Marcos Péerez Jiménez made his biggest blunder by getting himself "reelected" President in a me-or-nobody plebiscite last Dec. 15. This cynical insult to the nation's honor drove air-force men to try a New Year's uprising. That revolt was crushed, but it touched off a rapid sequence of plots, civilian riots and student demonstrations that reached their inevitable climax last week.
Bells of Defiance. Triggering the last brutal round was a crudely mimeographed manifesto calling for a general strike. The strike showed sinews of strength from the start. The morning before the deadline, grocery...