The events of April 11, 2002, which eventually led to a brief and aborted coup d'etat, stemmed from deep political divisions in Venezuelan and led to even deeper divisions and corresponding crises in the years that followed.
And though the coup has been since officially claimed illegal and denounced by most countries and organizations in the world, and most debates over the legitimacy of the Chávez presidency and the health of electoral politics have been settled by countless elections which have been scrutinized by international press and election monitors, these divisions still exist, as evidenced by the events we are likely to see today and in the days that follow.
The government and its supporters are organizing series of events, parties, music, speeches, art installations in the celebration of "Semana del Bravo Pueblo" (Week of the Angry/Fierce/Brave People), denouncing an illegal coup attempt and celebrating the fact that it was eventually overcome by popular movements.
And elements of the opposition and opposition expatriate groups are organizing events in Venezuela, Miami, and Colombia, among other places, to try to reclaim the legacy of those days, if not actually celebrate the attempted coup against Chávez.
April 11th, 2002 dawned amidst ongoing controversy as a result of laws passed by Chávez which would initiate land reforms mandated by the 1999 constitution. These actions were exceedingly moderate, especially compared to the left-leaning reforms currently taking place in South America, but they were enough to incense the opposition.
On the 11th, an opposition march was re-directed at the last minute directly into a pro-Chávez demonstration. This was unwise but turned out to be part of a larger plan. As the groups inevitably clashed verbally, someone opened fire from above, killing 20 civilians from both groups. At the time, every private channel openly opposed Chávez, and the only pro-government station was taken off the air by coup supporters.
The channels purported Chávez supporters had shot the demonstrators and demanded he resign, even going so far as to doctor photos. Later that day tanks arrived and took Chávez prisoner. The channels claimed he resigned. Pedro Carmona, head of the business administration, was quickly and unconstitutionally installed as president. He quickly dissolved the Supreme Court and the National Assembly.
Chávez' supporters, mostly from the poor neighbourhoods, got word from neighbors going door to door that Chávez had not resigned. All transmitting channels were reporting that he had. They stormed the Presidential Palace en masse, eventually securing the re-installment of Chávez on April 13 from military elements which opposed the coup.
During this time the channels refused to report the mass mobilizations in Caracas that demanded to know the whereabouts of the presidency. This understandably foreshadowed Chávez' later fights with the private media. When the crowds were impossible to ignore, the channels aired an emergency cartoon marathon.
Since then, the perpetrators of this coup have taken refuge in Miami, and the constitutional republic has re-consolidated itself.
This year the National Assembly will have a special session in Puente Llaguno to commemorate the events. But evidence of the continuing divisions are the marches organized by the group "No More Chávez," whose manifesto on social networking site Facebook reads "No more Chávez, no more socialism … for the liberty of the people of Venezuela."
These divisions have not gone away overnight, but perhaps it is some comfort that they seem to have been slowly diminished by the enthusiastic exercise of electoral politics by both sides. This exercise has its next instalment later this year.
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