On January 23, though, Pérez Jiménez was not celebrating: A military coup overthrew him, forcing him to flee to the United States. Indeed, popular protests from the few residents of December 2 played a significant role in triggering the military coup. As the coup progressed, residents of Caracas’ ranchos rushed to fill the vacant apartments, figuring they could get away with squatting amidst the chaos. One woman recounted, “Well, everyone started running. I came here too, with several other women. This was full of people moving, you have no idea.” ByKendrick Foster. Full Text -> HarvardPoliticalReview