Written by Andrea Six
Video by Preston Richard
Violence plagues the streets and people cannot find their basic goods in stores. Protests mounted when a pacific leader, Leopoldo Lopez, challenged the current president, Nicolas Maduro, with a protesting campaign called, “la salida,” or ” the exit.” It was Lopez’s attempt to get Maduro out of office.
On Feb. 12, National Youth Day, Lopez called for a peaceful protest to take place demanding more security and a stop to the shortages of goods, but at the end of the day two anti-government demonstrators were killed when vigilantes on motorcycles fired into the crowd.
Protests have continued since February and the protestors were forced to share their stories on social media platforms because their stories weren’t being told on news networks. President Murado even revoked CNN’s press credentials, notifying the journalists they were not welcome in Venezuela any longer. He claimed they were promoting “war propaganda against Venezuela” and forced them out, like he did with other journalists from NTN24, a Colombia-based news network, which was also taken off television listings.
“This government is really betraying Venezuela and they claim that their opposition are the traitors,” said graphic design professor Jorge Montero, who moved to the United States ten years ago to teach at SCAD.
Students took to Twitter to get the word out about what was happening. They shared photos of the protests and their army and videos of tear gas being thrown at them and other violence in the streets.
“They blocked like all television and shows from the outside,” said Juan “Pichi” Antillano, a first-year industrial design student who transferred from Universidad Monteavila in Venezuela less than a year ago. “Twitter was the only way, Twitter and Facebook.”
The United States got involved by passing a bill to impose sanctions on officials responsible for the violence. This will allow the U.S. government to freeze any accounts and revoke their visas.
But this has done little to cease violence and the protests are still ongoing.
“There’s a lot of violence and it’s just a mess,” said Claudia Lovera Deen, a SCAD alum who graduated in 2012 with a master’s degree in film after moving from Venezuela. “I don’t know what the solution for it is. I mean nobody knows, I guess, because then it wouldn’t be like this.”
Since the beginning of the protests, there have been more than 42 deaths, 800 injuries and 3,000 arrests, according to Reuters. Students claim there has been even more violence and oppression against them, but it is hard to check the facts when the government censors what is published.
Government officials arrest protestors on the grounds that they are causing insurgency and terrorism. The national guard has used rubber bullets to subdue the opposition groups.
Maduro claims that the opposition groups are causing the violence and destabilizing the country. But his claims have been challenged by many because of his failure to provide country with economic stability.
The Rise of Maduro and the Chavista Grip on Venezuela
In March 2013, President Hugo Chavez died of cancer and was followed by his hand picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, who promised the people that he would to follow Chavez’s lead and continue with his policies. His failure to do so has pushed people against the government.
“Chavez was really charismatic, so people liked him. He knew what he was doing,” said Antillano. “But Maduro doesn’t know.”
Many opponents try to discredit him by pointing out his unconventional rise to power. His political career started while he was a bus driver for the Caracas Metro. He was an activist for the labor union and was later involved in the Chavista movement in support of Chavez.
Maduro and his supporters have not taken the resistance lightly. Backers of the current government have taken to their own methods to stop the protests, most of which are violent.
There are motorcycle gangs made up of armed government supporters, called the “Tupamaros,” who use violence to protect their neighborhoods.
“They’re pretty much terrorists,” said third-year illustration major Maria “Maf” Rodriguez. “They are very violent and they have these videos of them saying, ‘we’re the Tupamaros, we’re the collectives, and we support the government.’”
Some claim these groups are defending their nation, but many protestors call them criminals and blame them for stirring up trouble, giving government officers a reason to act. They have been compared to Hitler’s SS because of their brutality.
They have broken cameras and threatened journalists in their vigilant attempts to keep the violence from leaking.
Social Media
Both sides have turned to social media to promote their causes. While the opposition turned to social media to raise awareness of the violence on the streets and share their stories, the government used it for damage control and to foster support. In the midst of this social media battle, it is hard to uncover the truth.
“How do we know what they’re saying is true?” asked Beth Concepcion, Dean of the Liberal Arts at SCAD. “They’re reporting what they see and there’s not as much of a filter.”
With pictures of protestors using slingshots, throwing rocks, climbing police barricades, the opposition seems anything but peaceful.
“Citizen journalism is often activism journalism – they’re trying to report things to make something happen,” said Concepcion.
And that’s what they’re trying to do: make their voices heard.
“The people want to spread the word to see if somebody will come help,” said Deen.
