The Militant - March 4, 2002 -- Coup threat in Venezuela

Vol.66/No.9 March 4, 2002

Coup threat in Venezuela
(editorial)

The capitalist class in Venezuela is accelerating its drive to topple the Hugo Chávez-led government. The rulers are seeking to draw layers of the military, middle class, and trade union bureaucracy into their reactionary campaign. Recent bosses' strikes, statements by a few officers in the military, and pot-banging actions in the streets are all aimed at gaining enough strength to remove the current government.

This drive--possibly somewhat premature and overconfident--could spark a civil war in the country if Chávez and his supporters refuse to heed the demands of the wealthy elite. While opinion polls show popular backing of the government hitting new lows, this is not the same as allowing a reactionary coup--one that would set back the interests of working people--to take place without resistance.

In spite of their hypocritical pretensions of defending democracy, the bosses' real fury is aimed at government measures that begin to address social questions. These include land ownership for peasants--even if modest, taxing oil exports to keep more of the national patrimony in the country, expansion of schooling, and some other measures that address pressing needs of working people.

The wealthy rulers have also railed against Venezuela's ties with the Cuban Revolution and demanded an end to oil exports to the socialist country at the preferential rates extended to other Caribbean nations. They fear the dangerous example of the Cuban Revolution and that it will infect working people in Venezuela in their fight against the brutalities of the imperialist system.

In their drive against the government, the capitalists will try to take advantage of the worsening economic situation in the country to try to win over layers of working people. In this they have the backing of the bureaucracy of one the main trade union federations in the country, whose leaders have historically backed the capitalist parties.

They dare not say that the devaluation of the national currency, falling national income due to low oil prices, and other pressures on the economy are a result of the unequal terms of trade and dependency forced on semicolonial countries by the imperialist powers.

The effort to replace the government with one that will be more subservient to its imperialist master in Washington and extract more surplus value out of the hides of working people must be rejected. Militant readers should denounce these moves by pro-imperialist forces who, in targeting the Chávez government, are taking aim at working people in the country.

Related article:
Capitalists in Venezuela step up drive to topple government

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