Hugo Chávez’s Dream Is Dead but His Fanatics Refuse to Fade Away

Although some in the opposition hope officers will join an antigovernment movement, San Miguel doesn’t believe it will happen: “Military commanders today are Chavistas and are compromised by their collusion with the government,” she says. “The military will not move one centimeter without the prospect of an alternative power structure.” The opposition has little grasp of Venezuela’s military culture. The revolution’s absorption of the judiciary and military is echoed by its approach to the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA. After an attempted military coup in 2002, Chávez fired about half of PDVSA’s employees, replacing them with neophyte loyalists. One senior analyst who remained for a dozen years more says he witnessed PDVSA slowly losing independence, turning into a political branch of Chavismo and spending its income on campaigns for officials at all levels, even mayor. More…