Comments on: Comments on 16294

Post number 16294

dhartung — Thu, 11 Apr 2002 22:51:59 -0800

Venezuela's Chavez deposed with the military claiming control for now. The end of a sometimes cringe-inducingly entertaining era. What next? Civilian constitutional rule restored by lunchtime, or not? Will the strike end, allowing oil exports to resume?

By: groundhog

groundhog — Fri, 12 Apr 2002 07:29:58 -0800

Well, I can assure you that all the Venezuelans I know here in Miami are elated that he's out, but concerned about what may happen in the aftermath. I hope that this ends peacefully.

By: nobodyknowsimadog

nobodyknowsimadog — Fri, 12 Apr 2002 09:17:45 -0800

It's interesting that Chavez's fall came shortly after evidence began to grow that he was supporting Colombian narco-terrorists. See this article from the BBC. See also this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about the latest evidence that Chavez was harboring FARC troops. It may be that the US green-lighted the coup after finally deciding that Chavez had to go before he completely turned himself into a mainland Castro.

By: riviera

riviera — Fri, 12 Apr 2002 12:43:55 -0800

There's also the small matter of Chavez wanting to rein in the execs at the state-owned oil company, which was being run rather like a Saudi enterprise: executive jets, Rolls Royces, etc. Yeah, his sense of timing was shocking, but it's interesting that Greg Palast was predicting just this outcome last month: saying 'no' to the IMF just isn't done in South America these days. Anyway, the generals and the businessmen are back in charge, so the oil prices are stable and the IMF is feeling just tickety-boo about the prospect of yet another coffer-draining privatisation. (Remember Argentina, anyone? It wasn't too long ago...)

By: chrismc

chrismc — Fri, 12 Apr 2002 13:17:24 -0800

I don't know all the details here, but I also read something a little while ago about the military warning it might have to do something. It just kind of smells funny, media articles linking him to drug lords, then his guards start shooting protesters. It wouldn't be the first time pretexts were engineered to get a more business friendly regime back in power.

By: riviera

riviera — Sat, 13 Apr 2002 00:22:14 -0800

Well, one thing that's been emphasised in all the reports coming out of Caracas is that you can't say 'Chavez shot the protestors'. The line is 'protestors were shot', and no-one really knows who was doing it. Also, 19 other Latin American governments have refused to recognise the transitional government. Chavez fucked up big-style. But had he not tried to take on the state oil corp, which has apparently ruled itself as an independent fiefdom for years, he'd probably still be around to fuck up some more. The oil unions are, from what I've been getting, a bastion of the middle-class white middle-class, and the poorer blacks and indigenous in Venezuela, who loved Chavez's populism, appear to be holding their own protests on the streets of Caracas. Business as usual, then. And when both the Bush administration and the loons at the Heritage Foundation are licking their chops, I know that I smell a rat.

By: chrismc

chrismc — Sat, 13 Apr 2002 12:08:56 -0800

Agreed. Fucked up or not it clearly is a coup against a democratically elected constitutional government and the Bush administration is all for it.

By: riviera

riviera — Sat, 13 Apr 2002 18:21:00 -0800

Heh, looks as if the real popular protests are just beginning. We may not have seen the last of Chavez.

By: rschram

rschram — Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:10:39 -0800

You can tell this coup is not all it wants to be if the junta can't take down the old website (1, 2).

By: y2karl

y2karl — Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:40:26 -0800

Yeah, the gang that couldn't coup straight... NYT: yada yada

By: tdca

tdca — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 01:55:08 -0800

riviera and chrismc I have to agree with both of you. I cannot help but find the official US response to the ouster of Chavez last week as just a tad disingenuous.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 07:25:55 -0800

damn, rschram, I should clicked on your #1 link along with #2--moot point now anyway... Well, they must be shedding tears now over there at the Heritage Foundation.