Venezuela Anti-Government Protests Lack Support from the Barrios

[Jefferson23]

Video/Audio

Lisa Sullivan & Ryan Mallett-Outtrim report from Venezuela that the country's anti government protests are continuing with no end in sight but continue to lack appeal in low income neighborhoods - 46 min ago

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Bio

Ryan Mallett-Outtrim is an Australian journalist living in Merida, Venezuela. He is a staff writer for alternative news website Venezuelanalysis.com, and a regular contributor to Australia's Green Left Weekly. In recent years he has covered the democracy movement from Morocco, the ongoing struggle for self-determination in Western Sahara and progressive politics in Latin America.

Lisa Sullivan is the Latin America Coordinator for School of the Americas Watch, a nonviolent grassroots movement that works to stand in solidarity with the people of Latin America, to close the U.S. Army School of the Americas, and to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy that the SOA represents. Lisa has led SOA Watch delegations to 19 countries in Latin America, meeting with social movements and government leaders on issues of militarization, human rights and sovereignty, leading to the withdrawal of six countries from the SOA. Lisa has lived in Venezuela since 1982, and for 21 years was a Maryknoll Lay missioner, working as a community organizer in the western barrios of Barquisimeto where she raised her three children. She is co-founder of the Centro Cultural San Juan, an initiative that teaches Afro-Venezuelan music to youth in rural and urban areas of the state of Lara.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11545

[WhiteTara]

1. I'm not surprised. nt

[Peace Patriot]

2. Thanks so much for posting this!

Lisa Sullivan makes two very important points at the end, that, a) the majority of Venezuelans have benefited from the Chavez/Maduro government with continued, dramatic improvements in educational opportunity, medical care, housing, good jobs/benefits and policies that encourage public participation and inclusiveness; and b) most Venezuelans--including most of the opposition--dislike the violence of the far right (trashing government buildings, public bus systems, etc.)--i.e., don't approve of destructive protests.

I think she also makes the point, early on, that the chavistas recently creamed the opposition in the municipal elections, in an election system that Jimmy Carter has called "the best in the world." THAT fact has to be weighed against the mass protests that have been organized by the USAID-funded/tutored rightwing opposition to exploit problems (street crime, and more recently, inflation and food shortages) that the Chavez/Maduro government has not yet solved. The Chavez/Maduro government has solved, or is solving, immense problems such as poverty, and the opposition has nothing to say to this--no reasonable platform--as Ryan Mallett-Outtrim points out. The chavistas are the only functioning, successful problem-solvers in the country. That's why they keep winning elections.

And yet another important point made in this report is that Maduro's RESPONSE to the protests has been to call for peace, and invited the opposition to a conference on resolving problems and differences through peaceful dialogue. Some opposition individuals and some notable opposition groups and businesses attended, though MUD (rightwing political party) boycotted the conference. I think that the MUD will pay for this at the ballot box in yet more electoral losses. Venezuelans may march in the streets on issues like street crime, inflation and shortages, but they do NOT want their bus systems and other public institutions trashed. They want problems to be solved, NOT more problems created.

[Jefferson23]

3. I agree, I wanted to post it after viewing it...there has been some terrible reporting on the

situation.

[Jefferson23]

4. snip*

DESVARIEUX: Alright. Final question goes to you, Miguel. What are the most pressing issues that Chávez's administration, in your opinion, left unfinished? Essentially, what work still needs to be done there in Venezuela?

TINKER SALAS: Address the question of inequality and the question of poverty still. I think definitely they have to continue addressing the issue of food distribution and food access, particularly in Mérida and Tachida and the western states. There are food shortages and there are long lines. They undermine support for the government.

They also have to expand the social programs and continue to empower the population. I think it's very difficult in a process of 15 years to transform a country, to transform a way of envisioning the country and a way of understanding Venezuela's relationship with the outside world without evoking resistance. And I think sometimes the resistance may even come from sectors that are being benefited. And that's not uncommon.

But there are still pressing issues with housing, pressing issues with delivery of services, pressing issues with infrastructure. Crime has to be addressed. And the inflation has to be brought down under control, what it was previously.

But understand that Venezuela has been relatively under attack for a consistent period of time. This issue of the currency has been a bubble driven by some sectors of the economy trying to exacerbate problems that are caused by currency. The issue of crime has been extremely politicized. And rather than engaging in a national dialog, they've opted instead for politicizing of issues.

So I think that the steps that have been taken recently are very positive on the part of the Maduro government in terms of dialog and peace, and it exposes the opposition, because they don't have an agenda. All they have is a criticism of Maduro and a desire to replace him. But they have either no program, and they have no concrete leadership, and that's become very evident, because their protests simply sought to oust him, oust a democratically elected president, who is--and a process that has faced 19 elections since 1998, winning 18 of those elections. And I think that that really exposes the opposition. And it's obvious that democracy makes them uncomfortable. They're not willing to accept the results of a democratic process.


http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11548

[RobertEarl]

5. Good info on VZ, thanks Jefferson

Interesting that 18 of the last 19 elections were won by the Bolivarians.

Accusations today about how the banksters have been working behind the scenes in the Ukraine, make clear that the banksters may very well be working behind the scenes in Venezuela. Indeed, the 'currency' problem noted in this article is confirmation that banksters are hurting the people of Venezuela.

[Judi Lynn]

6. All real, valid, important points made. Thank you. n/t

[polly7]

7. Huge K&R. Thank you! nt.