The salami tactics of Hugo Chavez
In the first episode of the great Yes, Prime Minister, “The Grand Design,” new PM Jim Hacker meets with the government’s chief scientific advisor to discuss defence policy. The advisor, a hawkish Austrian, argues that the Soviet Union would use “salami tactics” to take over Europe, that is, a “slice-by-slice” plan with no one slice so grave as to compel the West (or the U.K., in this case) to respond militarily. (The 16 YPM episodes originally aired on the BBC from 1986-88.) At each slice/stage of the scenario, he presses Hacker — What would it take for him to act? An incursion into West Berlin? Or would the Soviets have to go so far as to take over the Reform Club, one of London’s old political establishments? Would he ever respond with nuclear weapons? Probably not.
My point here is not to make a case for military action against Venezuela, but it is clear that Hugo Chavez is using salami tactics in his drive to establish so-called “Bolivarean” socialism — that is, his own national-socialist autocratic rule — in that country. I wrote about this last week: “Sometimes revolution can be achieved without sudden, dramatic bloodletting.” There are a number of different prongs to Chavez’s continuing revolution, a number of slices. They may be examined individually, but they are best understood as variations of the same, as components of a single overarching plan. The nationalization of industry, the seizure of private property, repression of dissent and opposition, control of the media, one-party rule, rule by decree, and, soon, the removal of constitutional impediments to the permanent and perpetual rule of the leader himself.
The pattern is clear. One slice, then another, and another, and another, with no one slice so grave as to compel anyone to act (although there are courageous opponents of Chavez’s tyranny in Venezuela, and there was a coup, if not one worthy of much admiration, in 2002). And there has been another, as the AP is reporting:
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened on Monday to close or take over any private school that refuses to submit to the oversight of his socialist government as it develops a new curriculum and textbooks.
“Society cannot allow the private sector to do whatever it wants,” said Chavez, speaking on the first day of classes.
All schools, public and private, must admit state inspectors and submit to the government’s new educational system, or be closed and nationalized, with the state taking responsibility for the education of their children, Chavez said.
A new curriculum will be ready by the end of this school year, and new textbooks are being developed to help educate “the new citizen,” said Chavez’s brother and education minister Adan Chavez…
This is a serious slice, and there is a lot here: the submission of the private to the public, a leader speaking for “society,” a new (re-)educational system, propaganda, threats of nationalization and state control, the concept of a “new citizen,” nepotism. This could be 1984. There may not yet be any killing fields — none that we know of — but the rest is beginning to look a lot like the tyrannies, the totalitarian tyrannies, of the last century. Pol Pot, meet Hugo Chavez.
Some will accuse me of exaggeration, of misrepresentation. But therein lies the problem: Chavez is a smart guy, and he knows what he’s doing, and he’s doing it in such a way as to minimize suspicion and criticism, to come across as a man of the people, not the people’s oppressor. He’s not rolling into Caracas with tanks and death squads, but he doesn’t need them. Not yet. Not with his salami tactics, grabbing slice after slice.
From populist to demagogue to tyrant, all with a bright red shirt, a huge smile, and some rousing anti-American rhetoric — and with many in his own country and around the world giving him the benefit of the doubt. But all you have to do is put the slices back together to see what he’s really up to.
And it isn’t all fun and games.
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13 Responses to “The salami tactics of Hugo Chavez”
[...] My point here is not to make a case for military action against Venezuela, but it is clear that Hugo Chavez is using salami tactics in his drive to establish so-called “Bolivarean” socialism — that is, his own national-socialist autocratic rule — in that country. I wrote about this last week: “Sometimes revolution can be achieved without sudden, dramatic bloodletting.” There are a number of different prongs to Chavez’s continuing revolution, a number of slices. They may be examined individually, but they are best understood as variations of the same, as components of a single overarching plan. The nationalization of industry, the seizure of private property, repression of dissent and opposition, control of the media, one-party rule, rule by decree, and, soon, the removal of constitutional impediments to the permanent and perpetual rule of the leader himself. (more…) [...]
Hugo Chavez is a sideshow.
He has no idea on how to run an economy that does not have huge amounts of oil money coming in. Actually he has no idea on how to run a an oil economy either. Even with all his money, the economy is not doing well, Production is declining because he chased all the oil workers with expertise out.
[...] Stickings provides an interesting comparison between the Soviet efforts to co-opt Europe and the tactics of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Using [...]
Hugo Plays Hide The Salami
Michael Stickings provides an interesting comparison between the Soviet efforts to co-opt Europe and the tactics of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Using a model described in a British television series, Stickings calls Chavez’ slow push towards tyranny â…
[...] Stickings provides an interesting comparison between the Soviet efforts to co-opt Europe and the tactics of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Using a [...]
He’s a left wing authoritarian, taking control the same way the right wing guys do. Make a big, scary and poorly defined enemy, convince the people only your way will keep them safe. New face, same old tricks. He’s a bad, bad man.
[...] The salami tactics of Hugo Chavez » The Moderate Voice [...]
In a sense, yes, taking control the same way right-wing authoritarian Latin American dictators do. He’s put a truly leftist mark on what he’s done to date, though, in aping Castro and going populist rather than imitating, say, Pinochet.
Actually, y’all need to take a look at Hungarian history.
It was Matyas Rokosi, Stalin’s Hungarian protege’ who boasted that he would “cut off his enemies one by one, likes slices of salami”.
The process Hugo Chavez is using is modeled on, and follows the same means, methods and objective that chronicled Hungary’s subversion following WWII.
[...] I’m just linking this because it has a Yes, Prime Minister reference. Which, perhaps to my detriment, has formed my [...]
[...] Gee, someone else has Hugo Chavez’s number too. It’s not just me. Michael Stickings makes a poignant observation about the regime of Hugo Chavez and his modus operandi – as well as the ultimate outcome of his machinations: My point here is not to make a case for military action against Venezuela, but it is clear that Hugo Chavez is using salami tactics in his drive to establish so-called “Bolivarean†socialism — that is, his own national-socialist autocratic rule — in that country. I wrote about this last week: “Sometimes revolution can be achieved without sudden, dramatic bloodletting.†There are a number of different prongs to Chavez’s continuing revolution, a number of slices. They may be examined individually, but they are best understood as variations of the same, as components of a single overarching plan. The nationalization of industry, the seizure of private property, repression of dissent and opposition, control of the media, one-party rule, rule by decree, and, soon, the removal of constitutional impediments to the permanent and perpetual rule of the leader himself. ~themoderatevoice.com [...]
You are wrong about a lot of things, but you are not foolish enough to advocate military intervention in Venezuela. Why? Because you know that, this time around, a U.S. military attack on Venezuela would FAIL MISERABLY. This time around, the U.S. cannot overthrow a democracy and install a fascist military dictatorship as it has done many times in the past (Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Chile, to cite just a few). Your guns and bombs are impotent this time.
You say that some will accuse you of exaggeration and mis-representation. Count me in those some.
The idiot who said Chavez is the same as a right-wing dictator knows NOTHING (perhaps voluntarily) about history. Right-wing dictators of the past murdered thousands and thousands of people. Chavez has done nothing at all like that, although you would love to accuse him of that.
What is going on in Venezuela, and you can´t stop it, is REAL democracy, unlike the fraudulent Bush administration. Whether you like it or not, Hugo Chavez is the FUTURE. Socialism is the FUTURE. Stand on the sidelines and whine all you want. There is nothing you can do to stop us.
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