When I read the news about Venezuela from the outside world, the opposition is often referred to as "the middle class opposition". When the history of my country is debated, the "Bolivarian Revolution" is referred to as a "populist revolution" a revolution of the lower classes. In a country where there is only two true sides, where pray, is the upper class?
We all like to root for the little guy. We cheer when Jerry tricks Tom. We feel hope when David defeats Goliath. It means that no matter who we are we can overcome the tyrant. It makes us feel like our situation is never truly hopeless. No matter who we are, how well off we are; when we tell that story, we are all David.
When we say that the "revolution" is of the lower classes, it is saying that they are the little guy. They are David, which they are. "Lower" is below "middle" so that must mean the opposition is "Goliath"... right?
The Venezuelan economy has shifted enormously since Chavez came to power, but one thing has never really changed: the vast, overwhelming majority of the country's wealth is in oil. what has changed is who controls the oil.
The government controls the oil. All of its wealth is now for them to distribute. since Chavez took power there has been some decline in total poverty, there has been social investment in housing and other social projects to benefit the poor.
So, that's great right? well, yeah, that is great. Only there's a lot of money in oil.
So, back to the start. Where is the upper class?
Let me draw you a picture..
Its called corruption... look it up.
Venezuela has a new royalty, a new Goliath. one who has convinced much of the world that its only looking out for Davids best interests.
The protests are not against "David", they're not against the impoverished lower classes who looked to their new Goliath to help them out of the squalor of their lives.
Yes it is the middle classes (mostly, not only) who protest for change in Venezuela. but the change they seek is not solely for their benefit. Scarcity, devaluation and crime affect all of Venezuela, in fact as with almost anything it affects the poor more. We're all too busy thinking about David and Goliath to see that this isn't about the little guy finally having a say and overcoming his rich oppressors. Right now all the people of Venezuela are the little guy; the split is between those who can see it, and those who have been so indoctrinated by 15 years of ever increasing propaganda into believing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel if they can just keep the revolution going. Now that that indoctrination has really taken hold it doesn't seem to matter that Goliath has removed his mask and shown himself for the oppressive, violent giant that he is; David still cant see it.
The rest of the world should be able to see it though. And remember, once we get David back on side all it will take is a single stone and a slingshot.
On the 18th of February a prominent opposition figure in Venezuela, Leopoldo López, was arrested for the crime of calling openly endorsing a peaceful student protest against the Venezuelans government. something the government has referred to as "inciting violence" and "disturbing the public peace". Apparently offenses punishable by law.
He recorded a statement sometime shortly before to be made public in the case of his arrest.
I have decided to translate his words so they can be seen around the world. you can see the subtitled video here:
You may also read or copy my translated text here:
“If you are watching this video... it
is because the Venezuelan state has put out an order for my capture.
Perhaps I have already been detained by the states security teams.
Detained unjustly, for dreaming of a
better Venezuela.
If your watching this video, it is
because yet another abuse has been committed by this government.
Full of lies, of falsehoods, of
twisting the facts, and of seeking to manipulate the reality the we
Venezuelans are living.
I want to say to all Venezuelans, that
I have no regrets in what we have done so far. In what was the call
to protest, something we have done for a long time; but that
materialized on the 12th of February, “Day of Youth”;
with hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Venezuela.
Not just in Caracas, where it has
commonly happened in the past; but in all Venezuela.
In the capitals, in the towns and
villages. Where there may have been ten, fifty, a thousand, ten
thousand or even seventy thousand.
The people came out.
The people awoke.
Venezuela now more than ever needs that
you, who is watching; that every one of us take on the commitment to
want to change.
But that commitment cannot be passive.
That commitment must be active.
I invite you sister, I invite you
brother; that the most important thing right now in this moment of
dificulty for our country
when Venezuelans are submitted to long
queues, when Venezuelans are submitted to the expropriation of their
salary by the government.
When impunity has become the order of
the day and insecurity fills our youth with fear...when there is no
future for our youth.
When hospitals are closing, when there
is no answer to any problems.
I invite you, every one of you...to
understand that the change is in you.
Firstly it is our conscience, to not
let ourselves be forced.
To not allow ourselves to be filled
with the lies that government transmits via the media that it
controls or manipulates, via its mandatory broadcasts. To fill with
lies the reality in which we are living.
I invite you to become the media.
I invite you become a meeting point, to
become a point of reference to your community or your family.
So we may become organized in what we
are to do from this point on.
We must create a movement which is
deeply social, that reaches every corner of the country.
Every slum, every village, every city
and every town.
Everywhere that there exists men and
women committed to a better Venezuela.
We must have the capacity to get
organized. We must have the capacity to spread our message.
And to act when the time comes to act.
I appeal now, like I did before the
protest on the 12th of February, to non-violence.
I do that for many reasons: firstly,
because violence is the tool of those who are wrong.
On the 12th of February we
saw, how public forces were manipulated to kill innocent Venezuelans
and create an atmosphere persecution, which has resulted in this. In
my imprisonment or warrant for my capture.
We know what happened.
The videos are there, the photos are
there, the statements are there.
We know this government. We know of its
long trajectory of violence. But we also know our people.
We also know the vocation for change
that our people have. We also know the long battle we have fought,
and which has brought us to this place.
We will probably not have means to
spread this message through the media. So I ask you to spread it
however you can. Let the message reach them, that they can
have a better Venezuela.
We must not allow them to defeat us
where we must have the most strength: in our hearts. In our
convictions.
We must not permit them to crush our
hopes.
We must not permit them to crush our
determination to change our country.
I want to send a special message to our
young men and women.
Young Venezuelan. In you lies your
future, which today is stained in black. Which today is stained in
hopelessness.
But which can be a much better future,
for you and those around you and for your children.
But that depends on you. Depends on
your battle. Depends on your vocation and irreverence.
It depends on your determination to see
that justice is done. To see that this hopelessness is turned into a
collective hope.
We are on the right side of history.
Were on the side of justice. Were on the side of truth.
Were on the side of those who want a
better Venezuela.
I give my thanks to all those who have
lent us their support, I ask you now that that support that you have
given us, that you have given me now be translated into a support for
our cause.
And our cause has been, still is and
now more than ever must be: an exit to this government.
From those who have sequestered the
public powers. From those who have stolen from every Venezuelan their
international reserves, the peoples money.
From those who have stolen the safety
and rights of every citizen.
From those who lie to stay in power.
From those who would pretend to make themselves owners of the country
by stomping and humiliating the Venezuelan people.
Today more than ever, the exit from
this disaster to which we are submitted. The exit from this group of
people who have sequestered the future of all Venezuelans, is in your
hands.
We will fight.
I will be doing it, from my heart I
send greetings. With strength, with faith. Here next to my wife.
Knowing that my daughter Manuela and my
son Leopoldo who bears the name of my grandfather and my father, who
were also persecuted; looking into my children’s eyes I have found
the great strength I need to fight this battle.
In my children’s innocence, who today
don’t truly yet understand what is happening in our country; I have
found the strength to know that I must fight for a Venezuela that
will be when they grow up much better than that which now exists for
all children.
As the poet Andres Eloy used to say
“the father of one child, is father to all of them”
He who wants a better future for their
child, wants a better future for all his children. For all children.
I invite us to fight. To not rest. To
maintain our strength. To maintain our irreverence. To maintain our
action. To maintain our organization. Our discipline and our
conviction.
Sisters, brothers... we are millions,
we are on the right side and we will win.
We will achieve change. It depends on
all of us. It depends on you, it depends on your brothers and
sisters. It depends on Venezuela.
"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,' " Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't—till I
tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!' "
"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
-Lewis Carroll.
What does the word "Fascist" mean? what does the word "Dictator" mean? what does the words "Democracy" and "Socialism" mean?
In Venezuela these words are ever so emotionally charged. they are used regularly to inspire the masses and justify action. but how can a president say the he will suppress freedom of speech to uphold democracy? the statement is a contradiction, and yet there it is, in the ears of the public; and so many of them nod in agreement.
I'll be honest, it wasn't so long ago I bothered to learn how the word "Fascist" is defined. here's some of what Wikipedia has to say on the subject:
"Fascists sought to unify their nation through a totalitarian state that promoted the mass mobilization of the national community[5][6] and were characterized by having a vanguard party
that initiated a revolutionary political movement aiming to reorganize
the nation along principles according to fascist ideology.[7]
Fascist movements shared certain common features, including the
veneration of the state, a devotion to a strong leader, and an emphasis
on ultranationalism and militarism."
But in Venezuela this is not what "Fascist" means. over there it really just means "bad guy" with the optional meaning of "rich bag guy only interested in his own wealth and in screwing over the little guy". I can think of a few words I think might describe that better. If I wanted to insult a rich business man I might call him a "Fat Cat", or a "leech". so why bother calling him a fascist when that simply isn't what he is? because I don't want the right word, I want the most emotionally charged word.
The word fascist brings with it connotations of Nazis, it instills fear. and I want people to fear my enemy. if they fear him, then they will come to me for protection, and they wont realize the price until its too late.
When people are afraid, they might believe anything. they might believe me that freedom of speech is a fair price to pay for their protection. If they fear the enemy enough, if they hate him enough, they wont mind me violating his human rights so that i can better protect them. and if they're uneducated enough, then I wont have to convince them that fascist means what I say it does, because most of them wont know any better to begin with.
the people of Venezuela are afraid. not just the opposition, everyone. the only difference is what they're afraid of.
The "chavistas" (the supporters of the goverment), they are not the enemy. they are afraid of a system that ignores them, belittles them and exploits them. they suffered it for a long time and they have good reason to be afraid. they must be shown they have nothing to fear.
They need to know that the opposition understands what the words democracy and socialism mean and that they don't fear them, either of them. that all Venezuelans can use those words together with and share a common meaning.
And we must teach them what the word fascist means, so they can work out for themselves who it truly applies to.
I wrote this to the BBC today, in the hopes they will follow up and report further on the happenings in Venezuela. I encourage anyone within Venezuela to do the same.
Any English speakers may take this as a partial explanation of whats been happening (at least as I have perceived it, from a distance)
"
Good afternoon.
My name is Michael O'Callaghan Cañizares, I am a Venezuelan (half-Irish) currently living in N.Ireland but who grew up in Caracas, Venezuela; where I lived until a few years ago and have visited several times since. I
write to you today in regards to your call for accounts of the
incidents occurring in Venezuela. I am not personally present, but have
many friends and family there with whom I have been in constant contact
recently. I have appealed to them to contact the BBC directly themselves
but in case they do not I wish to pass on some of what I have come to
know myself. I know the BBC to be honest and impartial, so I will not
bother you with political ideals or rumors, but only facts from
trustworthy sources that I would encourage you to check up yourselves,
which I believe you will find interesting and hopefully worth reporting
on your platform. many of my quoted sources are in Spanish but I imagine
translating them should be no problem for you. should you require any help
in translating or would like to ask me any questions feel free to contact
me at this e-mail address.
1- Freedom of Speech violations:
Context:
It is common knowledge that media in Venezuela is heavily biased.
throughout the years many tv / radio stations in Venezuela have been
either shut down or bought by government. Globovision, the last TV
channel in Venezuela that would have been associated with goverment
opposition, was forced to change its leadership roughly ten months ago
and has since shown a much more government friendly voice. in the last
week or so there have been a number of resignations from members of
staff at Globovision, it is believed this is a moral stance against a
lack of fair coverage of the protests (source:
http://www.el-nacional.com/escenas/Continua-ola-renuncias-Globovision_0_355764576.html).
Twitter
has been a primary source of information for Venezuelans both there and
abroad. in light of some of the disturbing images that had been
circulating the goverment disrupted the use of twitter within the
country, as confirmed by a twitter spokesman:
As
your platform has already reported, there have been so far 3 confirmed
deaths, as well as a high number of injuries during the protests. there
have also been over 100 arrests. according to my contacts in Venezuela
as well as many respected news sources in the region there are a large
number of reports of those arrested being assaulted and abused while in
custody, including violent physical abuse and even sexual abuse
allegedly carried out by law enforcement / national guard. sources quote
the volunteer lawyers representing the arrested students on those
allegations (sources: http://www.el-nacional.com/sucesos/Estudiantes-detenidos-Carabobo-golpeados-desnudados_0_356964427.html , http://www.ntn24.com/videos/entrevista-abogado-ddhh-venezuela-121933).
On
the subject of the three killed during the protests there have been a
number of photographs taken by protestors or from security cameras that
would seem to point towards members of the national guard. although
there is also speculation that these may have actually been members of
"Sebin" a government intelligence agency. there is little in the way of
hard evidence or completely confirmed sources on that, but this blog
post makes a compelling, well backed up argument, the blog refers to a
pro-government publication for its source: http://devilsexcrement.com/2014/02/16/while-government-tries-to-blame-lopez-for-deaths-paper-shows-otherwise/
The Venezuelan government has made statements to address some of these things or attempt to show their side. some of this can be confirmed as false, as with this statement by the high ranking official Elías Jaua where he reads a statement from "Unión
de las Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur)" or "the union of South American
Nations" regarding recent disturbances. as was confirmed by NTN24 he
changed the wording and even added statements that were not present in
the original statement when reading it. According to NTN24 this was confirmed by Unasur official Ruth Sylva. the original statement is available on the official website for you compare with that read by Elías Jaua.
It may also interest you to know that the hacker group "anonymous" has been ciber-atacking Venezuelan government networks. you can see their statements under the hashtag "#OpVenezuela".
although completely unconfirmed, they claim to have hacked government
e-mails and some of what they have found (should it end up being true)
is fairly disturbing. I'll leave you to explore that if you choose.
Amnesty
international has also made public statements demanding the proper
investigation of the deaths occurred during protests. they have so far
not shared any meaningful information on the matter.
you
may also explore the wealth of commentary, photos, videos and
allegations being made and discussed (both proven and not) on Facebook
or Twitter under the hashtags #SOSVenezuela and #PrayForVenezuela
I
understand I am not a direct source, but I hope you will take this as a
starting point to investigate the points I've made and report that
which you find to be true. the people of Venezuela and the world need a
credible news source like the BBC to help them sort the facts from the
noise so they can understand what is happening in Venezuela.
I
am always available to discuss any of this with you. I may also be able
to put you in contact with more direct sources that I know within
Venezuela should you express an interest in talking to them.
