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[Venezuela] Massive protests, media blackouts and more!
TryCatcher
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, might as well try here. Since yesterday there has been some huge massive protests on the country, so might as well spread the word.
Here's a Reddit thread with a lot of links and explanations (it's a lot of stuff. Some is NSFW since an student got his head blown up).:
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1xqiks/massive_protests_in_venezuela_ignored_by_local/
(Please ignore the "it's a CIA conspiracy" comments).
Here's Reuters on the subject (there's a lot of articles, but this is Arab Spring stuff):
http://www.reuters.com/places/venezuela
And, of course, you can all ask anything and I will answer as I can.
Here's a Reddit thread with a lot of links and explanations (it's a lot of stuff. Some is NSFW since an student got his head blown up).:
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1xqiks/massive_protests_in_venezuela_ignored_by_local/
(Please ignore the "it's a CIA conspiracy" comments).
Here's Reuters on the subject (there's a lot of articles, but this is Arab Spring stuff):
http://www.reuters.com/places/venezuela
And, of course, you can all ask anything and I will answer as I can.
TryCatcher on
+1
Posts
http://www.ryot.org/video-2-killed-caracas-venezuela-anti-government-protests-turn-violent/567673
And Maduro is NOT popular with the people, hence the protests. Also, he took the news channel NTN24 from the Venezuelan broadcasts. What kind of democratic goverment does that again?
We are at day 4 of the protests with no end in sight.
EDIT: Video of the National Guard dispersing the protesters
What's the guy saying at 4:35?
EDIT: That was an answer to @emnmnme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Venezuela_Protests
The one in Spanish includes an extense event timeline.
I don't think anyone has figured out a good answer. Brazil's status as a rising power is also foundering for lack of a good solution.
Look, the way they've been acting suggests that the objective is to destroy the country in order for it to be easier to control. Just look at the local currency devaluation (three times in less than a year), fixed prices that only make basic products scarce (and attracts scalpers who sell them in Colombia for higher prices while obtaining foreign currency for it), and the rampant murder rate (look up the term tupamaro and be amazed). Not to mention that they aren't providing currency exchange to food companies and super markets, which wouldn't be so bad if most products weren't imported because they are either not being produced in the country or there is not enough supply for the demand.
That said, I don't think protests are going to take the government down. Unless the military is involved, I think the efforts and the lives of these students are being wasted in vain.
the murder rate - well. The collective militias can't be relied upon but can't be readily disarmed now anyway.
the pro-Cubaness of the Maduro govt is a bit up for debate. The anti-Chavist side will always allege Maduro to be a Cuban puppet, when it seems more plausible that Cuba is merely yet another fun way to poke the US in the eye for the entertainment of supporters back home.
export-led industrialization is historically the only way that has succeeded, but ~sweatshops~
I sincerely doubt they have that belief. If they weren't doing everything that should not be done, then I'd be willing to give credit to that assumption. But they're doing the exact opposite of what Economy books say it's best for a country's economy (never mind the fact that when a government fixes the prices of goods, it only leads to scarcity, as evidenced by what happened in Spain and Germany in the past). Why has he been seen sporting the official uniform worn by the Cuban military then?
Not to give the current regime undue credit for sincerity, but the Chavez government very much resonated like the old communist used to. The theory of communism is correct we know this to be true, so as long as we follow the theory we will get the result. It's like arguing with a biblical literalist, it doesn't matter how much evidence you present, the earth IS only 6000 years old so your evidence must be wrong or tainted.
What you are saying carries the implication that the armed militias (Goverment. Sponsored. Gangs.) were justifiable at some point.
The pic speaks for itself.
What I hate about his so-called "socialism of the 21st century" is that everyone is supposed to earn equal amounts of money, but even when he was alive, his elite always had vast amounts of money while the average supporter is paid with peanuts. It doesn't help that they give away money and resources to other countries while have deficient water supply services, frequent blackouts, high crime rate, inflation, and other problems they should take care of.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-27/venezuela-is-running-out-of-toilet-paper-.html
exactly
remember that the old belief was one held by every Western power in the world once, it's a loop that well-meaning thinkers can very much trap yourself in. The Chavist outlook peers outside the window and says: look! Unemployment! Therefore the inflation must be caused by something else, like monopolies.
Well - justifiable to who? Justifiable to a government utterly terrified that the army will stand by whilst the generals stage a coup? Of course it is trying to set up its own loyal paramilitary. Initially state-funded, but I'm betting that over time they have relied on the militias getting larger and larger whilst the militias have been funding that increase through illicit activities, so now the government can't even reverse the reliance on colectivos.
This specially bothers me since the rector at my college asked Maduro via Twitter to send said armed gangs against the protesters on my city. The backslash was so high that she closed her account and claimed that it was hacked. A relatively minor incident, but there's no excuses for a goverment to use gangs against the civilian population.
Here's a short explanation of the protests, with pics included:
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/02/15/3297311/venezuela-protests-twitter/
Not gonna lie, that flag on the right looks like it's got a bowcaster on it.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/americas/venezuela-protests/
Does Maduro have good qualities the people admire besides the handouts? He must have some magic quality about him if only half of Venezuela is mad at him after arresting the opposition leader for the crime of being the opposition leader.
Also, comparison:
Opposition protest:
Maduro supporters:
Yes, he has good qualities, like the ability of making an ass out of himself every time he speaks and talking to birds who are chavez reincarnated and still be applauded by his supporters who are being forced to do so or else they'll be fired or denied benefits.
LOL 'If we let go of the gooses neck then it will fly away and won't give us any more eggs'
source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/12/21/desperate-to-boost-oil-production-venezuela-moves/
God help us.
I wish I could ask other countries to help Venezuela, but nobody does anything for free and I doubt they'll see profit in helping us. I hope those who voted for the current regime are happy, because they helped destroy Venezuela.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Judging by history, any "help" would be a thinly veiled excuse to send in a military incursion to privatize Venezuela's oil
Don't worry, I'm at home right now. It may sound cowardly, but I don't think the general unarmed population can accomplish anything at all. The ones that have the power to help us are the members of the militia.
At this point, I couldn't care less about our oil. I graduated in 2007 and have only had temporary jobs. I've spent more time unemployed (I survive thanks to my mom and some freelance statistics jobs for undergrad students' theses), I can't go out at night, can't use even the cheapest and crappiest phone in public, and the inflation is too high. It's also hard to find medicines and basic goods.
But USA (in other words, the buyers of 90% of our oil) will be limiting the import of oil because they're starting to produce their own, so it's delusional to think it'll happen.
Edit: BTW, I have very weak endurance (most likely because of me having diabetes), so I doubt I'd be of any help during protests.
Key points:
*The government isn't acting as securely as it should be from an outside perspective. Why that is the case is up for question.
* While it's possible that the colectivos were organized by the government, scholarship on similar groups in other countries such as China indicate that they formed and acted autonomously. It's worth reading the recent Reuters piece on them.
* That said, this does not absolve the Maduro government from their responsibility to maintain the safety of the nation. They could do more to rein in the colectivos, and that they have not is a black mark on them.
* There appears to be only downsides to violence for the Maduro government. On the other hand, Lopez's faction in the opposition would benefit from violent confrontation, both in consolidation of power in the opposition, as well as moving the opposition as a whole to a more revolutionary stance.
* On one hand, there is no evidence that Lopez is directly provoking violence. On the other, his statements of seeking peaceful protest are disingenuous when looking at his choosing to hold opposition marches through pro-government communities. (Think of it this way - if Gerry Adams led a Sinn Fein march through a Protestant neighborhood in the mid-90s, he would be held to partial blame for any outbreaks of violence, and rightfully so.)