For those who thought that coups in Latin America were a thing of the past, the events of April 11th-14th in Venezuela were a rude shock. As rival crowds alternated on the streets of Caracas, and the army swayed to and fro like a palm tree in a hurricane, in four days of chaotic confusion Hugo Chavez, the populist president, was swept out of office and then back in again. But while his restoration weakened his opponents, it also left a chastened president facing an uncertain future. The overthrow of Mr Chavez by his own generals was backed by a heterogeneous coalition spanning business, labour, the Catholic church and the media. It was widely welcomed by Venezuela's middle class. At least 150,000 people had turned out to back a general strike against Mr Chavez last week. When violence broke out, the generals acted. The United States, increasingly irritated by Mr Chavez, all but applauded; it fought to stave off condemnation of his ouster at an emergency meeting of the Organisation of American States on April 13th.
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