The Forgotten Revolution: Venezuela’s Democratic Spring of 1945 – Explaining History
As we close out 2025, the geopolitical drums are beating once again for Venezuela. The Trump administration, continuing a long bipartisan tradition of US interventionism in Latin America, has ramped up threats against the Maduro government. Sanctions—what historian Jason Hickel has likened to a medieval siege—have already devastated the economy, and now military action is being openly discussed in Washington.
The narrative presented in Western media is simple: Venezuela is a failed state, a dictatorship that requires “liberation.” However, this ignores the deep historical roots of Venezuelan sovereignty and the long memory of its people. To understand why Venezuela resists, we must look back to 1945—a moment when the country briefly became a beacon of social democracy in a war-torn world.
The October Revolution
In his excellent book The Fear and the Freedom, historian Keith Lowe chronicles the wave of change that swept the globe after World War II. In Venezuela, this manifested as the “October Revolution” of 1945.
It began not with a popular uprising, but within the barracks. Junior officers, tired of the corruption and stagnation of the military dictatorship of Isaías Medina Angarita, formed a conspiracy. Among them was Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, a cultured engineer who had grown up in exile in France. Despite his reservations, Delgado joined forces with the democratic socialist party Acción Democrática (AD) to launch a coup.
In less than 36 hours, the dictatorship fell. But what happened next was remarkable. Unlike so many military juntas that promise democracy only to cling to power, Delgado and the AD leadership kept their word. They established a provisional government known as “The Trienio” (The Three Years), dedicated to transforming Venezuela into a modern democracy.
The Government of “Espadrille-Wearing Peasants”
The achievements of the Trienio were staggering. Flush with cash from a new 50/50 profit-sharing deal with foreign oil companies—a radical move that anticipated the resource nationalism of Mossadegh in Iran—the government embarked on massive social programs.
- Housing and Health: The housing budget quadrupled. A massive DDT spraying campaign (controversial now, but hailed as a miracle then) virtually eradicated malaria from large swathes of the country.
- Education: A literacy campaign established 3,600 centers across the nation, bringing education to adults who had been left behind by the old order.
- Democracy: The most radical change was political. The vote was extended to women and, crucially, to the illiterate. For the first time, the vast majority of Venezuelans were citizens, not subjects.
- Labor Power: Union membership exploded. In just two years, 740 new unions were recognized, and workers began to exercise real power in the economy.
This explosion of popular sovereignty terrified the traditional elites. The Catholic Church, the business community, and the conservative middle classes watched in horror as the “rabble” entered public life. They derisively called the administration el gobierno de los alpargatorados—the government of the espadrille-wearing peasants.
The Backlash and the Long Shadow of the Cold War
This dynamic—a reformist government uplifting the poor and provoking the rage of the privileged—is a recurring theme in 20th-century history, from the Spanish Civil War to Allende’s Chile.
In Venezuela, the Trienio ended in 1948 with another military coup, this time installing the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez. The US government, then pivoting to the Cold War, quickly recognized the new regime. Washington preferred a stable dictator who protected oil interests over a messy democracy that empowered unions and demanded a fair share of oil wealth.
This history matters today because it explains the resilience of the Venezuelan political project. The current government, for all its flaws and the crippling impact of sanctions, draws its legitimacy from this deep well of historical memory—the idea that Venezuela’s oil belongs to its people, and that the “espadrille-wearing peasants” have a right to rule.
When figures like Maria Corina Machado call for external intervention today, they are echoing the elites of 1948 who preferred foreign domination to domestic equality. And when the US threatens invasion, it is continuing a century-long project of policing its “backyard” to ensure the free flow of resources.
The tragedy of US policy is its refusal to accept that Latin American nations have their own agency. In 1945, Venezuela proved it could build a functioning, vibrant social democracy. It was destroyed not because it failed, but because it succeeded too well in challenging the established order. As we face the specter of war in 2025, we would do well to remember that lesson.
Further Reading:
- The Fear and the Freedom by Keith Lowe
- Empire’s Workshop by Greg Grandin
- Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
- Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know by Miguel Tinker Salas
Transcript
Nick: Welcome again to the Explaining History podcast.
Those of you who have been paying attention to the various pronouncements on threatened and planned invasions, military actions, and other hostilities in 2025 from the Trump regime will likely be aware of the more eccentric plans: seizing Greenland, taking the Panama Canal, and imposing tariffs mainly on allied powers. There has been a “blank check” written for Russia in Ukraine, but the standout aggression of the Trump regime in 2025 has been towards the sovereign nation of Venezuela.
Venezuela sits in the crosshairs of American policy, much like Cuba, regardless of whether a Republican or Democrat is in power. The reason is that Venezuela exists within America’s Monroe Doctrine sphere of influence but has refused to cooperate with the American-led order in Central and South America. In fact, since the government of Hugo Chávez and now Nicolás Maduro, it has done quite the opposite.
Jason Hickel has written about the effect of sanctions since the 1970s, estimating that around 35 to 40 million people globally have died as a result of them. Venezuela is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world. When the US government sanctioned Venezuela, Britain seized the gold held by the Bank of England, which gives you a sense of the economic siege the country is under. When right-wing commentators say, “You don’t want socialism because you’ll end up like Venezuela,” pointing to hyperinflation and shortages, the counterpoint is that this is what happens when the US enacts a medieval siege against you.
While this context is easily searchable, I want to dive into looking at Venezuela in 1945—the country it was as it emerged from the world shaped by the Second World War. I’m drawing on Keith Lowe’s excellent book The Fear and the Freedom. Keith Lowe is a fantastic historian who deserves more recognition.
Lowe writes about a pivotal moment for a man named Carlos Delgado Chalbaud in the autumn of 1945. Delgado was an officer and a teacher in the Venezuelan army, head of studies at the military academy in Caracas. He was a cultured man who loved classical music and spoke perfect English and French, having grown up in exile in France. He was seen as a “safe pair of hands”—sober, honest, and conservative.
However, Venezuela was ruled by a military dictator, General Isaías Medina Angarita. His autocratic behavior alienated the population, and a large opposition had grown, led by a new political party called Acción Democrática (AD). Junior officers in the army were also turning against the dictatorship, angry at poor conditions and feeling the regime was out of touch.
Delgado was approached by a friend and told of a planned coup. He initially hesitated, saying he wasn’t “morally prepared” for such an act. He had memories of his father’s failed coup attempt years earlier, which had led to his exile. But the conspiracy was well-organized and likely to have popular support. The ambition to succeed where his father failed eventually swayed him.
On October 18, 1945, the insurrection took place. Delgado personally arrested the Minister of War. Rebels seized the presidential palace, ports, and air bases. It wasn’t bloodless—estimates of the dead range from several hundred to 2,500—but within 36 hours, the dictator surrendered.
A new revolutionary juntaJunta Full Description: A military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force. These military councils suspended constitutions, dissolved congresses, and banned political parties, claiming to act as “guardians” of the nation against internal corruption and subversion. A Junta is the administrative body of a military dictatorship. In the Southern Cone, these were often composed of the heads of the different branches of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force). They justified their seizure of power as a “state of exception” necessary to restore order, presenting themselves as apolitical technocrats saving the nation from the chaos of democracy. Critical Perspective:The Junta represents the militarization of politics. By treating the governance of a nation like a military operation, these regimes viewed distinct political opinions not as healthy democratic debate, but as insubordination or treason to be court-martialed. It replaced the messy consensus-building of democracy with the rigid hierarchy of the barracks. was formed, consisting of five civilians and two military men. The AD leader Rómulo Betancourt became acting president. Delgado became the Minister of Defense. They declared the government provisional, with the primary aim of organizing free, secret, and universal elections. Crucially, they ruled that no member of the junta could stand for president, ensuring they wouldn’t abuse their position.
This period, from 1945 to 1948, is known as The Trienio. It was a time of revolutionary change. The new constitution granted the right to vote to all citizens, including women and the illiterate. The first clean elections were held.
But the revolution wasn’t just political; it was social. The government encouraged the formation of labor unions and peasant movements. In two years, they recognized 740 unions—an explosion of engagement in public life.
Economically, the government secured a 50/50 split of oil profits with foreign companies. Flush with this new revenue, the housing budget quadrupled. A building boom transformed Caracas into a modern city. The education budget soared, funding thousands of literacy centers. A massive campaign using DDT eradicated malaria from huge regions. The military was also modernized with better pay and training.
However, as in other parts of the world, the pace of reform was so fast that it left conservatives reeling. Businessmen, the Catholic Church, and sections of the military voiced concern over the social upheavals. Strikes became frequent as unions flexed their new power. Traditionalists resentfully called the administration el gobierno de los alpargatorados—”the government of the espadrille-wearing peasants.”
I want to pause there because this dynamic is crucial. Throughout the 20th century, we see resistance from the middle classes whenever power shifts toward the working class. We saw it in Europe, in New Deal America, and certainly in Venezuela. For the poor, a government that builds schools and hospitals is a functioning state. But for the elites, the democratization of economic rewards is a nightmare. This tension is what led to the violent suppression of the left in pre-Civil War Spain, as documented by Paul Preston in The Spanish Holocaust.
In the context of the Cold War, this threat to American oil interests was viewed dimly by the Truman administration and the newly formed CIA. The Trienio would eventually be overthrown in 1948, a story I will cover in a future episode.
But as we look at the current threats against Venezuela in 2025, which bear the hallmarks of the build-up to the Iraq War in 2003, it is vital to remember this history. Venezuela has a tradition of vibrant social democracy. The population was prepared to defend it then, and I believe they will be prepared to defend it now.
I’m going to finish there. I have a great interview coming up in January marking the 10th anniversary of the sad death of David Bowie, so look out for that. Take good care, folks. Stay safe.
Leave a Reply