Venezuelans Commemorate 26th Anniversary of the Caracazo [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuelans Commemorate 26th Anniversary of the Caracazo
By Lucas Koerner

Caracas, February 27, 2015 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Dozens gathered in the South Cemetery of Caracas on Friday to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the "Caracazo", the 1989 popular rebellion which saw Venezuela's poor and excluded majority rise up against the IMF (International Monetary Fund) structural adjustment package imposed by President Carlos Andres Perez.

Popularly known by the abbreviation of the date, "27-F", the Caracazo is solemnly remembered as one of the most brutal instances of state repression in contemporary Venezuelan history.

Responding to two days of popular social unrest against his government, Perez suspended constitutional guarantees and sent the armed forces in to "restore order". The result was mass human rights violations, including killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances.

Over the course of 72 hours, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people were killed or disappeared by the state, although the real figure is still unknown due to the existence of mass graves.

Organized by the National Human Rights Network, Friday's ceremony was attended by survivors, human rights activists, local political leaders, and students of the National University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA). It was also broadcast on national television.

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http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11240