Attempted coup in Venezuela: Symptom of explosive social tensions

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Soldiers loyal to Perez carry away dead comrade during February coup attempt.

Following is our translation of an article printed in the April 10 issue of Inprecor, the French-language journal of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International.

Coups d'état are common enough in Latin America. But the two putsches that occurred in Venezuela in December 1991 and February 1992 surprised all those who thought that-after 30 years of "democratic" government-this country was a model of stability for the whole continent.

The Socialist International-whose most prominent Latin American leader is the Venezuelan president, Carlos Andrés Pérez-expressed worry about a return of the old specter of putschism in the region. In fact, the Social Democrats' favorite Latin American government is in a bad way.

On Feb. 4, 1992, a group of army and air force officers tried to oust Andrés Pérez. Everyone blamed this attempted coup on his corrupt administration and the social crisis provoked by the various economic austerity plans inflicted on Venezuela.

The appeal issued by the government to defend what is seen outside the country as model democracy failed to keep the population from remaining indifferent to the putsch and even from looking forward to the president's fall.

The fact is that Venezuelans are not ready to lift a finger to defend a "democratic" government that has wreaked havoc-with 85 percent of the population poverty-stricken!

There is no use in seeking the underlying causes of the putsch in the vague ideological notions of the rebel officers. (They proclaimed themselves followers of Bolivar, the father of Latin-American independence.) It is more to the point to look at the spiraling social crisis, all-pervasive corruption and the brutal economic policy that the president adopted on his return to power.1 The "Caracazo" of 1989 To understand the present events, we have to go back three years, to the start of the second term of office of Andrés Pérez. As soon as his pretentious, monarchicalstyle inauguration was over, the new government adopted an economic package that tripled the prices of gas and other essential necessities.

The time when international oil prices brought some prosperity to Venezuela was over. These oil profits were frittered away in projects that did not benefit most of the population. But a high economic growth rate maintained political stability and social peace.

On Feb. 27, 1989, a popular revolt swept Caracas, the capital and principal city of the country. The entire country demonstrated its refusal to pay the costs of the economic turn imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets-buring, wrecking, and looting thousands of stores. They blew up the "democratic" showcase that for 30 years had consigned them to the shadows. Because of the geography of the city, in a few hours the demonstrators were able to stop traffic totally, to overcome the police, and to lay siege to the rich neighborhoods.?

To restore order, Andrés Pérez appealed to the armed forces. But "calm" returned only after a week of very sharp confrontations, in which, according to Amnesty International, more than a thousand people lost their lives.

A few weeks later, the situation seemed under control. But an unbridgeable gap opened up between the ruling Social Democrats and the majority of the people.

After 1989, mass mobilizations erupted with a power that had not been seen since the 1960s. The poor neighborhoods became bastions of resistance. The police rarely dared come into them, and when they did they mounted a military-style occupation, and left only after carrying out repressive operations.

War against the masses The Caracas revolt marked not only the end of the apathy of the poor but the opening by the government of an outright economic, judicial and military war against the masses.

Three years later, the families of the victims are still looking for dozens of "disappeared." It seems clear that the armed forces have gotten rid of hundreds of bodies in order to conceal the extent of the massacres. Carlos Andrés Pérez has been hiding behind the argument that there were "only" 275 dead. The families are talking about 3000 victims.

In its three years in office, this government has managed to depress the standard of living of the Venezuelan people to the slim pickings of the dark days of the Pérez Jiménez regime in the 1950s:

• The number of households living below the poverty threshhold rose from 19 percent in 1981 to 40 percent in 1990.

• Per capita calorie intake has dropped by 25 percent over the last 10 years.

• The number of undernourished children rose from 10 percent of the total in 1981 to 18 percent today.

• School enrollment has dropped from 4.9 million in 1981 to 3.7 million today.

• Finally, the unemployment rate is 20 percent, and 35 percent of the economically active are working in the "informal sector" [street peddling, prostitution, odd jobs, etc.].

At the same time hunger has become a glaring evil, and corruption has penetrated into all areas of the government and business. The population has been becoming more and more alienated from politics. In the last elections, the abstention rate went up to 40 percent.

Human rights abuses

To curb mass mobilization? , the Andrés Pérez government imposed military control over the poor neighborhoods. Sentry posts were established in these areas, and the army carried out wrecking operations any time it felt like it.

On top of the economic war waged against it, the population faced a war of repression. Over the past three years, human-rights organizations have pointed to a worsening of the situation.

The report of the Venezuelan Program for Education and Action in Support of Human Rights (PROVEA) refers to 135 deaths caused by the security forces, and dozens of "disappeared" in the period following the Caracas rebellion.

It also points out that the armed forces have held maneuvers at various sites practicing a response to a "domestic conflict." But there has been no guerrilla movement in Venezuela since the 1960s.

Moreover, from the crushing of the guerrillas up until the Caracas revolt, social conflicts were sporadic. But today social agitation and insecurity in the areas are the predominant features of the situation.

The magazine SIC, which is linked to Christian groups, recently exposed police ties with sections of organized crime, including the bribes collected by functionaries to be able to get through the month on their meager wages. According to the magazine, if things continue this way, "the evil will become so ingrained that a whole generation will have to be sacrificed, as in Colombia, in order to find the beginning of a solution." 4 As soon as the putsch was crushed, Andrés Pérez once again exhibited all his cynicism. After denying the existence of any "malaise in society," he said, "There is no case of corruption in my government." He also declared that he would pursue his economic policy, which, he claimed, was beginning to bear fruit.

However, in Caracas, as in other cities, the graffiti on the walls reveal the mood of the people. "CAP [Carlos Andrés Pérez], crook and oppressor." "CAP, you are going to swing." That is what you see at the entrances to the poor neighborhoods, where the army mutineers were applauded like heroes.

All the signs are that the explosions are only beginning. A silent tug of war is going on between the Venezuelan masses and the business and political circles around the president. In November 1991, the tradeunion confederations called an imposing general strike throughout the country. The authorities responded by killing and arresting dozens of people. There were violent confrontations. Buses were burned.

The dog-eat-dog capitalist policy of Carlos Andrés Pérez and the IMF is undermining the traditional role of the Venezuelan state. People believe less and less that any institutions can serve as mediators in these conflicts. The social classes are arming themselves to defend their interests.

1) On Dec. 4, 1988, Carlos Andrés Pérez (Acción Democrática) was returned"to the presidency, with 54.5 percent of the vote. He had previously served a term as president from 1974 to 1979. He has long been the most prominent Social Democratic leader in Latin America, and took several initiatives to mediate the conflict in Central America.

2) The population of the poor neighborhoods in Caracas is concentrated on the slopes along the highways surrounding the capital. From these shantytowns, you can see the whole city. So, the people can easily oversee the connecting routes and encircle the middle-class neighborhoods.

3) Since 1989, there have been several smaller rebellions in provincial villages and cities, including Mérida, that resembled the Caracas revolt.

4) Because of the economic crisis and a lack of perspectives, numerous armed youth gangs have arisen in some poor neighborhoods. They are involved in robberies or in the drug traffic.