Security Policy at the Fore in Venezuelan Presidential Campaigns

With the highest murder rate in South America and rising levels of crime, security is one of the top issues for voters prior to Venezuela’s presidential election this October. Over half of the population—61 percent, says a 2011 Latinobarometro survey—believes crime and insecurity are the most serious issues facing the country. President Hugo Chávez of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and Henrique Capriles Radonski of the Coalition for Democratic Unity (MUD) are not only pursuing different security strategies, but also having to deal with acts of violence during their campaigning. While the PSUV seeks to militarize security, the MUD hopes to use social programs and police reform to combat crime.

Both sides are pointing fingers following violent incidents during their campaigns. On March 4, shots fired during a Capriles rally injured two, as both sides blamed one another for instigating violence. Capriles supporters say Chávez backers were responsible, while Venezuela’s interior minister accused the opposition, saying it wanted to “put on a show.” Then, on March 19, Chávez announced he had uncovered a plot to assassinate Capriles, and offered to provide security for the opposition candidate. Capriles called the announcement “irresponsible,” and said on Twitter: "A president shouldn't offer protection to one Venezuelan. He should guarantee it to all Venezuelans, which is something very different." It’s the second time Chávez announced such an alert: in 2006, he said a government investigation uncovered a plot to murder former opposition candidate Manuel Rosales.

On the policy front, the PSUV and MUD are pursuing different approaches. Chávez created the People’s Guard in November 2011 to patrol the streets and provide preventative policing, with over 3,600 troops initially deployed to support both police and community groups. The president said the new force would cultivate “a culture of socialism” to reduce crime. The government also increased patrols of the National Bolivarian Police forces to try to decrease homicides. In December, the government launched a disarmament program to restrict the sale of guns and tighten gun-licensing rules. The president then made several appointments to his cabinet that signaled closer army links. In January, Chávez appointed General Henry Rangel Silva as defense minister and former Vice President Diosdado Cabello—who has military ties—was elected by the PSUV as head of the National Assembly.

But some have criticized the PSUV for failing to create an overall framework for addressing crime. Opposition Governor Henri Falcón of Lara state called out his former party for lacking a concrete security policy. Luis Izquiel, the head of the MUD’s security commission, criticized the PSUV’s inability to create a continuous policy, saying the government’s 20 security plans in the last 13 years failed.

The MUD’s security platform, launched in September, seeks to create a national security system that integrates institutions and allows for more coordination. The plan involves preventative measures that target adolescents. It also calls for an aggressive national disarmament project and the creation of a countrywide criminal-records system available to all police levels. Police would receive more training and police forces would be “depoliticized” to try to reduce corruption. Some opposition mayors have had success reducing crime rates, and the MUD wants to reproduce these successful models on the national level. In Sucre, homicide rates fell 40 percent from 2008 to 2011 with better-paid and trained police and the creation of youth social programs under Mayor Carlos Ocariz. Former Mayor Leopoldo López of Caracas’ Chacao municipality reduced crime by over 60 percent by implementing prevention programs with at-risk youth and improved training for police, including human rights training.

Capriles’ central policy to combat crime is to improve education, which he believes is a long-term solution. However, he came under fire on crime prevention as governor of the state of Miranda, where murder rates were among the country’s highest last year. The Chávez government accused Capriles of failing to request more funding for police, while the governor says Chávez cut off funds to opposition leaders. Last September, Vice President Elías Jaua spoke out against Capriles’ security policy, and said the government would add another 700 National Bolivarian Police—“the best in the world”—to the state by March 2012 “to show the people what peace is.” But on March 21, speaking about the allegations of violence against him, Capriles said the government has to “speak a language of peace,” adding: “We are exhausted by those who promote confrontation. Enough is enough!”

Learn More:

• Read an AS/COA Hemispheric Update about voter issues leading up to Venezuela’s election.
• Read the MUD’s security policy.
• Watch a news report about President Chávez’s People’s Guard from Al Jazeera.
• Read a Crisis Group report on how violence influences politics in Venezuela.