Chávez steers Venezuelan descent

When I arrived in Caracas to begin work at the state-run oil company PDVSA in September 1999, Hugo Chávez was a newly elected president riding high on a wave of popularity. Chávez supporters were a minority at the office, but the debate among co-workers was a healthy one and non-supporters gave him the benefit of the doubt.

It was clear that Mr. Chávez represented a break from Venezuela's corrupt political past. I privately judged him verbose but well intentioned, and considered his long repetitive speeches great Spanish-language practice.

Weekend mornings I took the subway to El Capitolio for the "Vota Sí!" (Vote Yes!) rallies. Held just before the vote on Chávez's new Constitution, these colorful gatherings aimed to ensure that the functionally illiterate masses would mark "yes" on the ballot. Despite high crime in the area, I felt protected by the courteous soldiers on street corners with their red berets and machine guns slung casually across their backs.

A button from one rally with Chávez's grinning face under the words "El Mega Presidente!" perhaps foretold of his maniacal hold on power, but at the time it was simply amusing. Another button - that of his former party's red rooster - gave occasion to learn that PCV stood for "Partido Comunista Venezolano." (Venezuelan Communist Party) It's no secret Chávez is a "recovering" communist.

The night after the new Constitution was ratified, the Venezuelan coastline suffered catastrophic mudslides. I thought it strange that Chávez announced a death toll of 2,000, while the International Red Cross estimated 30,000. Like many, I was shocked by Chávez's early refusal of US aid - a cruel arrogance at the expense of his people that now seems to have foreshadowed his attitude in the current crisis.

In the months to follow, Chávez's rhetoric took a startlingly socialist turn. He used Venezuela's democratic institutions to set in motion a decidedly antidemocratic "Bolivarian Revolution" for which no one had voted. He appointed his lackeys to key positions, effectively eliminating the democratic separation of powers. Division between supporters and nonsupporters shifted toward class/income lines, perhaps because those better educated were first to recognize the president's motives. The taxi driver was likely a "Chávista," while the lawyer was not. But the international media incorrectly persist in reporting the division as such today.

Chávez grew aggressively more divisive. The poor fell victim to dictatorial tactics as he incited them against the middle and upper classes with stories of lavish wealth. I remember in particular, that in his weekly national addresses he painted vivid pictures of PDVSA oil executives cavorting in yachts and flying around the world on corporate jets. He masterfully aroused public disgust to the point that the PDVSA badge, if left absentmindedly on my lapel, drew startling screams of "corrupta!" (corrupt!) on Caracas streets.

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