I have spent a great deal of time in Venezuela and among Venezuelans in the U.S. and other places in the current Venezuelan diaspora. My partner is Venezuelan, and I have many friends and extended family there. There is a great deal to complain about in Venezuela. There has been for a great many years although, for a long time, perhaps the problems for many were masked to some extent by Chavez's star power. Chavez is gone and Maduro does not have the same kind of hold on much of the populace (of all classes). Many poor as well as more affluent Venezuelans do not approve of what is happening in their country. And many of them are willing to die to make life better for all Venezuelans.
Apart from a crumbling economy and corruption,.. and apart from a government which represses dissent, now violently, falsely accuses the political opposition of evil and imprisons them, etc., there is the prevailing question of security and the inability of the government to protect its citizens.
There is a sense among many that the Revolution, rather than working for real reform and equality, has survived mostly on a divide and conquer culture of class conflict. Rather than working toward greater equality the government has done everything it can to instill hostility between the classes. Don't get me wrong, the Revolution was much needed and at first Chavez was greatly supported by a great many people of all walks of life. And sure some things have gotten marginally better for the poor but it is still a country where the poor are very poor, the rich very rich, and the once important middle and professional class has been shrinking with many impelled to leave the country out of fear.
Many friends and family members of mine have been kidnapped. Again, there is a justifiable sense that the government thrives on criminality as it is a means of perpetuating a rich-against-poor ethos which keeps them in power (sometimes they remain in office because the voting is accurate, at other times certainly not). As many people have said, if they are going to be killed (or brutally kidnapped) going out for a carton of milk, they might as well be killed or get hurt fighting for the future of their country.
Meanwhile, the Revolution has been highly successful in appearing as if it is something it is not. Chavez, for all his faults, stood up to George Bush when the so-called American left didn't, and when the American press didn't. This has understandably made him very much of a hero in this country (he is practically deified by Oliver Stone and Sean Penn). I applaud Chavez for standing up to Bush. I applaud the spirit of a movement for a more egalitarian Venezuela. And so do most Venezuelans and I'm sure the vast majority of people who have had enough and are taking to the streets.
But that isn't the point. The point is that the government has long abandoned working for the betterment of the country and all Venezuelans in any real, lasting way. This might well be the beginning of the end of an era. But it is a very scary time.
Namo, there is not a failure of the Venezuelan public at large to support the complaints that lead people, including students, to take to the street. Although student driven at many formative times, this is not only a student struggle. Many have taken to the streets. It is a struggle with wide popular support in Venezuela, much wider than Occupy (with due respect to Occupy, a movement I endorse).
Updated On: 2/21/14 at 10:47 AM
