Bolivarian circles

The Bolivarian circles were grassroots organizations created for the training and dissemination among the population of the ideas of the Bolivarian Revolution, promoted by the then president Hugo Chávez. They make up a network of organizations financed by the national government and with State resources created on June 11, 2001 that carry out activities to disseminate the Bolivarian Revolution promoted by Hugo Chávez.

The circles had to be established in a decentralized manner, organized in the neighborhoods and, despite their origins, they had to be autonomous, to bring Bolivarian ideas to the population and form a forum for effective cooperation, especially in mutual social work. aid. The Bolivarian circles not only operate in Venezuela, they have headquarters and members in several countries such as: Spain, France, the United States, as well as Latin America: Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

Bolivarian circles actively participated to promote the approval of the 1999 constitution and for their role during the Puente Llaguno events. They also acted in 2002 to create a support network that allowed the recovery of oil production during the oil strike in Venezuela.^{[citation needed]}

The Venezuelan opposition has described them as "circles of terror" Due to their role as the repressive arm of the Chávez government, the circles have also been described as militias and compared to the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution of Cuba and Battalions of Dignity of Panama.

Background

In April 2001, President Hugo Chávez tasked then-Vice President Diosdado Cabello and Miguel Rodríguez Torres with creating and funding community organizations that shared Chávez's local interests so that his government could lend resources and garner political support. Such support. of the government made Chávez's opponents skeptical of any claim to autonomy.

The circles were created as state-sanctioned groups that were to be the "main organizing unit of popular power" and were announced by Chávez as "a great human network" which was created to defend the Bolivarian Revolution. Some circles were inspired by the Dignity Battalions created by Omar Torríjos and Manuel Antonio Noriega in Panama, since Chávez admired the model when he was stationed there during his military career. The founding documents of the Bolivarian Circles of Venezuela establish that "the Supreme Head of the Bolivarian Circles will be the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and that "the national and international headquarters for the registration of the Bolivarian Circles will be the Miraflores Palace." Many of the Bolivarian Circles received combat and weapons training, and some of their leaders were trained in Cuba. According to Lina Ron, a Chávez supporter and leader of her own Bolivarian Circle, La Piedrita, thousands of circles deeply loyal to Chávez were "armed to the teeth." Chávez denied the accusations of financing and use of weapons by the circles.

History

In January 2002, it was reported that Círculos Bolivarianos blocked the entrance to the editorial office of the newspaper El Nacional for more than an hour. Numerous journalists have been threatened, reprimanded and physically and verbally abused, particularly by people who identified themselves with the Bolivarian Circles. The Bolivarian Circles were involved in the events of Puente Llaguno and also participated in demonstrations that turned violent against the attempted coup d'état of 2002. Members of some groups helped organize demonstrations in support of Chávez and worked together with the military to Chávez's return to the presidency.

Shortly after the May 2002 coup attempt on a wire from the United States Embassy in Caracas, there were disturbing reports of members of the Bolivarian Circles receiving new motorcycles, Nike brand clothing, and that members of The Bolivarian Circles armed themselves, causing panic in the neighborhoods. The number of Bolivarian Circles also increased significantly that month according to Diosdado Cabello, going from 80,000 to 130,000.

According to the private intelligence company Stratfor, the Bolivarian Circles were also the parent organization of the groups in Venezuela. During the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 there were hundreds of attacks against politicians, journalists and civil society opposed to Chávez. During 2006 the government created communal councils to replace the Bolivarian circles, but the majority became armed groups.

Opinions

Various analysts agree that the Bolivarian circles are more than grassroots organizations with social purposes: evidence has been presented of violent actions committed by some of them, and of the role that this organized violence could be playing as part of the project. Chavista politician. Many analysts consider them extreme and dangerous organizations that could potentially carry out acts of terrorism and held them responsible for the growing political violence in the country.

The perception of the circles as violent groups is due to President Hugo Chávez's own verbal aggressiveness. For example, in October 2001 he declared: "this revolution is certainly peaceful but it is not unarmed." These circles operate as agents of the legitimate monopoly of violence, and in the support of the “people”, as an additional force in defense of the revolution. This aggressiveness is manifested in the repeated warnings that the revolution is armed to confront its enemies, and is willing to use those weapons. Lina Ron, founder of the Chavista Venezuelan Popular Unity party, declared that the circles were armed to the teeth. Chávez, on the other hand, denied the weaponry.

Oath

In 2001, Chávez swore an oath in all official Bolivarian Circles at the first national meeting under the following oath, which was adapted from Bolívar's own oath on the hill of Monte Sacro in 1805:

"I swear before you, by the God of my fathers; I swear to them. I swear for my honor and for my homeland that I will not rest my arms or my soul until we have finally broken the chains that oppress Venezuela as the heritage of the powerful who destroyed the homeland. I swear that I will dedicate my work completely to the Bolivarian notion, to the popular organization, to the popular mobilization, to the popular power, to never abandon the struggle; every day and every night that I have with the Bolivarian circles in the Bolivarian web, in the Bolivarian current, in the Bolivarian forces and in the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement 200 that today reborns after 19 years, by the will of the Venezuelan people. I swear that I will fight without rest for the defense of the revolution, even if I have to sacrifice my life, for the glory of Venezuela. I swear that we will forever consolidate the Bolivarian revolution and the homeland of our children. I swear."