Venezuela protests flare anew, death toll rises to 12

[brooklynite]

Source: Reuters

Anti-government demonstrators set up barricades and started fires in Venezuela's capital on Monday despite calls from within the opposition to rein in protests in which at least 12 people have died in the OPEC nation.

Traffic slowed to a crawl around Caracas, and many people stayed at home, as protesters burned trash and piled debris along main avenues a day after opposition leader Henrique Capriles called on them to keep demonstrations peaceful.

...snip...

Authorities in the convulsed border state of Tachira confirmed the latest death from the unrest: a man hit by a stray bullet watching a protest from the balcony of his apartment.

...snip...

The governor of the turbulent state of Tachira, who belongs to the ruling party, on Monday criticized the government's response to the protests and called for Lopez to be freed - an extremely unusual stance for a Socialist Party official.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA1N14E20140224

[adavid]

1. Remember people..

Many in Latin America know their history when it comes to the US and the CIA, overtly or covertly overthrowing democratically elected governments. I am sure they have rooted out right wing agent provocateurs that work to de-stabilize the country.
Once the coup is successful and the "new" government gets in charge, big-business and transnational corporations set up shop and usurp the countries wealth.
Wash-rinse-repeat.

[brooklynite]

2. Right, it couldn't possibly be because people are unhappy with the Government's policies...

Explain how the CIA got someone elected as a high-level Socialist Party official?

[adavid]

3. I have no..

issues with people with legitimate concerns, as all forms of any government has flaws.
We need to look at who is behind it, funding it, or throwing gasoline on it.


http://www.globalresearch.ca/venezuela-regime-change-destabilization-and-the-hidden-hands-of-u-s-capitalism/5369855

[brooklynite]

4. And maybe we should do that based on actual evidence...

...rather than make assumptions based on "we all know" history.

[OKNancy]

5. that link goes to an opinion

not facts. Also a biased opinion.

[proudretiredvet]

8. Proof please.

You made the statement about what is going on right there right now. History 10 years old, or more, does not work unless you would like us to believe that our president is just another Reagan, Bush 1, or Bush 2.
So please produce the proof to support that your words are exactly what is going on right now.
I do not believe what you say about what is going on there right now is true.
I will wait.

[Bacchus4.0]

19. yes, the protests indeed began as protests against the violence in the country (ironic I know)

every year for 15 years murders have gone up. Now we have the highest inflation rate in the hemisphere, shortages of food and other products, and an inept government.

[Judi Lynn]

10. The US has done this so often by now, they could do it with their eyes closed.

These "Democrats" who come here to support the Latin American right-wing oligarchs in their obsession with restoring their governments back to the way they were when US-supported fascists ran them don't have the principles it takes to look for the actual truth, and support the people's right to their own government without interference and control from outside their countries.

You only have to ask yourself why they never refer to the fact people like Bill Clinton had to apologize while in office for the atrocities committed by this country in Guatemala, etc. Conscientious Democrats start looking for the truth when it is brought to their attention something horrendous has happened. With the right-wing trolls, NOTHING has happened which should deserve anyone's attention. It has been happening since the late 1800's, for chrissakes.

Shameful by this late date for any US American to be clinging to a tradition the rest of the world has known for ages as vile, deadly, beyond brutal, unforgiveable, and everything BUT democratic.

It's no coincidence that so many of the recent Latin American Presidents are all people who suffered severely at the hands of the US-supported rightests, the darlings of their oligarchs in earlier years, former rebels, former prisoners, people who were formerly TORTURED by those sociopaths, and with the blessings of our own government at the time.

When a US President ever admits any of these things were done, you can be sure he expects to get a shitstorm from our fascist right, and he thinks the situation deserves acknowledgement, and he had the courage to stand up to the challenge. There will be far MORE mentions ahead when someone ELSE feels moral enough to do the right thing.

[Zorra]

13. Third Way RWer's primary agenda is 1% control of governments and resources worldwide.

They only nominally care about democracy, the well being of human beings, and the sovereign right of nations to determine their own destiny.

For them, as long as a country is fully under the control of the RW 1% economic global megaprogram, then however that government treats it's people is just fine. If a RW dictatorship is needed to secure private control of a country's government for the profit of the 1%, then that's just fine with them

You won't see them crying over long term human rights abuses in a RW 1% monarchy like Saudi Arabia. But you'll hear them railing constantly against any leftist government/country/leader who spends too much money feeding the poor and who dares defy the dictates of the 1% economic megaprogram of RW corporate privatization.

They reason they don't look for truth is because truth is their enemy.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. I stand with the elected government of Venezuela.

I might take issue with some of their policies.

If those people in the streets don't like their government, I suggest they win an election.

[brooklynite]

7. Media censorship...assaulting peaceful demonstrators...

Might want to work on those "policies" a bit.

[proudretiredvet]

9. Inflation is over 50%

Travel is restricted for just saying that you do not agree with that government. This is Cuba style government.
Sure this government is just perfect and this uprising would never have happened if not for our country. Those poor people love no freedom, not being able to travel, no bathroom tissue, and food that is almost unaffordable.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Like I said, win an election.

I don't see this in black and white.

[brooklynite]

12. Know who else won an election?

Viktor Yanukovych, former President of the Ukraine, and now a wanted criminal.

The CIA must have a pretty big payroll to fill the streets of both Caracas and Kiev.

[adavid]

14. yes

"The CIA must have a pretty big payroll to fill the streets of both Caracas and Kiev."

Yes, and they pay for it with drug money

Robert Parry wrote a book about the CIA and how they fund destabilization tactics.
Check out consortium news.

[EX500rider]

18. Well gosh anything Reagun was doing in 1985 down..

...in Nicaragua during the Cold War Obama MUST still be doing, plain as day.....or not

[Comrade Grumpy]

20. Hitler?

I didn't say anything about the CIA.

Are you a big fan of mob rule?

[joshcryer]

17. some of these students couldn't even vote then

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. Well, there's always next time.

In the meantime, I suppose they will demonstrate. But unless they want to take up the path of armed struggle, they need to win an election.

[joshcryer]

24. I don't disagree.

I think they should focus on a recall in 2 years. Maduro even challenged them to do so.

Only problem is that when Chavez was recalled he lost the recall but the CNE claimed that because more people voted no on the recall he was effectively reelected and a new election was unnecessary. The constitution doesn't say that, it just says a recall is successful if more than the people who voted for him the first time vote against him. So if they do the recall they must be sure that they get more yes votes than no votes, otherwise the Supreme Court would just rule he won the recall.

In the meantime Maduro needs to chill the fuck out. He can keep killing less than 2-3 a day but if it escalates a lot of leaders will speak up. (For me the threshold would be more than 40-50 a day, since that's the current murder rate in Venezuela anyway. Such a massacre would be hard even for Maduro defenders to swallow, though some undoubtedly would.)

[MyNameGoesHere]

15. What the freak?

I just saw a another news source saying it is quieting down and there is some movement towards... Oh wait Reuters. Yeah that beacon of balanced reporting on Venezuela ok, nevermind.

[joshcryer]

16. wait I thought they were under control of the opposition?

[freshwest]

22. Different factions in the opposition, or perhaps there's no clear leader? n/t

[joshcryer]

23. Opposition is taking credit, there's no real connection.

Other than that they both dislike the high crime. All the "leaders" of the opposition aren't leaders of the protest movement. You wouldn't see an opposition leader out in the streets putting up barricades and facing off with the violent national guards.

Movement leaders are at the front of this sort of thing. MLK Jr marched with civil rights activists he didn't sit in his house talking about how he was supporting them, he was out there in the thick of it and was even arrested for it.

Lopez got arrested for basically spouting off, he didn't do any protesting himself (this is kind of why Mark Weisbrot didn't think arresting him was a good idea).