Chávez left his indelible signature on a new and own Venezuelan military doctrine

Published at: 28/07/2026 09:51 AM

Hugo Chávez Frías will be remembered throughout history for his unrepeatable leadership, his unparalleled verb, his political qualities and, above all, for the love he felt for the military career, which he offered to the Venezuelan people leading the civic-military rebellion of February 4, 1992.

Chávez entered the Army school of the Bolivarian Military Academy in 1971, graduating four years later with a degree in Military Sciences and Arts and the rank of second lieutenant.

After leaving today's Bolivarian Military University (a study house that was re-founded under his strategic vision), Chávez dedicated himself to training for the country's defense. This preparation, together with the corrupt political landscape that existed in the Fourth Republic, led the Supreme Commander to develop a new military doctrine that would transcend “the barracks” and involve all the people in the protection of our territory and sovereignty.

This is how, after coming to power in 1999, he began to promote the union between the military and the civil establishment, removing men and women in uniform from the conception under which many were trained and which alienated them from their popular character.

The foundations of this new strategic vision of the Supreme Commander rest, in the first instance, in article 326 of our Magna Carta, which states: “The security of the Nation is based on co-responsibility between the State and civil society, to comply with the principles of independence, democracy, equality, peace, freedom, justice, solidarity, environmental promotion and conservation and affirmation of human rights, as well as on the progressive satisfaction of needs individual and collective forms of Venezuelans, on the basis of sustainable and productive development with full coverage for the national community. The principle of co-responsibility is exercised in the economic, social, political, cultural, geographical, environmental and military spheres.”

This provision in the Constitution establishes, in an exhaustive way, the need for the people together with the Armed Forces to work in a consistent manner to advance development in all aspects of the country's economic, political and social life, in order to achieve the necessary invulnerability to possible internal and external threats.

In addition, this vision, which points to the need for all Venezuelans to participate in the protection of the Fatherland, was also supported by article 3 of the Organic Law on National Security, which states that “full defense is the set of defense systems, methods, measures and actions, whatever their nature and intensity, that actively formulates, coordinates and executes the State with the participation of public and private institutions, and natural persons and legal, national or foreign, for the purpose of safeguarding independence, freedom, democracy, sovereignty, territorial integrity and the integral development of the Nation”.

Pueblo en Armas

This strategic vision, with the people as the protagonist, of President Chávez gained strength after the events of the 2002 coup d'etat when Venezuelans took to the streets massively to restore constitutional order and return to power that soldier who in 1992 won the hearts of his people with the famous “for now”.

In recognition of this heroic action, in 2009, Chávez founded the Bolivarian National Militia, which today is recognized as the fourth component of our FANB. There are more than 4 million patriotic men and women who, guided by the legacy of the Supreme Commander, have decided to voluntarily prepare themselves for the armed defense of our sacred territory, the heritage of our liberators.

Faced with this situation, he demonstrates what Commander Chávez said: “This is a soldier people, and Venezuelan soldiers are essentially the same people with weapons,” and every day that idea is growing stronger about the importance of military institutions and non-military citizens continuing to deepen integration in order to guarantee the comprehensive defense of our territory and sovereignty.

Mazo News Team