From the Editors of VenEconomy

The Chávez administration is surpassing all bounds of what is permissible when it comes to the abusive use of force by the authorities against any kind of dissidence.

As in many other areas, at the start of his terms in office, Chávez made an effort to maintain the appearance of legality when he launched his official and para-official forces to crush protests.

Now, it seems, he has dispensed with the masquerade he has been using to conceal his dictatorial bent and is resorting more readily to the use of force to submit people who protest at his communist policies. Besides, he is doing it openly and quite brazenly, thanks to the impunity afforded him by the officials he has under his orders in all branches of government.

This week alone dozens of acts of aggression have been committed, three of which stand out for their brazenness and cynicism.

The first was the aggression meted out to more than 60 students from Carabobo, who unfurled four banners during the fifth innings of the Caracas-Magallanes baseball game with the legend “3 strikes: electricity, water, lack of security. Punch-out, Mr. President.” This original protest earned the students their expulsion from the stadium and eight of them suffered injuries as a result of being beaten up by national guardsmen, military policemen, and soldiers of the National Bolivarian Armed Force.

By way of contrast, this year, none of state security forces will be present to maintain order at the traditional San Sebastián Fair, which is held in San Cristóbal and attracts thousands of Venezuelan and foreign tourists. With no logical justification whatsoever, the head of San Cristóbal Military Garrison, General Eusebio Agüero, left the Bolivarian Armed Force out of the Fair’s security plan, knowing that Central Government had disarmed the Táchira State police force a few months ago, as part of a policy of bringing pressure to bear on opposition governor, César Pérez Vivas. This is a clear example of the servitude of the state security forces to the government’s project.

The second attack was against workers of the Éxito hypermarket chain, when they protested against the expropriation of the chain ordered by Hugo Chávez. Even though it had no legal grounds for carrying out the order, this Tuesday, January 19, the government took over all Éxito’s stores throughout the country by force, using the National Guard, who evicted with their customary aggressiveness any workers who tried to protest.

And the third attack by the government on a group of citizens occurred in Zulia at the facilities of MercaMara Wholesale Market, when workers protested against the eviction and expropriation order issued with no regard for current legislation. On this occasion, the attack came from violent groups allied with Chavismo and who act with the support of the authorities. The point is that, as far as this Machiavellian government is concerned, the end justifies the means, even means as perverse as setting one group of citizens against another.

What this increasing use of undue force and violence against defenseless citizens is demonstrating is that the government does not have right on its side.

VenEconomy has been a leading provider of consultancy on financial, political and economic data in Venezuela since 1982.