2002: The New York Times Admitted that it had been Wrong  

in Applauding a Military Coup in Venezuela

On April 11, 2002, a group of military officers arrested the democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez and removed him from the Presidential Residence. On April 12, the military announced that Chavez had “stepped down” and installed a businessman, Pedro Carmona, as President. Carmona issued a set of dictatorial decrees that suspended the constitution, dismissed the National Assembly, the state governors, and municipal leaders, dissolved the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council, and ordered the arrest of Cabinet Ministers. On April 13, The New York Times editorialized that:

·       “With yesterday’s resignation of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator. Mr. Chavez, a ruinous demagogue, stepped down after the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader, Pedro Carmona.”[1]

A massive uprising of Venezuelans supported by a group of loyal soldiers rescued Chavez and restored him as President on April 14. On April 16, The New York Times editorialized that:

·       “In his three years in office, Mr. Chavez has been such a divisive and demagogic leader that his forced departure last week drew applause at home and in Washington. That reaction, which we shared, overlooked the undemocratic manner in which he was removed. Forcibly unseating a democratically elected leader, no matter how badly he has performed, is never something to cheer.”[2] 

                                        

 

1.    New York Times, Hugo Chavez Departs, April 13, 2002.

2.    New York Times, Venezuela’s Political Turbulence, April 16, 2002.

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