The Silence and the Scorpion: The Coup Against Chavez and the Making of Modern Venezuela

But perhaps the greatest irony, however, is that much of the animosity toward the “oligarchs” comes not from poorer people wanting to get rid of them, but from poorer people wanting to be them. The oligarchs are, after all, the Venezuelan dream. This is, we must remember, a petrostate, a country that is not only sustained by oil but where everyone

Miquilena’s constitution established in article 45 that if an order of a superior officer violates the constitution—which this order certainly did—then they did not have to follow that order. Miquilena knew this was no coup. It was an act of disobedience.

When he returned to Caracas, he was again startled by the contrast. He saw a country that was very poor in culture, a place where people weren’t interested in reading, in art; a place obscenely materialistic; that sold its oil to buy unnecessary marks of opulence.

Not surprisingly, many Venezuelan officers were furious about the situation and were desperate to get Chávez out. Vásquez Velasco had been feeding the president information about several budding conspiracies. But when, month after month, Chávez failed to act on the information, Vásquez Velasco came to believe it was because Chávez intended to use a

Although Venezuelans don’t like to admit it, there is a great deal of racism superimposed on the class disparity—racism becomes elitism and vice versa.