Chavismo Remains Invincible After 23 Years: President Maduro
Venezuelan people take to the streets to defend President Hugo Chavez, April 2002. X/ @frabiangel36288
April 11, 2025 Hour: 2:44 pm
On April 11, 2002, the U.S.-backed far right tried to destabilize the Venezuelan government by kidnapping Hugo Chavez.
On Friday, President Nicolas Maduro led the commemorations of the 23rd anniversary of the failed coup d’etat that the U.S.-backed opposition attempted to overthrow then-President Hugo Chavez.
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On April 11, 2002, the Venezuelan far right, the economic elites, and the private media joined forces to destabilize the government by kidnapping Commander Chavez.
In less than 48 hours, however, the opposition’s plan failed dramatically due to the swift mobilization of the people and the loyalty of the military—two factors that led to Chavez’s release and his reinstatement as president.
“It’s been 23 years since the day we saw the face of fascism, the coup d’etat against Commander Chavez orchestrated by imperialism and the oligarchy!” he said through social media.
“We were a different people then, still very innocent. New values and a new consciousness were beginning to take shape. We were just starting to talk about Popular Power. It was a revolutionary movement in its early stages,” Maduro recalled.
“Commander Chavez told the right wing, which quickly took the path of a coup, again and again: ‘Don’t underestimate the people, nor the military.’ And they did. They carried out their coup d’etat, kidnapping him and giving the order to kill him—but they were met with a popular counterattack,” the Bolivarian leader said, referring to the people’s actions that returned Chavez to the presidency of the republic.
“What a great lesson! April is a time of history, heroism, and the everlasting memory of this spring that Venezuela has lived and continues to live. A memory of radiant, beautiful, and monumental ideas,” Maduro emphasized.
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) also remembered the 2002 coup, highlighting that “This event not only marked a critical point in Venezuelan politics, but also left an indelible mark on the country’s history.”
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: teleSUR – EFE
