Is this the start of a civil war in Venezuela? (post from Vnz)

Ok ,have not written a thread for a while, but as this is happening where I am I decided to compose one, as I thought some of you would be interested in the topic.

A little background....... I am English and my wife in Venezuelan. I have been here (in Venezuela ) this time for 3 months to escape the british winter.
I am currently residing on the Caribbean island of Margarita.

Venezuelans ,as many of you are aware are notorious for having protests and today has not been any different.

Today is Youth day and the students along with workers decided to protest in multiple cities across the country.

Two students have been confirmed dead so far. I know lots of people that are out there demonstrating right now. My wife ( caring for me and being a woman ) will not let me go and get some photos . However I will link some videos and photos taken by others.

Live twitter feed. Warning graphic images twitter.com...

Video just up the road from where I am



Maduro is now live on tv saying it is a coup.......

Warning Graphic Video

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown

At least four people have been killed, including a police officer, after thousands of Venezuelans opposing President Nicolas Maduro took to the streets of Caracas following two weeks of anti-government protests across the country.

Gunfire erupted in the centre of the capital when armed members of a pro-government vigilante group arrived on motorcycles and began firing at more than 100 anti-Maduro student protesters clashing with security forces, the AP news agency reported.

As the crowd fled in panic, one demonstrator fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head. Onlookers screamed "assassins"' as they rushed the 24-year-old student, later identified by family members as Bazil D'Acosta, to a police vehicle.

Also killed was the leader of a pro-government 23rd of January collective, as supporters of Venezuela's government call themselves.

www.aljazeera.com...


First Ukraine now Venezuela funny this all happened after the Arab Spring

reply to post by starwarsisreal


It is all over the country . Many students are saying they are going to stay protesting until Maduro steps down.
The army have been called in . They have apcs and water cannons out.

OP, anything more you can tell us would be helpful; not much news gets played in the U.S anyways, from down south. I know you've been suffering under a rapid monetary inflation, but what else is going on?

Good luck and safety to you.

reply to post by signalfire

Thankyou I will
The main reasons for protest are hyper inflation. A lack of basic products in the shops ie milk, flour, butter,washing up liquid, sugar, toilet paper , diapers (nappies) among other things.
An exchange control( people can not get dollars to travel). Wide spread corruption The police are scared to act against violent crimes.
The main reason is the violence and lack of security. Someone is killed ever 30 minutes.....
Take a look at this video of a prison in Margarita... Not much of a deterrent!!

Although there are a lot of very violent prisons over the country they are all currupt

Thank you for keeping those around the world updated. I wasn't aware of the hyperinflation. What are we talking about in dollars for milk or diapers? This would for sure start a riot so hopefully it's a warning to other governments to not allow this.

reply to post by starwarsisreal


Thanks for the link. The problem is the country is polarized and this time around I think things are going to get nasty. People have had enough. There is a lot of brainwashing going on here and as an outsider I can see it more than others here. The supporters of Maduro are the ones that have a free reign to act however they want, with little to no retaliation from the authorities.

Unfortunately things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

reply to post by Dianec


I work as an English teacher. My wage is 5000 Bolivar a month. My wives slightly more. The cheapest flat ( apartment) to rent per month is like 5000 bs. Luckily I have some dollars or I wouldn't be able to survive
Milk ,when you can find it (only powder milk) is 100 bs. Diapers, I can not honest say. I Will look tomorrow in the pharmacy.
All foodstuffs are going up. Electronic items are very expensive if you calculate it at the official rate, as are cars and clothing.
Almost everything is now imported.
There is an exchange control .The official rate for the dollar is 11 bolivar. (no one can get this rate)
The black market rate at the moment is 87 bolivar (this is the rate that people have to pay to get dollars to leave the country)
A website that calculates the price is here twitter.com...

Two weeks ago it was only 60 bs

Its not all expensive. Beer and rum is cheap and the petrol(gas) is the cheapest in the world. You can fill a 50 liter car up for 3bs Yes that's like 3 cents at the black market rate.

I hope I answered a few of your questions. If you want to ask anything else ,don't hesitate to ask

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


Another twitter feed with some more photos and updates. Warning could be graphic images twitter.com...

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


Ive considered expating there....total thread hijack but is it worth it? And the isle you speak of is exactly where I was considering so cool....

Ive been following many of the protests..I didnt realize it was so serious down there yet but looks like its really taking off. Be safe brother and maybe if I get down that way the first round of beer is on me.

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


I will hold you to the beer . Luckily being an island the violence is not as bad as the mainland. Although certain areas are now a no go (even for a drunk English man)
Its always hot here, even when it rains.If you have dollars or euros here then you can live like a king. If you have any questions about life here ,then pm me, I will be happy to answer you truthfully.

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


So 5000 of your local dollars is about 800.00 American or 1/.16. That is pretty good. So in US dollars milk isn't bad but...they don't have milk readily available. Interesting. Clearly the people don't like their leader. And it seems the police don't care for him either if they aren't fighting back that hard. Why don't people just step down when everyone wants them gone. Stay safe

reply to post by Dianec


No its more complicated. You have to calculate at the black market rate. Thats the rate if you want to turn your money into dollars. So its 5000 / 87 which is 57.47 dollars

At the official rate i t is 5000/11 which is 454 dollars. So if it was possible to change bolivar to dollars at this rate then it would not be bad. However we have to go by the black market rate which has risen by 20 in the last 2 weeks.
It is good for people with dollars but for the rest they are losing their buying power.

The problem is half love Maduro half hate him. There is lots of propaganda on both sides. It is a complicated situation. Most crimes are committed by supporters of the government. The police are very corrupt or scared to act against murderers for fear of their own safety.

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


Here are a few pics to show the kind of numbers we are talking about

Some cowards caught on camera shooting into crowded streets (warning depicts violence)

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


Political movements focued on cults of personalities like Chavez's was, dont survive the death of the demagogue.

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


Thank you for explaining the monetary stuff. It sounds a lot like Mexico politically - governments afraid of the criminals. The crowds are huge! This is how I'm getting my information so thanks for keeping us updated. Please be careful tomorrow if you go to the market. Or skip it altogether if you really don't have to go. If gunfire in the streets, you and your wife should stay home if at all possible. Or go in the opposite direction of all of this.

reply to post by Dianec


Thankyou for your concern. I am sure we will both be fine. I am meant to go to work tomorrow as is she. It is not in an area a protest is likely to take place. Will get a lift or a taxi instead of a bus just in case. Will keep this thread updated with any developments. There are lots of good things about Venezuela also.So its not all doom and gloom

reply to post by maythetruthbeknown


A few more pictures

This guy is brave!! Draped in a Venezuelan flag in front of all the riot police

In this picture you can clearly see the authorities with weapons drawn and possibly shooting at the protesters

Another brave person confronting the riot police

Hoped this thread would of gotten more attention. Oh well ,I guess if its not happening in your neck of the woods, it doesn't matter ,,,right?

Dianec
reply to post by maythetruthbeknown

 

So 5000 of your local dollars is about 800.00 American or 1/.16. That is pretty good. So in US dollars milk isn't bad but...they don't have milk readily available. Interesting. Clearly the people don't like their leader. And it seems the police don't care for him either if they aren't fighting back that hard. Why don't people just step down when everyone wants them gone. Stay safe

You might want to direct that last question at Obama, or Harper in Canada or pretty much any politician these days ;-) They are all pretty much either hated or despised.

Cheers - Dave