has followed the Washington line and served the anti-Chavez oligarchs. Almost all information the media provided related to Chavez's unpopularity. A New York Times editorial applauded the coup, showing how little the editors cared about democracy. Even after Chavez was restored to power, the Times implausibly asserted that the demonstrators against him were the more numerous. The systematic repression of information about popular mobilization is not unique to Venezuela. The U.S. networks barely showed the angry demonstrations that welcomed Bush on inauguration day, forcing him to give up walking the last mile according to custom. The press routinely minimizes the numbers of demonstrators by a factor of two at least, when it bothers to report about them at all. What happened in Venezuela should be one more alarm bell going off about the dangers of a press controlled by a handful of private interests. The message is clear: an anti-democratic media is a danger to democracy in the U.S., in Venezuela, and everywhere. What Violent Protests Mean for Venezuela Monday, February 17, 2014 Venezuela's Armed Forces Under Fire by Washington Saturday, January 21, 2012 Washington's War on Chavez Saturday, May 28, 2011 Venezuela's Chávez Advances Mediation Effort with Ex-Honduran President Monday, April 18, 2011 Colombia Planned Leaks to Link Chavez, Correa to FARC: WikiLeaks Friday, March 25, 2011 Chavez-Santos Summit in Colombia: UNASUR-Brokered Peace Breaks Out Thursday, August 12, 2010 Ousted Honduran President Visits Venezuela Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Venezuela and China Consolidate "Strategic Alliance," Expand Bilateral Trade Sunday, December 27, 2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on How to Tackle Climate Change: "We Must Go from Capitalism to Socialism" Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Obama Is Preparing for War in South America Monday, December 21, 2009 Global Marches For and Against Venezuelan President See Mixed Turnout Monday, September 7, 2009 Venezuelan President Strengthens Relations with Libya, Algeria, and Syria on Tour Saturday, September 5, 2009 Venezuela Invests Surplus Oil Dollars in Education, Housing, and Industry Friday, September 4, 2009 Venezuelans March For and Against Education Law Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Why The U.S. Government Hates Venezuela Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Venezuelan Ambassador and Staff Withdrawn from Colombia Friday, July 31, 2009 Chávez Bashing Thursday, July 23, 2009 Venezuela: US Criticisms of Venezuelan Drug Policies Hypocritical Thursday, July 23, 2009 Venezuela Discusses Limits to Media Ownership Friday, July 10, 2009 The Venezuelan Coup Revisited: Silencing the Evidence Thursday, July 2, 2009 Venezuela Orders End to Coca-Cola Zero Production Saturday, June 13, 2009 Venezuela Buys Bank of Venezuela for $US 1.05 billion Monday, May 25, 2009 Venezuelan Police Discover Large Arms Cache Wednesday, May 13, 2009 The Declaration of Cumaná Saturday, April 25, 2009 Venezuela Bans Controversial "Trawl" Fishing Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Venezuelan Farmer Rights Organizations Unite to Oppose Assassinations by Landed Elite Tuesday, March 17, 2009 Venezuela Accelerates Land Reform Monday, March 16, 2009 Members of U.K. Parliament Praise Venezuelan Government Sunday, March 8, 2009 Venezuelan Government Takes Control of Rice Plants that Evade Regulated Prices Tuesday, March 3, 2009 Chavez: 'Obama Is Confusing Me with Bush' Saturday, January 17, 2009 Chavez Turns Into Palestinian Hero Monday, January 12, 2009 Raúl Castro's First Official Visit to Venezuela as Cuban President Wednesday, December 17, 2008 The Media Response to Venezuelan Elections Saturday, November 29, 2008 Venezuela Expels HRW Director for 'Meddling Illegally' Saturday, September 20, 2008 The Truth Suffers in Human Rights Watch Report on Venezuela Saturday, September 20, 2008 Venezuelan Supreme Court Ratifies Candidate Disqualifications as Constitutional Thursday, August 7, 2008 Chavez Revamps His Intelligence Services: The Corporate Media React Friday, June 6, 2008 United Socialist Party of Venezuela Registers Officially as a New Party Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Venezuelan Government Takes Over 32 Landholdings for Land Reform Tuesday, April 15, 2008 BBC v. Hugo Chavez Friday, April 11, 2008 The New York Times v. Hugo Chavez Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Venezuela Slams US in UN Terrorism Debate Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Venezuela, Argentina Accuse US of Smear Campaign Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Chavez: 'Latin America Is Waking Up, and No One Can Stop It' Saturday, November 10, 2007 Cuba and Venezuela Deepen Alliance with More Accords Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Venezuelan Foreign Minister Slams US Govt at the UN Friday, October 5, 2007 Sean Penn Hails Hugo Chavez, Hits Fox News Friday, October 5, 2007 OAS Secretary General Assures Venezuelan Democracy is Not Threatened Sunday, June 17, 2007 The battle over the media is about race as well as class Saturday, June 9, 2007 Chavez Accuses U.S. of a 'Soft Coup' Attempt in Venezuela Friday, June 8, 2007 U.S. and Venezuela Clash at OAS Meeting Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Venezuelan Groups Accuse U.S. of Fomenting Destabilization Friday, June 1, 2007 Coup Co-Conspirators as Free-Speech Martyrs Friday, May 25, 2007 Venezuela and RCTV: Is Free Speech Really at Stake? Friday, May 25, 2007 Chavez: Takeover of 16 Estates for Land Reform Friday, March 30, 2007 The Spirit of Democracy in Venezuela Friday, December 8, 2006 Venezuelan Opposition Candidate, Manuel Rosales, Concedes Monday, December 4, 2006 Chavez Reelected President of Venezuela: 61.4% of Votes Sunday, December 3, 2006 Venezuela and the Bolivarian Dream Thursday, November 30, 2006 Denouncing Hugo Chavez Tuesday, October 17, 2006 |
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