Venezuelans Remember the 1989 Caracazo Uprising Against Neoliberalism
Citizens transport a victim of state terrorism, Caracas, Feb. 27, 1989. Photo: Frasso Solorzano
February 27, 2025 Hour: 12:01 pm
Thirty-six years ago, Carlos Andres Perez’s state terrorism left thousands of victims.
On February 27, Venezuelans commemorate “El Caracazo,” a massive urban popular uprising that raised its voice against right-wing President Carlos Andres Perez and his neoliberal economic policies.
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Thirty-six years ago, Venezuela experienced one of the most brutal and violent events in its modern history. On Feb. 27, 1989, President Perez implemented a series of economic measures popularly known as “el Paquetazo,” which responded to the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This policy package included an increase in gasoline prices and public transportation fares, the deregulation of prices for essential goods and services, the privatization of public enterprises, a wage freeze, reductions in the social budget, and an increase in external debt payments.
These actions triggered a series of violent events that led to a social explosion, initially in the city of Guarenas in Miranda State, which later spread to the capital, Caracas, where dozens of buses were set on fire and businesses were looted.
In an attempt to suppress the popular uprising, Perez restricted certain constitutional guarantees from the 1961 Constitution, such as freedom of expression, the inviolability of the home, the right to assembly, and the right to protest.
Despite these measures, Venezuelans remained in the streets, protesting against neoliberal policies. The state’s security forces then carried out a brutal repression that included indiscriminate gunfire against demonstrators.
It is estimated that thousands of people were killed and buried in mass graves. Thirty-six years later, however, the exact number of victims of state terrorism remains unknown.
“El Caracazo was the spark that ignited the engine of the Bolivarian Revolution,” said Commander Hugo Chavez, who led an attempted insurrection against the Venezuelan bourgeoisie on February 4, 1992.
“February 27 has not ended because its cry and its song of pain, hope, and clamor for a better world continue to rise. February 27 was a day of popular rebellion. It is not true that it was an unconscious mob,” said the then-Bolivarian president in a speech in 2011.
On Thursday, Venezuelans will hold a march in Caracas and other events in memory of the victims of the terrorism of Carlos Andres Perez’s regime.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: Con el Mazo Dando – teleSUR