41 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
41 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
The **Caracazo** or '''sacudón '''refers to an attempted uprising and
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resulting massacres that shook [Venezuela](Venezuela "wikilink") in
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[1989](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_South_America "wikilink").
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## Background
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The city of Caracas was split between the rich and the poor, with a very
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expensive cost of living forced upon an impoverish population. The
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left-wing president Carlos Andrés Perez promised to change things and
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condemned the [IMF](International_Monetary_Fund "wikilink"), calling
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them “a neutron bomb that killed people, but left buildings standing.”
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However, he soon began to implement IMF policies, leading to a 100%
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increase in the price of fuel while bus fares increased by 30%.
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## Events
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The uprising began in the morning and police were quickly overwhelmed,
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leading to a state of emergency and martial law being declared as much
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of the constitution was suspended, banning the right to freely
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associate, protest, speak and have your privacy protected. In response,
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citizens began to shoot soldiers leading to shootouts that killed dozens
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of people. Looters took as much food and consumer goods as possible and
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the army began to use a tactic of abductions, tortures and extrajudicial
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murder. The protests failed to achieve much and quickly died down, with
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between 200 and 2,000 people dead.
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## Aftermath
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The Caracazo failed to achieve long lasting reform, but contributed to a
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political climate of increased radicalism and paved the way for [Hugo
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Chávez's](Hugo_Chávez "wikilink") path to becoming Venezuela's leader.
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## See Also
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- [Bogotazo](Bogotazo "wikilink")
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- [Cordobazo](Cordobazo "wikilink")
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- [Rosariazo](Rosariazo "wikilink")
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- [Revolutions of 1989 - 1992](Revolutions_of_1989_-_1992 "wikilink")
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- [Venezuelan Crisis](Venezuelan_Crisis "wikilink")
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- [23 de Enero Campaign](23_de_Enero_Campaign "wikilink") |