Comments

You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Caribbean-Latin America

Venezuela: Army unrest grows over Chavez reforms

2008-07-07

Venezuelan military officers have expressed growing alarm at attempts by President Hugo Chavez to turn the armed forces into a political instrument of his socialist revolution.

One general has been detained and hundreds of other officers reportedly sidelined for protesting against the ideological drive. Chavez has ordered the armed forces to adopt the Cuba-style salute 'Fatherland, socialism or death' to put the institution at the heart of his effort to transform Venezuela.

Pastors from the recently formed pro-Chavez Reformed Catholic church have been installed as army chaplains to weaken the influence of the traditional Catholic church, which is hostile to the president. 'That's causing a lot of resentment, a lot of upset,' said a source close to the military.

Reminds me of the old joke in communist Poland, in which a commissar was being celebrated for his anti-religious campaign, since church attendance in his district was down to 95% of the population ...

Last week military intelligence agents detained an outspoken critic, General Angel Vivas Perdomo, and questioned him for nine hours. Vivas had asked the supreme court to ban the new official salute. As a replacement he suggested 'Death to tyranny. Long live freedom!' - a slogan from the 19th-century independence hero Francisco de Miranda.

I rather like that slogan. Catchy and rather relevant to today. I guess Hugo's not happy with it ...

The general was ordered to report to the military prosecutor's office twice a month and to stay in Caracas but was not charged with any crime.

Before his detention he told the Associated Press that the new motto deprived 'the right of every Venezuelan citizen to think differently and to disagree with socialism'.

That being the idea for Hugo and his crowd ...

According to Citizen Control for Security, a watchdog group, about 800 disgruntled officers have been left without formal duties. Many sit at home awaiting early retirement, it said.

Not a good idea for officers in a South American country to be left without formal duties ...

Posted by:Steve White

#14 Chavez lost the last election over the constitutional reform. The total vote was never released (15%) remaining - this in order to make it look close. Roumour has it the army insisted that Hugolito refrain from jacking with the vote. So mojo is correct, the public can undo Chavez. Next election for state governors is set for November. Opposition looks to gain maybe 2 proviincial governments.

Posted by: .5MT 2008-07-07 17:12

#13 Chavez is going to go out in a Coup, most likely. Some general will step into place and hopefully can be controlled and Venezuela will be a banana republic until the next socialist Messiah comes along.

Rinse repeat.

Posted by: DarthVader 2008-07-07 17:06

#12 If Chavez does not leave when his term expires then the coup is his and, in which case I would agree that he should be overthrown.

Chavez is increasingly unpopular because of the sheer incompetence and corruption in his government. He has no more ability to build a strong police state than he has to build a strong government, strong oil sector, strong FARC, reduce crime, or even to win his last election.

Posted by: DoDo 2008-07-07 16:30

#11 mojo, the key word is 'nominally'. What was the margin in his last election? To call Venezeula anything but a nominal dictatorship is naive. There can only be elections if El Presidente allows them.

Posted by: AllahHateMe 2008-07-07 15:41

#10 It is nominally a democracy. The YOUR is the Venezuelan voters, and the army's contribution to the march of civilization is NOT shooting voters at Hugo's behest. Stand down, boys - your current president is a criminal.

Posted by: mojo 2008-07-07 15:26

#9 'Fatherland, socialism or death'

The Germans tried this once, right? How'd it work out?

Posted by: tu3031 2008-07-07 15:21

#8 it's NOT THEIR JOB. It's YOUR job. Involving the military is dangerous.

No one claims it's not dangerous. It's simply pragmatism, and in this case the lesser of two evils.

Who is the YOUR meant to indicate in your statement, btw? The public? A spontaneous public uprising against a politicised military and well established dictatorship? Is that supposed to be a safe option?

Posted by: Bulldog 2008-07-07 15:19

#7 No, a coup would NOT be good. That's South America's whole problem, the idea that the military can "step in and set things right". Possibly they can, but it's NOT THEIR JOB. It's YOUR job. Involving the military is dangerous.

I blame Simon Bolivar for this mental trap.

Posted by: mojo 2008-07-07 13:58

#6 schedule a HALNO jump for the el Presidenti.

Posted by: Menhaden S 2008-07-07 12:53

#5 A coup would not be good.

In this case, it would. Clearly failure to coup now would lead to an inability to coup later, when Chavez will most probably be less amenable to surrendering power democratically and instead prefer the Revolutionary-leader-for-life mantle. The Venezualan military have a window in which to save their country and themselves now, or suffer generations of misery Cuba-style.

Posted by: Bulldog 2008-07-07 12:33

#4 A coup would not be good. He needs to be replaced legally at the end of his (long) term. Repeating the cycle of military rule followed by populist demogogue will not help Venezuela, South America or the U.S.

Venezuela's suffering from the remaining years of his incompetent rule will help the country remember this mistake.

Posted by: DoDo 2008-07-07 11:37

#3 Talk about making a made-to-order-Coup.

Posted by: DarthVader 2008-07-07 09:50

#2 I think it may indeed be time for the Venezuelan Army to schedule a HALO jump for the el Presidenti.

Posted by: Besoeker 2008-07-07 09:40

#1 When I was in South America in the seventies, the Venezuelan army had a reputation for professionalism. Generals would speak out against political demagoguery. Talk about a 180 degree turn. Trivia note: unless a change was made that I am not aware of, Costa Rica doesn't have an army. Civil police handle all security.

Posted by: McZoid 2008-07-07 00:29

00:00