New coup threat in Venezuela
On Oct. 21, Venezuela's wealthy bosses staged a 12-hour
lockout across the South American country, which they called a
"general strike," in an effort to force President Hugo Chavez
to call early presidential elections.
Supporters of Chavez's progressive government declared the
lockout a failure. "The country did not stop. It's on its feet
and running," said Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel. Oil
production and export, the pillars of Venezuela's economy, were
unaffected.
"In downtown Caracas and poorer western neighborhoods and
slums, traditional strongholds of support for the populist
president, many shops, bars and businesses opened their doors,"
Reuters news agency reported.
Still, there are ominous signs that a new U.S.-backed coup
may be in the offing.
On Oct. 23, a group of 14 military officers went on national
television to call on people to "overthrow" Chavez and come to
a reactionary demonstration in the capital, BBC reported.
Venezuela is rich in petroleum resources and the
third-largest exporter of oil to the U.S. For years the
Rockefeller-owned Standard Oil Co. controlled this valuable
resource.
The Bush administration fears the revolutionary process
unfolding in Venezuela. The Bolivarian Revolution, as it is
called, aims to take power away from the rich oligarchy and put
it in the hands of the peasants and workers, who suffer an
80-percent poverty rate thanks to decades of U.S. domination
over their country.
The poor have organized themselves in Bolivarian Circles to
defend the revolutionary process. In April, these organizations
were crucial in turning back an attempted coup d'etat by
U.S.-backed businessmen and military officers.
Since Chavez's landslide election in 1998, Venezuela has
voted in a new Constitution and National Assembly based on mass
participation that promotes equal rights for all, including
lesbians and gays. He defied Washington by visiting Iraq and
selling oil to Cuba. Last November he signed a package of 49
laws aimed at land reform on behalf of small and landless
farmers.
Progressive people in the United States need to be on the
alert for a rerun of last April's attempted coup. The movement
building opposition to Bush's planned war in Iraq must also
demand "U.S. hands off Venezuela."
-Greg Butterfield
Reprinted from the Oct. 31, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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