Chavez Takes on Opponents in Streets of Caracas

Daily News Article   —   Posted on May 31, 2007

NOTE: This article was first posted at CNSNews.com on May 30.

(by Toby Westerman, CNSNews.com) – Facing one of its most serious crises, the government of Venezuela continues to use tear gas and rubber bullets against tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in the streets of Caracas.

President Hugo Chavez sent troops into the streets of his nation’s capital to quell protests over the closure of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), one of the last major sources of media opposition to his government.

The government accuses RCTV of violating broadcasting regulations, while critics say Chavez simply wants to silence a vocal opponent of the regime. Chavez on Wednesday turned his sights on another, smaller opposition news channel, Globovision, calling it an enemy of the state and accusing it of misreporting the RCTV story.

With the closure of RCTV, Chavez directly or indirectly controls almost all major sources of information in Venezuela, leaving many in that country fearing that he is following in the footsteps of his mentor and close friend, Fidel Castro, who has ruled Cuba since 1959.

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a Chavez critic, issued a statement voicing concern about the latest developments.

Mack said the suppression of RCTV placed the people of Venezuela “just a heartbeat away from living under a complete and total dictatorship.” The State Department and nations around the world also expressed dismay.

Chavez’s “21st century socialism” demands adherence by more than just the media, however. One of his key goals is the transformation of education from a “capitalist” to “socialist” form of instruction.

Two weeks ago, as the government moved to take RCTV off the air, Education Minister Adan Chavez – the president’s brother – declared that education has now been “transformed” from a “colonial model” to one “assuring the consolidation of the Socialist Republic of Venezuela,” the widely read El Universal daily reported.

All that is regarded as “capitalista” – capitalist – has been discarded or denounced. Adan Chavez said capitalism propagates “excessive consumerism, strife and enslavement.”

Chavez’s critics have also condemned what they term the “politicization” of the armed forces. The government requires military personnel to take an oath to “the fatherland, socialism, or death,” El Universal quoted the leader of a prominent anti-Chavez group as saying.

Cesar Perez Vivas, leader of the Parliamentary Democracy Forum, said the government was violating the country’s constitution by demanding a political oath from members of the military.

In the early years of Chavez’s tenure, the military was a major source of opposition to Chavez and his policies, and some elements in the armed forces were active in a short-lived revolt against Chavez in 2002.

Critics say the oath suggests that the military, like the education system, is being “transformed.”

The United States is directly impacted by the actions of Chavez. Venezuela is the fifth largest producer of oil in the world, and one of America’s major suppliers. Analysts say Chavez is also seeking to export his ideas across Latin America and counts the presidents of Ecuador and Bolivia as close allies.

Ian Vasquez, Director for Global Economic Liberty at the Cato Institute, said Wednesday that while he did not know whether the current demonstrations would spread, he was pessimistic about the ability of the opposition to affect Chavez’s actions.

Although what Chavez has done was “highly unpopular,” Vasquez said, dissent would “make little difference in changing Chavez’s policies.”

Vasquez said he saw “no light at the end of the tunnel” as Chavez has been able to concentrate almost total power in his hands.

Democracy has “ceased to exist” in Venezuela, and the military, once a center of opposition, is now “completely under the control” of Chavez and his supporters, he argued.

Eric Watnik, spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, described the protestors as “supporters of free expression” and pointed to an official State Department statement released on Tuesday.

Watnik said he could not comment on the situation in the Venezuelan military or on the possible impact on gas prices of the crisis.

Tuesday’s statement called on the Venezuelan government to abide by its international commitments and reverse its policies. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and it’s an essential element of democracy anywhere in the world,” it said.

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