SUMMARY
From the beginning of a democratization process in 1958, successive governments in Venezuela faced low-level armed resistance from various leftist movements. These tensions resulted in armed conflict at three times: in 1962 as a coup attempt was carried out by a section of the navy, in 1982 as the government conducted a crackdown against the Marxist group Bandera Roja, and in 1992 as a military faction led by Hugo Chávez attempted to topple the government. Although his coup failed, Chávez acceded to power through electoral victory in 1998.
IN DEPTH
Democratisation, the radical left, and outbreaks of conflict in 1962 and 1982
Before 1958, Venezuela was characterized by instability and undemocratic rule, often with a strongly politicized military component. In 1958, a democratic transition was initiated following a bloodless overthrow of the previous regime. The transition was marked by the signature of the Punto Fijo Accord by a number of political organisations, promising to adhere to democratic principles and establish a national unity government. One of these was the Acción Democratica (AD), which went on to become the dominant political party and won the 1958 elections. As envisaged by the Punto Fijo Accord, AD leader Rómulo Betancourt, who became president, set up a coalition government with broad representation. A new constitution, passed in 1961, consolidated the democratic system.
However, radical leftist groups were left outside the new government. There was also some division within the AD itself, as some embraced a more radical standpoint than Betancourt. In 1960, a faction broke away from the AD and joined forces with a communist opposition movement, forming MIR (Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria; Movement of the Revolutionary Left). MIR supported guerrilla warfare to achieve a communist revolution. Over the next two years, several strikes and riots were organised by adherents to the revolutionary left, at times prompting the security forces to fire on the protesters. There was also some guerrilla activity by MIR and other small leftist groups; however, this violence did not reach the level of an armed conflict.
Instead, the conflict first became active when a coup attempt was carried out on 3 June 1962 by a group of naval officers, inspired by the communist opposition. The coup was led by Deputy Commander Pedro Medina Silva and Captain Manuel Ponte Rodríguez. The rebellion was quickly defeated, however, after two days of fighting leaving hundreds dead. Many of those dissident soldiers who were not killed or captured went into the bush to join the guerrilla movements. However, it would take a long time before leftist guerrillas again posed any serious threat to the government of Venezuela.
Over the following years, the democratic era initiated in 1958 continued. Successive governments were able to use Venezuela’s oil wealth to fund social policies and infrastructural projects, increasing the popularity of elected leaders. However, the fact that much of the political system depended on the oil industry made it vulnerable to economic shocks. In the early 1980s, Latin America was hit by recession and declining oil prices, leading to increasing poverty and popular discontent. Against this backdrop, violent conflict again broke out, this time between the government and the Marxist group Bandera Roja (Red Flag).
Bandera Roja emerged around 1970, when it split from MIR which at that time abandoned its revolutionary struggle and became a regular political party. Led by Carlos Betancourt and Gabriel Puerta Aponte, Bandera Roja wanted to overthrow the government and establish communist rule. Reportedly, it had links to the Cuban government as well as to other leftist guerrilla groups in Latin America, such as M-19 (Movimiento 19 de Abril; 19 April Movement) in Colombia. During the 1970s, Bandera Roja clashed sporadically with security forces. It also carried out high-profile kidnappings as a strategy to gain attention and as a source of revenue. In 1981, it was speculated that the group was behind a spectacular coordinated hijacking of three domestic aircraft carried out on 7 December, which ended with the hostages being released and the captors being taken into custody on Cuba.
The conflict between Bandera Roja and the government of Venezuela became active in 1982, as the authorities conducted a crackdown against the guerrilla group, causing over 25 deaths. Following the crackdown, Venezuela in June 1983 announced that the group had been contained, and after 1982 there were no more clashes at the level of an armed conflict.
Hugo Chávez and the 1992 coup attempt
During the 1980s, economic crisis hit Venezuela. After a period of mounting popular disaffection and allegations of corruption and inefficiency with the prevailing rule, Carlos Andrés Pérez won the presidency in Venezuela in 1988 on promises of national prosperity. Public expectations were frustrated when Pérez, within one month of his inauguration introduced a harsh program of liberal economic reforms in an attempt to bring the country out of debt crisis. The period that followed was marked by the most serious protests and labour unrest in the countrys recent history. Attempts to stabilise the political situation by introducing major political reforms for decentralisation of power failed to improve confidence and popular support for the political system.
It was against this backdrop of daily protests over economic policies, labour strikes and clashes between security forces and students that a coup attempt was launched on 4 February 1992. Rumours of the coup had circulated for some time, following widespread discontent within the armed forces. The coup was spearheaded by a regiment of paratroopers, in addition to four army units, under the command of Lt.-Col. Hugo Chávez Frías. It was estimated that 15-20 % of the armed forces supported the coup. The rebels, backed by tanks, launched coordinated attacks at key strategic locations in the capital city. As army troops loyal to President Pérez moved in to counter the revolt, intense fighting erupted in the capital, and the following morning Chavéz ordered the rebel soldiers to surrender.
The leader of the dissident rebel forces launching the coup, Lt- Col. Hugo Chávez Frías, identified his faction as MBR-200 (Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario 200; Revolutionary Bolivarist Movement 200), a nationalist movement named after a Venezuelan liberation hero (the figure 200 referred to the 200th anniversary of Bolívar’s birth, celebrated around the time of the group’s formation). The goals and motivations of the coup were never broadcast in the severely restricted media climate that had accompanied the mounting public disorder. However, MBR-200 was established in the early 1980s, and aimed to establish "a junta of national reconstruction" to deal with economic problems, social disparity and corruption that was widening the discrepancy between rich and poor in the country.
While Lt.-Col. Hugo Chávez Frías was still in prison, a second coup attempt was initiated on 27 November the same year. This time the coup was staged by a faction of junior officers associated with MBR-200. The second coup was a more immediate military success, as the rebels seized important air force bases as well as the television station. The rebels thus had the possibility to publicly state their agenda, and they appealed to the Venezuelan people to join the rebellion against what they claimed was a corrupt government which had benefited a narrow elite at the expense of growing poverty among the population. About 1000 civilians marched towards the presidential palace to support the rebels, but were dispersed by the police. This coup also failed in its aim to overthrow the government, but triggered a state of emergency declaration, curfew, and suspension of constitutional rights and restrictions on the free press.
Although the coups failed, their size and level of organisation were significant, as was the level of sympathy within the army. After the coup, President Pérez came under increased pressure to step down, stripped of credibility in the eyes of the public. In May 1993 he was forced to resign, following allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds. What President Pérez lost in terms of public popularity, Chávez gained. In the presidential elections in 1998 Chávez emerged as the leading contender to the prevailing regime, promising a radical reform of the political system, and subsequently emerged as the winner of the elections.
