Tupamaro (Venezuela)

Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro Movimiento Revolucionario Tupamaro
Leader	Oswaldo Jiménez
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Caracas
Ideology	Marxism
Political position	Far-left
Website
www.tupamaro.org.ve
Party flag
Politics of Venezuela Political parties Elections

Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro (Spanish: Movimiento Revolucionario Tupamaro, MRT) or Tupamaro is a political party and organization of Venezuela.

History

The theory pointed to the birth of the movement as an answer—like other social movements on the continent—to alleged injustices perpetrated by the governments of various period of Venezuela's history. With emergence of Hugo Chavez as President of Venezuela consolidated its disparities in support of the new Movement for the Fifth Republic president.^{[citation needed]} The Venezuelan Tupamaros have at least ideological links to the urban guerrilla movement in Uruguay that took the name of Tupac Amaru, the last Incan leader of Peru who was executed by Spanish authorities in 1572 for opposing colonial rule.^[1]

Nevertheless, throughout their existence, the ideological basis of the movement began to deteriorate. As it stood in the first decade of the twenty-first century denunciations of the group from many forces in the country, with respect to the conduct of this group and its members, was ever present, specifically because of alleged attacks on student movements that are not in agreement with Hugo Chávez. In addition, its there are allegations that, despite the absence of official data, many of their members carry out drug trafficking activities and even have ties with death squads.^[1]

Leadership

The leader of the group is José Tomás Pinto Marrero, as secretary, and Oswaldo Jiménez as president.

Social support

With the emergence of Chavez as president, the group also cooperated with the state in administering social programs and promoting political participation. It is involved in after-school programs to keep children out of trouble, child care centers, puppet shows, drug rehabilitation and sports programs. A Tupamaro leader known as Chino, said of the group that "Our greatest accomplishment is having been able to change things through elections."

The group has refused to renounce use of arms to protect communities considered too dangerous even for police officers. In one such example in the high-crime 23 de Enero neighborhood in western Caracas, thieves, muggers or drug dealers who operate in the area run the risk of being executed by Tupamaros patrolling on motorcycles. A Tupamaro member known as Mao insisted neighbourhood criminals are given ample warning before facing execution. "First we give them a warning to get out of the area. If they don't listen, we see them again, this time with 10 of our comrades. If they fail to understand the message, we take matters into our own hands." Though, once again the masks they wear are said to ward off possible retribution from criminals, police or Chavez's political opposition, but they also reinforce an imposing image that critics call a tool of intimidation against Chavez's political opposition. Ismach Leon, a campaign manager for the opposition party First Justice said, "The Tupamaros began following me to get me out of Coche (a Caracas slum) because I was campaigning for (conservative candidate) Julio Borges." Luis Milan, a political science professor at Bolivarian University talked about a riot that began when police opened fire. With the arrival of more Tupamaros to the aid their comrades police, then, asked for military support, signifying the growing potency of the group. He added that "They are becoming a legitimate party, they are participating in the political process. It's a different time now."^[1]

References