Caracazo

Caracazo
Part of Protests in Venezuela
Top, left, right: Venezuelans cheering during the rioting; the looting of stores in Caracas; and police responding to a scene
Date27 February 1989 – 5 March 1989
(6 days)
Location
Caracas
Caused byAusterity measures
Methods
  • Protests
  • Riots
  • Looting
Resulted in
  • Civilian casualties
  • $212 million of damage (2022 USD)[1]
  • Political instability
Parties
Protesters
Casualties
Death(s)277 (government[neutrality is disputed])
2,000–5,000 (independent est.[neutrality is disputed])[2][3][4]
Injuries2,000+[5]

The Caracazo is the name given to the wave of protests,[6][7][8] riots, and looting[9] that started on 27 February 1989 in the Venezuelan city of Guarenas, spreading to Caracas and surrounding towns following austerity measures from President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Weeklong clashes resulted in numerous deaths, with estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands, attributed largely to security forces and military involvement, according to various reports.[2][3][10][11] The riots and the protests began mainly in response to the government's economic reforms and the resulting increase in the price of gasoline and transportation[6][7][9][2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GAZ5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c R. Guy, Emerson (2011). "A Bolivarian People: Identity politics in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela". Humanities Research. 17 (1). Canberra: Australian National University: 87–111.
  3. ^ a b Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Venezuela, One-sided Violence, Government of Venezuela – civilians, http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=167&regionSelect=5-Southern_Americas# Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crisp2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ UN, Venezuela: Wound Still Gaping 20 Years after ‘Caracazo’, By Humberto Márquez, Caracas, Feb 27 2009 (IPS, http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/02/venezuela-wound-still-gaping-20-years-after-lsquocaracazorsquo/
  6. ^ a b Almeida, Paul; Pérez Martín, Amalia (2022). Collective Resistance to Neoliberalism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108981873. Caracazo anti-neoliberal uprising
  7. ^ a b López Maya 2003.
  8. ^ Kingsbury, Donald (December 2013). "Between Multitude and Pueblo: Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution and the Government of Un-governability". New Political Science. 35 (4): 567–585. doi:10.1080/07393148.2013.848702. ISSN 0739-3148. S2CID 144593260. the caracazo—an anti-neoliberal uprising and massacre in 1989
  9. ^ a b Venezuela exhumes unnamed dead in riot investigation, Reuters, 22 September 2009.
  10. ^ UN, Venezuela: Wound Still Gaping 20 Years after ‘Caracazo’, By Humberto Márquez, Caracas, Feb 27 2009 (IPS), http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/02/venezuela-wound-still-gaping-20-years-after-lsquocaracazorsquo/
  11. ^ Amnesty International, March 1990, Reports of Arbitrary Killings and Torture:, February/March 1989, AI Index: AMR 53/02/90, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr53/002/1991/en/