BY BRIAN TAYLOR
Hugo Chávez, recently elected president of Venezuela, was
inaugurated at a ceremony February 2 in the capital Caracas.
Among those attending the event were 16 heads of state, as well
as delegations from 45 other countries. These included
presidents Carlos Menem of Argentina, Fidel Castro of Cuba, and
others. U.S. energy secretary William Richardson represented
Washington.
Chávez called for a referendum to abrogate the constitution and create a constituent assembly with the powers to dissolve Congress, remove judges, and rewrite the constitution with the stated aim of undercutting the power of the two parties that have monopolized Venezueláa bourgeois politics for decades. He is looking to end the one-term presidential limit and is seeking special powers to pass laws without congressional approval. These measures, which expand executive power, are nonetheless highly popular. They are packaged as what Chávez dubs a "political revolution" to remove the "cancer" of corruption. In late January a Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of the referendum.
Chávez also announced the reactivation of two military parachute units and one engineers unit. These units had played a key role in Chávez's failed 1992 "anti-corruption" coup, an attempt that gave him hero status as a supposed "man of the people" in Venezuela. Making clear his ties to military and nurturing his rebel image, Chávez said, "More than a president I am a soldier that, thanks to the people, is back." During his February 2 inauguration speech he paid tribute to his coup cohorts, some of whom he posted on a Senate balcony.
Interior Minister Maritza Izaguirre, who carries over her post from the previous regime of Rafael Caldera, announced that Chávez would implement an "extremely tight" fiscal policy. This means stiffening tax collections, and introducing various trade protections. She claimed this would not affect social spending. Unemployment officially stands at 11 percent, and at least half of the employed work as peddlers.
During his campaign Chávez promised to raise the minimum wage and declare a moratorium on the nation's $23 billion foreign debt. He is drawing back those statements. Unions are demanding raises of up to 100 percent.
Nevertheless, Chávez remains a popular figure and foreign investors bank on him using that to push through austerity. "Chávez has the political capital to adopt the necessary reform measures" to keep foreign capitalist investors and lending institutions interested, said Michel Goguikian, head of Santander Investment in Venezuela.
"He set a good tone for a very ambitious agenda," commented Richardson, the U.S. representative. "It's a good start in the American-Venezuelan relationship."