CARACAS, Venezuela -- In a country riven by political strife, Venezuela's military often has served as the arbiter of power. It has launched coups and frustrated them and dispatched soldiers to guarantee stability, distributing food, fighting crime and securing oil fields.
Now with President Hugo Chavez battling for his life, the stance of the 134,000-strong armed forces again will be crucial.
Divisions within the military have clouded attempts to determine who it might support among Chavez loyalists or if it would side with the opposition. While the military's leadership is packed with Chavez supporters, the officer corps may not be so loyal. Much will depend on what Chavez's political heirs do in the coming weeks.
Experts and former military officers agree that the governing duo of Vice President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello has been unable to fill the leadership vacuum created by Chavez's five-week absence and silence. Without a commander in chief, there is no one to ensure unity or guarantee continued loyalty through promotions and retirements.
Retired army Gen. Antonio Rivero was one of the first to sound the alarm about the leadership gap when he told the Venezuelan news website Noticias24 that if Chavez didn't return from Cuba for his Jan. 10 swearing-in, the armed forces from that point on would "not have a commander in chief." He's since gone into hiding after state intelligence agents came to his house looking for him. He said in an interview that he had sparked government ire by accusing it of letting Cubans influence the military.
Maduro, for his part, has repeatedly tried to put to rest any questions about the military's loyalties by rallying troops and publicly appearing alongside top brass.
On Wednesday, the vice president celebrated the supposed support of hundreds of soldiers gathered at the Fort Tiuna military base in Caracas. At the end of the televised speech, a band struck up a folk song and soldiers clapped in time to the lyrics "Onward, commander!"
"(Chavez) told us to transmit from his heart to the Bolivarian national armed forces all his appreciation for so much loyalty toward him as a humble soldier of this country," Maduro said. "Thanks to everybody for so much loyalty and for so much love."
The vice president also said on Thursday that Chavez had authorized the equivalent of $372 million in financing to be provided as auto loans for soldiers. Maduro said that "20,000 military families are going to have their personal car with a loan with good terms."
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles has also trumpeted his military ties, announcing last week in a news conference that he has been in touch with officers and suggested they would step in to ensure leaders follow the country's laws governing what should happen in a transition.
The military, like the rest of the country, is in limbo, awaiting the outcome of Chavez's fourth cancer surgery.
Government officials have insisted they can indefinitely postpone the president's swearing-in, which the constitution had set for Jan. 10, as long as he's physically incapacitated. Opposition leaders say the move is unconstitutional although it was ratified by the Supreme Court.
"The Armed Force also has a role to play here ... of respecting the constitution," Capriles said during a news conference.
Throughout his 14 years in power, Chavez has proved masterful at commandeering support both inside and outside the military. With his natural political touch and ramped-up public aid programs, Chavez has easily won re-election three times, including in October when he defeated Capriles with 55 percent of the vote.
Associated Press writer Frank Bajak in Lima, Peru, contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/17/3187599/venezuela-military-to-play-central.html
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