Chávez and the 1992 coup attempt

Main article: Venezuelan coup attempt of 1992

Members of the Venezuelan military, including Hugo Chávez, attempted a coup d'état in 1992 to remove the democratically elected president, Carlos Andrés Pérez from power. The coup, which resulted in the deaths of 80 civilians and 17 members of the armed forces, failed and its supporters were jailed for treason. President Pérez was eventually ousted. Hugo Chávez meets with fellow conspirator Francisco Arias Cárdenas prior to the February 4, 1992 coup attempt. ... Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (IPA: ) (born July 28, 1954) is the 53rd[1] and current President of Venezuela. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment — mostly replacing just the high-level figures. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Democracy (literally rule by the people, from the Greek demos, people, and kratos, rule) is a form of government for a nation state, or for an organization in which all the citizens have an equal vote or voice in shaping policy. ... An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... Perez during his first presidency Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (born October 27, 1922), best known as CAP was President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation). ...

Presidential elections and new constitution

Main articles: Venezuelan presidential election, 1998 and Venezuelan presidential election, 2000

Chávez was elected president in 1998 with 56% of the vote as part of a new political party, the Fifth Republic Movement. His platform, (Bolivarian revolution), called for the signing of a new constitution written by a Constituent Assembly and approved by referendum in 1999. Chávez was re-elected in 2000 under the new constitution with 59% of the vote. In November 2000, the National Assembly granted Chávez the right to rule by decree for one year, and in November 2001, Chávez made a set of 49 decrees, including large reforms in oil and agrarian policy which made him even more popular with the poor. A presidential election was held in the Republic of Venezuela on 6 December 1998. ... A presidential election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 30 July 2000. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Hugo Chávez, the leader of the MVR, speaking at the 2005 World Social Forum convened in Porto Alegre, Brazil. ... Chávez extols the anti-imperialist aspects of Bolivarianism, which were first kindled during his college years, in an address to hundreds of thousands of chavistas along Caracass Avenida Bolívar on May 16, 2004. ... The 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was drafted and brought into force by the then Head of State Hugo Chávez. ... A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution. ... Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... A presidential election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 30 July 2000. ... Decree is an order that has the force of law. ... Reformism (also called revisionism or revisionist theory) is the belief that gradual changes in a society can ultimately change its fundamental structures. ... Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil Oil, in a general sense, is a [[great thing it produces cheese ]] that is not miscible with water, and is in a liquid state at ambient temperatures. ... Agrarian has two meanings: It can mean pertaining to Agriculture It can also refer to the ideology of Agrarianism and Agrarian parties. ...

Chávez has enacted a number of socialist policy changes in Venezuela, fostering close ties with Cuban President Fidel Castro, including expropriation of idle plantations that owner-occupants claim are private property but without the support of complete ownership documents. The government has often had to create new grassroots public services in the form of "missions" in order to get basic resources such as education, health and food to as many people as possible in the shortest time possible. The government's claim is that this is necessary to avoid going through a legacy "corrupt bureaucracy." [1] Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... Expropriation is the act of removing from control the owner of an item of property. ... A sugarcane plantation at Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, 2005 A plantation is a large tract of monoculture, as a tree plantation, a cotton plantation, a tea plantation or a tobacco plantation. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ...

Coup and strike/lockout

Main article: Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002

In December 2001, the umbrella group of the nation's largest business organizations, Fedecámaras, several workers' groups, the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela and the petroleum workers' union, PDVSA, called the country to a general strike. It was a first in the history of labour relations; owners, executives, managers and a few rank-and-file workers joined together to protest Chávez's economic policies. In April 11th 2002, during massive opposition demonstrations that unexpectedly began to march towards the Presidential Palace, high-ranking members within the Armed Forces refused Chávez's order to carry out the Plan Ávila. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Fundada en 1944, Fedecámaras nace con el objetivo principal de defender y promocionar la libre Empresa, defendiendo el desarrollo y la diversificación de la economía nacional, basado en el sistema de la empresa privada y de la libre iniciativa, dentro de un orden jurídico que provea... CTV symbol The Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV, English: Confederation of Workers of Venezuela) is a federation of labor unions in Venezuela. ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ... Plan Ávila was a military contingency plan by the Venezuelan Army meant to restore order in Caracas during episodes of widespread civil unrest. ...

Although the exact circumstances are unknown, many unarmed protesters were shot, resulting in 18 deaths. Television broadcasts at the time showed people firing guns into the general direction of the demonstrators, but footage allegedly shot from another camera-angle disputes this. To this day, the responsibility for these deaths has not been established. Although there is the Documentary "The Revolution will not be Televised" filmed by Kim Bartley & Donnacha O Briain which indicates to a different chain of events. During the chaos that ensued, high-ranking military officials reported that Chávez had resigned (though, later on, Chávez said he had been taken hostage by the military). Fedecámaras President Pedro Carmona Estanga was placed in power once President Cháves was detained and immediately proceeded to dissolve all democratic institutions formed under Chávez. Carmona was supported by the some high-ranking military that had rebelled against Chávez. The coup rapidly unraveled when very large numbers of the poor sections of the population spontaneously walked, in some cases 5-10 Km, to the center of government (Miraflores Palace)and demanded the Chávez to be reinstated. During this period all private media companies introduced a news blackout which in hindsight prevented bloodshed as most army garrisons, that remained loyal to Chávez, did not know what to do as they did not receive orders to resist. Diosdado Cabello, Vice President of Venezuela, exerted his constitutional rights and temporarily assumed the position of president, until Chávez was restored to the Presidency. Categories: Stub | 1941 births ... Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born April 15, 1963) is a Venezuelan politician. ...

Mass protests and recall referendum

Main article: Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004

The following two years were marked by protests by the opposition, who obtained more than 3 million signatures to call for a referendum on Chávez's presidency. A recall election was held on 15 August 2004, and Chávez won (that is, he was permitted to stay in office) with approximately 60% of the vote [2]. The leaders of the opposition coordinating body, Coordinadora Democratica, refused to accept the results of the election saying there were numerous instances of fraud including voter harassment, tampering with the voting rolls, and a questionable nationalization process for more than one million recent immigrants. The Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. ... A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Parliamentary elections of 2005

Main article: Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005

On December 4, 2005, five of Venezuela's major opposition parties boycotted the elections (half of the candidates of these five parties actually withdrew from the elections, representing 10% of the total number of candidates), charging that they were not being administered fairly; a random verification of 45% of the electronic votes (verified open source software was used) with paper ballots proved that the results of these elections were accurate. The last opinion polls prior to the elections had indicated that the Chávez alliance would have won around 150 of the 167 seats in the National Assembly, an indication that the opposition may have tried to avoid a historical defeat. Venezuela held a parliamentary election on 4 December 2005. ... This page is about boycott as a form of protest. ...

These parliamentary elections were marked by a low voter turnout of 25% (estimated 3 out of 14 million registered voters), compared to an historical turnout figure of around 45% in such elections, parliamentary elections being held separately from presidential elections.

Chávez’s party, the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), won 114 or 68% of the 167 seats in the new National Assembly, with the rest going to allied parties. Venezuela now no longer has a coherent, elected political opposition to Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez condemned the boycott as an attempt, largely backed by the United States, to destabilize both his government and its reforms as well as the election. Re-elected MVR congressman, and current Assembly president Nicolás Maduro, has proposed to make voting mandatory in response to December's abstention.

On December 9, 2005, National Assembly President Nicolas Maduro, MVR party leader Cilia Flores, and National Assembly Vice President Pedro Carreño claimed that Venezuelan state intelligence forces thwarted a plot to destabilize Venezuela during the election. They presented recordings allegedly involving active and retired dissident military officers talking about causing 15,000 deaths, chaos, and attacks on government institutions. According to the lawmakers, the CIA supported this plan. The recordings allegedly included the voices of various retired officers who were involved in the April 2002 events and are currently being sought by the police.

The explosion of two small devices a few days before the election, and the sabotage of a major oil pipeline on election eve were part of the plan, said the lawmakers. The night before the election, an explosion destroyed a part of the oil pipeline that supplies Venezuela’s Paraguaná oil refining complex, one of the largest in the world. Authorities later explained that the explosion was caused by C-4 plastic explosive. A day earlier, officials discovered 24 kilograms (53 Lbs)of C-4 and various weapons and grenades in Zulia state, in western Venezuela. President Chávez and members of his government have repeatedly accused the U.S. of being involved in plots to kill him and to destabilize his government with terrorist actions. The Chávez administration has so far presented no evidence supporting these accusations, however, although it has been documented that the U.S. government, via institutions such as the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Agency for International Development, has provided opposition groups with monetary support. Plastic explosive (or plastique) is a specialised form of explosive material. ... The avoirdupois system is a system of weights defining terms such as pound and ounce. ... Estado Zulia is one of the 23 states (estados) into which Venezuela is divided. ... The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is non-profit organization which claims to help train people in democracy and manages money grants to that effect, which was founded in 1983. ... USAID logo The United States Agency for International Development (or USAID) is the U.S. government organization responsible for most non-military foreign aid. ...