Mural in the streets of Caracas with a photo of Commander Hugo Chavez next to a caption that reads Dia de la Dignidad Nacional (National Dignity Day), and a photo of Chavez while he was in prison. Photo: ONCOP/file photo.
By Nino Pagliccia – Feb 4, 2025
February 4, 2025 marked the thirty-third anniversary of the attempted seizure of power by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. The attempt failed but it had in itself the seed of the success that Chávez achieved in 1998.
Tuesday, February 4, 1992 was going to be another day for Venezuelans. From the early hours of the morning the traffic in the streets of big cities like Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia and Maracay was congested. The students were going to school as usual. That day was going to be a normal working day for those lucky enough to have a job.
Perhaps not many knew that Carlos Andrés Pérez, the president of Venezuela, had been out of the country attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was due to return that day if not the night before.
Most Venezuelans did not care much about an event that had no immediate relevance to them. Most Venezuelans had other concerns that directly affected them:
• stagnant GDP growth;
• a high unemployment rate and low wages;
• rampant levels of poverty unleashed by the mandated IMF neoliberal economic reforms adopted by the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez.
Pérez himself was eventually indicted for embezzlement in 1993 and was sentenced to prison in 1996. He was then sentenced again in 1998 for another corruption case, but fled to Florida where all the US-created Latin American political puppets ended up.
However, on February 4, 1992 Venezuelans woke up to a very different day. A day that put an indelible mark on the history of Venezuela.
Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez Frías had built for years, among many of his comrades in arms, the conviction that a rebellion was not only necessary but also possible in Venezuela. His ideals were the same ones that motivated the Liberator Simón Bolívar to fight for an independent Latin America from the Spanish colonizers. Chávez believed that the continuation of the “Bolivarian project”, as he called it, belonged to the 21st century. The project had not been completed, since Venezuela and the rest of Latin America were not yet independent and were actually under neo-colonial domination by another empire.
It was this Bolivarian vision that in December 1982, along with three other military colleagues, led Chávez to repeat the oath that Simón Bolivar had sworn before on August 15, 1805 while in Rome.
“I swear by the God of my fathers; I swear by my country; I swear on my honor that I will not give peace of mind to my soul, or rest to my arm until I see the chains that oppress my people broken by the will of the powerful.” [Bolívar said: of the Spanish power].
Then Chávez added Ezequiel Zamora’s call: “Free lands and men, popular election, horror of the oligarchy.” (By the way, there is another anniversary this month; Ezequiel Zamora was born on February 1, 1817)
It was after that oath that Chávez launched the idea of creating a Bolivarian movement within the armed forces. Thus, the Revolutionary Bolivarian Army-200 was created [200 indicated the bicentennial of the birth of Bolívar – July 24, 1783]
Chávez later said that since the beginning of the 20th century “it has been the same system, in economics and politics, the same denial of human rights and of the people’s right to determine their own destiny… Venezuela was suffering a terminal crisis, by a dictatorship dressed in democratic clothes.“
Chávez had assessed that there was great discontent among Venezuelans and came to the conclusion that it was time for a military rebellion that would be fully supported by the population.
He and his closest associates drew up a detailed plan with military precision that involved total control of Caracas, the capital city, with battalions, including the air force, drawn from Maracay and Valencia.
Other big cities like Maracaibo and Barquisimeto would also be taken. Then, the television stations were going to broadcast Chávez’s pre-recorded speech to the entire population nationwide explaining what was happening and asking them to join the rebellion.
Chávez had the support of the people as the people had already demonstrated on February 27 and 28, 1989 with large popular protests against the government that became known as the Caracazo. Another historic anniversary occurred in February.
Several alternative dates for the action had been considered, and it was decided that the best opportunity was the night of February 3 to 4. It was confirmed that the president would return from Davos on the evening of February 3. He would be taken prisoner by surprise at the airport and taken to Chávez’s headquarters in the Museum of Military History in Caracas. Immediately a National General Council would be formed with the military and civilians to elect a new president. That was the plan.
But, no master plan can survive treasonous action.
A traitor revealed the plan and the president was warned, thus avoiding being apprehended at the airport. Rebel air support also failed, and after a few hours the rebellion had no chance of success. In the early hours of February 4, Chávez decided to surrender to avoid the bloodshed that was to be inevitable.
What happened after this initial defeat is the stuff of revolutionary legends born of a well-timed combination of circumstance and quick thinking.
Unaware that the main objective in Caracas had not been reached, rebel forces in Valencia, Maracay, and Maracaibo were making advances with the help of civilians. Chávez weighed the risks and decided it was futile to continue as they would eventually be captured and possibly killed by government forces.
He suggested to his captors that the only way to communicate with the rebels and ask them to surrender was through a live television broadcast. It did not occur to Chávez’s captors that all of Venezuela – which was now alerted to the events – would have the opportunity to see and hear this daring Bolivarian soldier.
In his military combat uniform and red paratrooper beret, confident and in control, that same morning Chávez appeared on live national television. While his words called for his companions to surrender, his message – in the two words “for now” – was a promise that this was not the end of the fight.
He said: “Comrades: Unfortunately, for now, the objectives that we set for ourselves have not been achieved in the capital city. That is to say, those of us who are here in Caracas have not been able to control power. You did very well there, but it is time to avoid more bloodshed; it is time to reflect. New situations will come and the country will be able to advance definitively towards a better destiny. So listen to Commander Chávez who sends you this message that you please reflect and lay down your arms.”
Venezuelan People, Main Foundation of the Revolutionary Process
So the Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario, founded ten years earlier, had its baptism of fire in the ashes of a failed coup. However, Chávez’s real coup on February 4 was that he was able to reach Venezuelans and deliver a message that conveyed his true intentions.
Venezuelans took notice and did not forget.
Having participated in the multi-party electoral process of 1998, on February 2, 1999 (another anniversary in February), Hugo Chávez assumes the position of President of Venezuela.
Breaking the protocol, Chávez pronounced his own promise: “I swear before God, before the country and before my people that on this moribund constitution I will promote the necessary democratic transformations so that the new republic has an adequate magna carta for all times.”
He was true to his own words.
Thus began the Fifth Republic with a new constitution internationally considered one of the most progressive. Today we are seeing a Bolivarian revolution that – despite the criminal coercive measures imposed by today’s empire – produces social results that benefit all Venezuelans and set an example for the rest of Latin America just as Simon Bolívar dreamed of.
We know that this was Bolívar’s dream from the words of Chávez himself.
A few days after the rebel action, on February 28, Chávez reminds us of Fidel Castro who recognised José Martí as the author of another attempt to take over the Moncada barracks in Cuba in 1953.
In an interview published on March 2 by a journalist who posed as a relative, Chávez from prison declared: “The true author of this liberation, the authentic leader of this rebellion is General Simón Bolívar.”
He remained faithful to his Bolivarian mission reflected in the very official name of the country as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
We know that Bolívar was the inspiration for the 1992 uprising because Chávez has told us so in his own words. But what aspects of Bolivarian thought precisely inspired Chávez?
A full and detailed answer to that question would require a very deep, large-scale, and long-term study.
For the purposes of this presentation, we limit ourselves to highlighting some elements from a fundamental document of Bolívar’s that surely served as an inspiration to Chávez for his Bolivarian movement.
That document is the Cartagena Manifesto of 1812, which reveals Bolívar’s power of political analysis.
With the fall of the First Republic before the forces of the Spanish leader Monteverde, the then Colonel Simón Bolívar went into exile in August 1812, heading to Curaçao and then from there to the Republic of Nueva Granada (what is today largely Colombia and Panama), which had recently declared its independence from Spain.
In Cartagena, Bolívar writes a letter addressed to the citizens of Nueva Granada, in which he summarises the causes of the loss of the First Republic (April 19, 1810 and July 30, 1812), describes the situation in which Hispanic America was, and exposes his prospects for the future of the region.
The most important causes include the following:
Federal system. Bolívar was concerned about the lack of unity and political cohesion within this system. Bolívar wrote: “I am of the opinion that as long as we do not centralise our American governments, the enemies will obtain the most complete advantages. We will inevitably be involved in the horrors of civil dissensions, and shamefully conquered by that handful of bandits that infest our regions.” “Our division, and not Spanish arms, returned us to slavery.“
Economic crisis. Economic waste in bureaucracy: “The dissipation of public revenues in frivolous and harmful objects, and particularly in salaries of countless clerks, secretaries, judges, magistrates, legislators, provincial and federal, dealt a mortal blow to the Republic, because it forced it to resort to the dangerous expedient of establishing paper money, with no other guarantees than the forces and imaginary income of the confederation.”
Popular hostility. The hostility of the people to the new liberating government has been the result of all those factors that create the discontent and disaffection of the population. The discontented people have simply seen the Spanish oppressor as the solution to their problems. In addition, while the Republicans promised political and social emancipation for all, the royalists promised economic emancipation, which ended up attracting allies.
Bolívar was well aware that any action taken with respect to Venezuela would be an example for “the peoples of South America who aspire to freedom and independence.“
This is how Bolívar saw what he called the “urgent need we have to close the doors to the enemy,” and thus he justified “the reconquest of Caracas” for “the security of Nueva Granada.” With this idea, he requests authorization from Congress to intervene in Venezuela with a force of volunteers.
This is very important. Today we could interpret those words in this way: Having recognised the institutional, economic and social problems in Venezuela, Bolívar/Chávez saw the need to reconquer the nation for the security of Latin America.
Bolívar had confidence in the support of the people. “It is a positive thing that as soon as we present ourselves in Venezuela, thousands of valiant patriots will join us, who desire to see us appear, to shake off the yoke of their tyrants and unite their efforts with ours in defense of the Liberty.”
Chávez did not have a Nueva Granada to ask for permission to reconquer Caracas but he firmly believed in the support of the people who would give him permission to preside over a new free and sovereign Bolivarian Venezuela as an example for the rest of Latin America.
In what will be known as the Admirable Campaign, and after a series of victorious battles, Bolívar triumphantly entered Caracas on August 6, 1813.
As we have said, Hugo Chávez knew Bolívar’s political thought very well, shared his vision, and it can be concluded that Chávez applied Bolívar’s theories to the present context, emphasising the unity of Latin America as the key to resisting today’s neoliberal and imperial oppression. The resulting Bolivarian revolution has been firmly rooted in the same ideals as Bolívar’s, namely equality, freedom and solidarity among nations.
The creation of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) in opposition to the illusory proposals of the US such as the OAS was promoted within the ideological framework of Bolívar.
That is one of the foundations of the Bolivarian revolution for the consolidation of the Latin American and Caribbean Great Homeland in our region.
NP/OT
Nino Pagliccia
Nino Pagliccia is a Venezuelan-Canadian statistician who writes about international relations with a focus on the Americas. Nino Pagliccia has managed collaborative projects with Cuban partners in the University of British Columbia’s Global Health Research Program. He is the editor of "Cuba Solidarity in Canada—Five Decades of People-to-People Foreign Relations" (2014). He has been the vice-president of the Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association in Vancouver and founding co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. He has led groups doing volunteer work in Cuba for over 12 years.
