When a Nation Turns Nasty

A new revolution is underway in Venezuela. But it won’t produce the social reforms President Hugo Chavez vows to impose. Nor is it the revolution promised by the opponents who would like to oust him.

Instead, both sides are unwittingly collaborating to usher in a new era, where violence and intolerance are the standard for politics in this country of 24 million. Revolutions, even peaceful ones, have victims, and in Venezuela the victim may well be civility.

This new revolution has been brewing for decades, as the chasm has widened between those who benefited from the country’s oil wealth and the ranks of the poor. But it was the April 11 coup attempt, which temporarily ousted Chavez and left scores dead, that defined the days to come. Those events made clear to both sides the power of violence.

For most of the last decade, Venezuela avoided falling into the habits of casual violence that have plagued its neighbor Colombia. But today, nearly four years after Chavez was swept into office with his messianic promise of leading the country’s swelling number of poor into the promised land of the middle class, Venezuela is one of the most polarized countries in Latin America. The space for dialogue and tolerance is quickly fading, and what remains is a country where violence is the language of choice.

In Caracas, once-peaceful neighborhoods have been transformed into pro- or anti-Chavez strongholds. At Plaza Francia, a square once known as a tranquil Sunday afternoon gathering spot, a group of dissident military officials has taken over. A sign proclaiming it a “free territory” greets visitors who come to hear the former officers call for Chavez’s removal. The daily speeches are laced with attacks on Chavez’s character, including accusations that he is a murderer and coward.

Less than a mile away, a group of Chavez supporters is camped out at the offices of the state-run oil company. Signs warn opponents this area is off limits to “coup plotters,” a reference to the president’s opponents.

Such scenes are repeated throughout the city. Bakeries have erupted into violence after pro- and anti-Chavez customers have exchanged words. Foreign newspapers report a growing number of divorces over political differences.

In some neighborhoods, Chavez opponents and supporters toss firecrackers at one another’s homes. “I know of a building where the neighbors no longer speak to each other,” said Hugo Gomez, a 47-year-old former bank manager who, thanks to the recession, now drives a taxicab. “It got so bad that we’ve declared my apartment complex a neutral area,” he said.

But he can’t insulate himself from the hatred that is increasingly becoming a way of life. Recently, he said, a woman sat on the hood of his cab and tried to prevent him from driving to work during a nationwide work stoppage called by the opposition. “I tried to explain to her I wasn’t pro- or anti-Chavez but simply a man in need of earning his living,” he said. “But she wasn’t satisfied with my explanation and began calling all sort of names and insulting me. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me.”

For many Venezuelans, the deterioration of simple civility is of greater concern than who rules the country. Chavez opponents, not content to simply advocate regime change, carry placards featuring Chavez’s head in a toilet and chant, “You son of a bitch!” During a march this month to commemorate South American liberator Simon Bolivar’s death, police worked to avert a confrontation between pro- and anti-Chavez forces. As I walked past the crowd, one Chavista spat in my face, smiling when he saw me recoil. He believed the press had taken sides with opposition leaders. A few blocks earlier, a Chavez foe had yelled at me that foreign reporters are ignorant.

Demonstrators on each side insist it is the other that has abandoned dialogue. “We are only defending ourselves,” an opposition marcher told me, pointing to the flowers tied to the end of a flag as evidence of the peaceful nature of the Bolivar rally. But when the crowd reached the wall of police trying to keep the two sides apart, the scene resembled a World Wrestling Federation match more than a peaceful march to honor South America’s most revered hero.

The country’s electronic news media, too, have joined the fray. All four of the country’s privately owned TV stations have replaced their usual commercials with anti-Chavez ads calling for the president to step down. Soap operas and variety shows have been taken off the air to provide room for broadcasts that feature lengthy speeches and the opposition’s calendar of events.

Meanwhile, on the state-run TV station, government officials insist that there are no major problems facing the country, even denying the existence of lines at gasoline stations that have followed a strike by oil workers.

Whether Chavez stays or goes, life has changed in Venezuela. Hatred and anger have taken over its streets and citizens. Whoever governs the country going forward will face the huge task of restoring civility, because without it, no side wins.