On February 4, 1992, the Bolivarian civic-military uprising occurred in Venezuela and brought with it the political breakdown of the country’s contemporary history that would end the policy of impoverishment and corruption to which the Venezuelan people were subjected.{{more}}

The discontentment of the people, the political, economic and moral crisis became increasingly untenable; the rejection of the traditional political parties became increasingly notable each day.

In the early morning of February 4, full of patriotism and ideals of justice, a young military group deployed a rebellion for the rescue of the dignity of the country, with a great display called “Operation Ezequiel Zamora”, which took place simultaneously in the main cities. However, in the capital the objectives were not fulfilled, so there was no other choice but to stop the operations. By the end of the morning, the leader of the rebellion, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez Frías, bravely assumed responsibility.

“First I want to say good morning to all the people of Venezuela. (…) Compatriots, unfortunately, for now, the objectives were not made in the capital city; that is to say here in Caracas we failed to control the power. (…) New situations will come. The country must definitely take the road toward a better way.”

That was how the Commander Hugo Chávez became, in a few seconds, the face and voice of the desire for change of the majority of the people of Venezuela, being recognized as a leader throughout the Republic.

Twenty-four years from this historic date, Venezuela celebrates it as the Day of National Dignity, to exalt the strength and courage of the military and civilian people who rebelled that day to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the levels of corruption and poor governance that kept the majority of the population in conditions of misery.

It was that rebellion which, six years later, led to the electoral victory of the Eternal Commander Hugo Chávez, who as President, ended Venezuela’s subordination to imperialist interests and reaffirmed national sovereignty.

Today, the government of President Nicolás Maduro works tirelessly to maintain and expand the social gains that the Venezuelan people have achieved with the Bolivarian Revolution, to continue to carry the greatest amount of social happiness and guarantee Venezuelans that what was then a “for now” today is a “forever”. (Contributed by the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)