The protests currently gripping Venezuela-the largest since the violent days after the election of current President Nicolás Maduro-continue to pit anti-government protesters against the police and military. The unrest began on February 12th with peaceful student rallies in several major Venezuelan cities to oppose the current government, which protesters say has done nothing to stop widespread crime, economic despair, and shortages of basic goods. The rallies soon turned violent, with police and military turning on protesters with tear gas and water cannons. Three people were killed on the first day of protests; one was identified as a pro-government supporter and two as anti-government protesters. In response, Maduro banned unauthorized demonstrations, but Venezuelans continued to mobilize against the president and his government, even blocking major highways in Caracas. In retaliation, pro-government supporters demonstrated on February 15th to counter the anti-government marches and rallies.
Since the start of the protests, three people have been killed, 99 arrested and detained, and 60 injured. Maduro’s administration has blamed Leopoldo López, an opposition leader and former mayor of a Caracas neighborhood, for inciting unrest. A court granted an arrest warrant for Lopez on charges including conspiracy, murder, and terrorism; as of February 16th Lopez remains free in spite of a manhunt to capture him. The government has also cracked down on protests with both force and censorship: state-run television networks are not covering the unrest, and Maduro removed the Colombian station NTN24 from Venezuelan airwaves after its reports on the protests. In addition, the Venezuelan government blocked Twitter on February 14th because the social media site was being used to transmit information around the country and the world in the absence of coverage from local media networks.
Venezuelans are protesting a grim domestic reality that has worsened since the death of the highly revered and divisive Socialist President Hugo Chavéz last March. The economy is in shambles, with inflation at 56.2%—the highest in the world—and the government is unable to pay for foreign goods and services because it is running out of hard currency. Shortages of basic goods like toilet paper, cooking oil, and milk have only intensified over the past year, and crime remains rampant across the country. The close election that brought Maduro to the presidency last year left many Venezuelans disappointed, and the government’s inability to stop the deterioration of daily life has created an untenable situation for much of the population.
The government’s response to the protests is emblematic of its history and its failures: Maduro blames an American-backed fascist plot for sparking unrest and insists that he is “facing a developing coup plan against the democracy and the government . . . , orchestrated by a small group of irresponsible leaders, full of hatred and personal ambitions,” according to CNN. While the Socialist government’s paranoid accusations of international enemies are nothing new, the current situation highlights the government’s inability to respond to the serious and very real issues its citizens are facing. The protests also illustrate the government’s repressive and wholly undemocratic attempts to stop its opposition and the spread of information. Venezuelans who live abroad have gathered in cities across the world to raise awareness about the current situation in the country, demand diplomatic attention and action, and show solidarity with the protesters. Yet the hashtag that the protesters and their international supporters have adopted—#SOSVenezuela—captures how Venezuela has hit a new low. Hopefully there is nowhere to go but up from here.