The Caracazo is the name given to the wave of protests,[6][7][8] riots, and looting[9] that started on 27 February 1989 in the Venezuelan city of Guarenas, spreading to Caracas and surrounding towns following austerity measures from President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Weeklong clashes resulted in numerous deaths, with estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands, attributed largely to security forces and military involvement, according to various reports.

During the presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez from 1973 to 1979, the political elite in Venezuela believed that the nation faced a near-unlimited supply of cash flow due to high oil prices at the time and his administration racked on large amounts of debt.

Nevertheless, the administration of President Jaime Lusinchi was able to restructure the country's debt repayments and offset an economic crisis but allowed for the continuation of the government's policies of social spending and state-sponsored subsidies.

Pérez based his campaign on his legacy of abundance during his first presidential period,[15] creating perceptions of being a populist leader as he promised that Venezuela would continue to modernize even though it was facing economic difficulties.

"[2][13] Receiving 53% of the vote, Pérez demanded that Latin American debt be devalued by fifty percent and said that the region was a victim of international exploitation during celebrations after his inauguration.

[13] Pérez reversed from his campaign rhetoric condemning the IMF[2][13][17] and decided to respond to the debt, public spending, economic restrictions, and the rentier state by liberalizing the economy upon taking office on 2 February 1989.

[21] Larger protests and rioting began on the morning of 27 February 1989 in Guarenas, a town in Miranda state about 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Caracas, due to the increase in public transportation prices.

At midday Lara's governor called for the National Guard to disperse protests in Barquisimeto due to the president's presence, resulting with limited demonstrations in the area.

[34] At 1:00 pm, police fired upon an increasingly large and agitated crowd near the Parque Central Complex, killing student Yulimar Reyes,[35] shooting her in the face with a shotgun at point-blank range.

[35] That afternoon, Interior Affairs Minister Alejandro Izaguirre delivered a televised message in which the government attempted to announce that the situation was under control, but he was unable to conclude his speech, saying "I can't" and going off screen.

[36] Through the night, some working class areas participated in parties with alcohol looted earlier in the day, including whisky, champagne and other food supplies.

There were reports of particularly vicious attacks on stores owned by foreigners, namely Chinese, Lebanese and Portuguese immigrants, accusing them of hoarding supplies and of being responsible for the shortages.

[13] Middle-class citizens responded to the protests by creating their own self-defense groups while some upper-class fled the situation in private jets due to fears of their property being destroyed.

[13] López Maya says that troops who entered 23 de Enero were young, inexperienced soldiers who fired automatic firearms indiscriminately at apartment blocks, killing unarmed residents inside.

[7] At 3:00pm, army reservist Carlos H. Cuñar was shot by troops while leaving the 23 de Enero neighborhood to buy groceries, later dying after he drove himself to a hospital.

[13] As tensions eased, troops began to sweep through neighborhoods collecting appliances and cash registers and informing citizens that if they provided a certificate of purchase, the items would be returned.

[13][17][40] Members of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP) were reported to have beaten protesters with baseball bats and pipes while they performed interrogations.

[13] Poor areas faced increased violence during the riots, with authorities firing indiscriminately throughout neighborhoods and dragging some individuals out of their homes for summary executions.

[2] Shortages of coffins were reported[17][1] and morgues were so overfilled with dead that workers had to explain to family members searching for loved ones that bodies were simply discarded in trash bags.

According to Velasco, the Caracazo is "[w]idely held as a turning point in Venezuelan history" and that it "exposed a deep fissure in the social pact between political elites and the electorate established in the wake of the 1958 democratic revolution that ousted Pérez Jiménez.

"[13] Strønen makes a similar assessment, saying "El Caracazo made it clear that the illusion of a social contract between the poor and the rest of society was irrevocably compromised.

[23] Venezuelan attorney general Luisa Ortega Díaz ordered Pérez's extradition from the United States in 2009 as a result of his government's violent response during the Caracazo.

[50][51] In Current History a month after the rioting, Judith Ewell said that "foreign bankers ... forced on Venezuela the most stringent debt-repayment terms in Latin America.

"[52] Strønen wrote that Pérez's reforms were the "last straw" for disenchanted groups and that, regarding the Caracazo, "The distance between the governing elites and the impoverished masses had become so wide that the authorities never saw it coming.