Venezuela 12 March

Posted by sender47 10 years, 9 months ago to Government
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Yes I'm still alive. Thanks for your concern :D.

Things have been increasingly dangerous, and more conflict... by protests around 40 people have died (apart of the normal count due to insecurity that is around 50 per day). For each rally of anyone protesting, the government cal a counter-rally that has almost no people and always ends in a speech from Maduro in mandatory broadcast (Yes that thing that is only in case of national emergence and calamity, here has been normal for the last 15 years).

I will leave this video here about how are those demonstrations of the government in reality, of course the governmental broadcast is from a very low angle to give the idea of a lot of people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZAmrdExW...

Their demonstrations have no problems, ours... well I suppose that something has gotted to yours news programs.

Maduro announced the "Assured Supply Card", "so basic goods will be rationed by the government and fight the scarcity caused by the opposition, in conspiracy with the Businessman, the international right and the empire (USA)". So... a ration book in the country with the biggest oil reserves, Cuba here we go.

The Guardia Nacional, and central government police have been repressing with all that they have protests. I'm quite sure no one here in the gulch has seen so much tear gas, day after day, so much is used that probably there is a business of someone in the government importing them an getting a good fee. Pellets have been gradually replaced for more bullets and "metras" I really don't know the translation for that. They are small round balls, hard, glass-like.

More over this governmental order groups have been entering buildings and houses where they suspect there are protesters. I will leave a couple videos of how they are acting. In the first, is in side a building where the National Police attacks a suspected protester. In the second they are not even identified they work as kidnapping gangs, they were identified as SEBIN (Intelligence service), because the incident was reported as a kidnapping, and the municipal police tried to stop them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7m0-6UI7...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgk6gWYG...

Today was a demonstration that parted from besides my University (Venezuela Central University) where I'm coursing an Master program. But as every other day it was repressed by the Guardia Nacional and the armed gangs into the university. this was a demonstration, it was not even a protest where there were burned tires, or anything, but since Maduro gave an order to repress everything to the armed forces, and directly calling to do the same to their armed gangs, saying "candelita que se prende, candelita que se apaga" translated to something like "kindle that starts, kindle that will be extinguished"

The armed gangs and Guardia Nacional have been reported as entering to where the protesters are, hiding inside ambulances.

In the international, Maduro broke relations with Panama, probably to not pay the debts with them (anything imported, as is payed in USD has to pass through the government due to the exchange control). From Panama it was said that they will reveal the accounts of high government officials that have their money there, something like that has been in process in USA I think it have yet to be approved by the senate.

Today 3 people died, and 1 yesterday.

I think that the Gulch will find interesting the declarations about the Minister of Education (We have more than 30 ministries, part of the corruption here), His name Hector Rodriguez. Sadly is not in english or with subtitles. the main point is that he says, tha the will not be getting the people out of poverty so they will become middle class and aspire to become "escualidos" (The insult they use to refer to opposition)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWsNEFMFa...

The national media is completely censored, they are not transmitting anything of what is happening the streets, we only have social media, and have switched to use VPNs, TOR and proxies, to evade the internet censorship.

Will write again to inform


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  • Posted by $ Maree 10 years, 9 months ago
    From New Zealand I say kia kaha - loosely 'stay strong'.
    We read a little on your situation in our newspapers. Thankyou for the courage to say it first hand as it is.
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  • Posted by illucio 10 years, 9 months ago
    The best way to combat Maduro is to abandon ship, like Galt did. The problem is that there´s no Gulch to go to for my fellow cousins, and there´s the trouble. Revolution is bloody, and a call to arms may be in hand...civil action must be taken, even if it means to break in to the system and set it afire!
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  • Posted by Non_mooching_artist 10 years, 9 months ago
    Please don't take unnecessary risks, cover your tracks on the Internet.
    I'm relieved to know you are still alive, and able to communicate here. Please stay in touch as often as is safe for you, so we know you're ok.
    I thank you humbly for sharing these atrocities. It is my fervent hope that this terrible regime falls soon. There has been some coverage recently, but not nearly enough. I am ashamed that those foolish actors are Americans, and are too stupid to comprehend what they ignorantly wish to support.
    Thanks for the update, and stay safe!
    NMA
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  • Posted by mccannon01 10 years, 9 months ago
    Stay safe, Sender47! Thank you for keeping us informed. Most Americans, including many of us here, are clueless as to what really is happening in Venezuela.
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  • Posted by gatorgab 10 years, 9 months ago
    Sender47 - I am originally from Cuba, so I wanted to send you my apologies for the actions of the Cuban government in your country. I follow the situation in Venezuela closely because if the Maduro government falls, it is very likely that the oil giveaway to Cuba will also end. This is what has been propping up the brutal Cuban regime for the last decade or more. It means so much to Cuba that they have infiltrated all levels of your government to the point where many Venezuelans openly question who is a Cuban there and who isn't. The repressive measures have been adopted directly from Cuba, including the use of armed "colectivos" (communist collectives) to attack the protesters. This is similar to the "turbas" (mobs) the Cubans use in Cuba - better known as the "Rapid Response Brigades". Good luck to you and I wish you and the Venezuelan people success in ridding yourselves of the communist yoke.
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  • Posted by $ TimCutler 10 years, 9 months ago
    I'm relieved to learn that you're alright and still corresponding with a positive attitude. Podemos ayudarte. Pida cuando nos necessitas. Ten cuidado.
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    • Posted by $ TimCutler 10 years, 9 months ago
      I was interested in the term "escualidos" because invective is the most movitaving type of political dialog. The term is at least three years old, and I found other sobriquets even more inflammatory:

      "Pitiyanqui: todos aquellos que están de rodillas a los intereses estadounidenses y les importa un comino el pais

      "Disociados: todos aquellos que están ciegamente manipulados que se creen hasta que chavez le pone cámaras en los bombillos ahorradores, y todo cuanta estupides dice la opocision

      "Escuálido: aquellos que son militantes de partidos políticos contrarios a Chavez, que no tienen ni proyectos ni ningún argumento políticos y se dedican a criticar y criticar y mas criticar sin hacer nada por el pais mas que criticar

      "Apátridas: los venezolanos que desde el exterior incluso en el interior lanzan duras criticas contra Venezuela y que prefieren que rompa la constitucionalidad y salga el gobierno por un golpe de estado o por una invacion extranjera

      "Y lo mas destacados de este foro:

      "LOS BERRACOS: todos aquellos colombianos que culpan a chavez de la ineptitud de sus gobiernos y ejercitos por tener medio siglo fracasando en su lucha contra las guerrillas, y ahora mediante su ignorancia y manipulacion tienen la escusa perfecta para culpar a alguin que son ineptos contra las guerrillas,,, y que se dedicaran a culpar a los vecinos y no hacer nada para luchar contra los flajelos que cada dia los hunde mas

      "Opocision: personas serias que están en contra del gobierno venezolano"

      [From http://espanol.answers.yahoo.com/questio...

      So far, the name-calling in the USA has been pretty mild. When the monikers get nasty, you'll want to start hoarding toilet paper.
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      • Posted by 10 years, 9 months ago
        The explanation of the terms are so obviously from a chavist XD. They and the government use them, in fact all of them in the same speech to refer to any Venezuelan that is opposed to them. The terns really became interchangeable.

        We have made a table with columns that shows what they say (And is astonishing accurate)

        "Escualido" appeared around 2003, and literally means scrawny and a squalid person. Once used by Chavez it was repeated again and again.

        The only one that doesn't fit there is "Berraco", that is a Colombian word it can mean to be angry and also a brave extraordinary person. This is not really used by the chavism, and is only heard in the states near Colombia.

        For referring the USA... the empire, the demon (I think some of you got to hear how Chavez called Bush many times). And if a foreigner says something vs the government... puppet, puppy of the empire....

        One more thing... for them is an insult, for us, simply their idiocy speaking, but really, really used, (I myself has been accused of it as probably anyone in the opposition that has confronted any chavist), "asalariado de la CIA" (employee/salaried of the CIA). Apparently half of Venezuelans must be in the payroll of the CIA -.-
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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 9 months ago
    thank you sender. if you have specific needs let us know them. we are a community here.
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    • Posted by 10 years, 9 months ago
      Thanks, the best would be to raise awareness about the situation here,

      The government has used for many years the money from oil to make lobbies, buy votes and silence. Actors like Danny Glover and Sean Penn have received money (Glover still have to make a movie about Haiti for which he received 18 million dollars from this government), Sean Penn made one about Chavez showed in mandatory broadcast a few days ago, he was here today. That's how so much things have happen this last 15 years without almost a word of it in the rest of the world.

      So, a comment in a blog, tell a friend that has no idea, would be great, everything counts.

      Thanks
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