Importance of the Caracazo (Venezuela)

Known as one of the most important events of the last 40 years in Venezuela, the Caracazo was a historic event that took place in 1989 against economic and social measures taken by the then president of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Perez. This event was characterized by a sustained economic crisis that triggered serious social conflicts, protests and demonstrations against the government and its members.

Background of an event that would change Venezuelan history

Belonging to the Acción Democrática political party (with a nationalist and center-left tendency), Carlos Andrés Pérez came to the government of Venezuela in 1974 under the promise of building a sovereign country and leader in the region. However, before long he establishes an economic machine of generating wealth only through the sale of barrels of Petroleum instead of diversifying and making the weak Venezuelan economy more complex.

This president is denounced throughout his first presidency for corruption scandals linked to the illegal sale of oil and illicit enrichment. On the other hand, he opened the market and released the economy to the international market, which was a major blow to the fledgling and weak industrial sectors. At the same time, he specialized in the privatization of formerly public companies, which marked a time in Latin America if we take into account that Venezuela was not the only country that went through this process. All of this led at the beginning of his second presidency to growing social unrest and discontent at what is considered a bastion of corruption.

The events of the Caracazo and the reason for its historical relevance

The set of demonstrations and protests that exploded especially in the city ​​of Caracas between February and March 1989, shortly after the start of the second presidency of Andrés Perez. As often happens in cases of protests carried out by angry and hungry people, the anti-government demonstrations took the form mainly of a city ​​near Caracas, Guarenas, where a large number of looting and break-in of premises were recorded by sectors that were looking for food and resources to subsist.

Quickly, the wave of violence moved to the capital city and in a short time all the services They were detained for fear of lack of order. The anarchy established by the people was taken advantage of by the government to send troops to the big cities and repress protest attempts.

The repression was harsh and although there are no accurate records, it is estimated that nearly 300 died as a result of these events. people. Shortly after appearing to have controlled the situation, the government had to face a profound situation of instability policy as well as lack of trust from outside investors. Finally, Andrés Pérez was able to overcome the wear and tear and handed over power four years later, in 1993.

Images: Fotolia. Drik–FGB