Chavez's ineffective repression

Authors:
Luis Alberto López Rafaschieri and José Alberto López Rafaschieri
www.morochos.net

With the recent imprisonment of 11 Town Hall workers, a student activist and the Prefect of Caracas, Chavez is sending a message to intimidate his opponents, in an attempt to stop the countless protests witnessed daily in Venezuela.

Unfortunately for Chavismo, silencing dissent through repression is a formula that has proven highly ineffective in Venezuela.

Since Chavez came to power, his government has sought to intimidate opponents. Chavistas have used insults, racism, threats, mass firings, blacklisting, closure of independent media, prosecution, imprisonment, human rights violations, tax penalties, armed gangs, toxic gases, beatings, and finally, a perpetual policy of repression and violence that, in theory, should have already intimidated the population.

But in the case of Venezuela, ten years of government repression have not had the desired effect on the opposition: In 2007 people said "No" to the referendum to transform Venezuela into a socialist state, in 2008 the electorate punished Chavismo by removing it from the major regional powers of Venezuela, in 2009 Chavez had to suffer to win the constitutional amendment, the international press is now completely adverse to Chavez, the anti-government protests bloom everywhere, and the opposition is today more numerous than ever. Which is sufficient to cast doubt on the effectiveness of Cuban dictatorial methods in Venezuela.

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- Analysis of the results of the Venezuela 2008 regional elections

- Focus Group: The opposition and Chavez's radicalism in 2009

- How acts of oppression lead to political self-destruction