RICH VS. POOR IN VENEZUELA'S "BOLIVARIAN REVOLUTION"
By Andy McInerney
1/9/03--Venezuela's economic elite and their backers in Washington and Wall Street have struck a rock in their drive to topple President Hugo Chavez. That rock is the millions of poor and working people in Caracas and around the country who have mobilized to support their "Bolivarian revolution."
Chavez received overwhelming support in two elections, in 1998 and 2000, for his campaign to put political power in the hands of the masses of people.
In April 2002, the U.S. government backed a coup attempt against Chavez by the bosses' federation, Fedecamaras, along with elements of the military brass and corrupt sectors of the official trade union leadership affiliated with one of the previous ruling political parties. That coup was turned back by millions of workers who turned out to defend Chavez.
Since Dec. 2, the same forces have been trying to topple the Chavez government by economic strangulation. Under the guise of a "strike," the bosses have tried to shut down the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela. Most workers oppose this shutdown and are trying to keep the refineries open.
In the meantime, Brazil and Trinidad have sent shipments of gasoline to Venezuela to help the government weather the shutdown.
Facing the prospect that their showdown with the Chavez government could fail, the rightists have grown more desperate. On Jan. 3, they declared a "final battle" and attempted to lead a march to the Ft. Tiuna military base. The base is located in a working-class and pro-Chavez neighborhood that has been declared off-limits to the anti-Chavez forces in order to prevent confrontations.
The march was designed to be a provocation. Organizers called on the military unit to turn against Chavez--a clear call for a coup.
Thousands of "chavistas" mobilized to block the right-wing march. When the opposition march encountered the barricades, city police--under the control of opposition mayor Alfredo Pena--fired on the barricades. Two young Chavez supporters, Oscar Gomez and Jairo Moran, were killed by the police.
That killing provoked tens of thousands to take to the streets of Caracas on Jan. 5. The demonstrators chanted "Not one more killing!" and "People's justice!" They called on the Chavez government to take action against the opposition.
Chavez himself was in Brazil, attending the inauguration of Ignacio Lula da Silva. He proposed creating a committee of "Friends of Venezuela" to help mediate the conflict--an idea rejected outright by the United States.
Still, the Chavez government has been soft on the opposition leaders, despite their open calls for overthrowing the democratically elected government. Only a few of the most blatant coup-plotters from the April coup are in jail. The media, owned by some of Venezuela's wealthiest families, organize openly against the government.
As opposition provocations mount, demands for decisive action against the plotters grow from wider sectors of the working class. Those actions will receive the support of progressive and working-class people around the world.
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