Reuters: Venezuela's decimated 'Resistance' protesters stay off streets for election
SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) - Activists in Venezuela's western state of Tachira have for years been at the forefront of demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro and helped lead violent protests during an election last year to create an all-powerful legislature.
But youth demonstrators dubbed "The Resistance" don't plan to be on the streets on Sunday, when Maduro stands for re-election in a vote that the opposition has called a fraud.
Most won't even be in the country.
Their ranks have been decimated by emigration as a police crackdown has left many in jail or seeking to avoid it, and a hyperinflationary economic crisis has led many to seek reprieve in neighboring Latin American nations.
"I had to leave my country because of the persecution of my companions and family members, and because of the lack of jobs and terrible economy," William Quintero, 32, an activist who this month moved to Colombia, said via text message.
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WNU Editor: The leaders are all in jail or dead. The families are being deprived of jobs/food/health care/etc.. The Maduro government is doing the exact same thing that the Castros have applied to Cuba for decades. Crack down on the opposition, punish the families .... but leave the door open for opponents of the regime to leave. But Venezuela is not Cuba. And while millions have fled Cuba over the decades because of the Castros, Venezuela's neighbors are not ready (or willing) to take the millions from Venezuela who are now looking for a way out. Another difference is that Cuba was lucky to receive aid from the Soviets for years .... but Venezuela has already burned its debt/financial bridges to countries like Russia and China, and no one is going to give them a helping hand right now.Venezuela is a country that is rushing to become a failed state .... it is just going to take some time.
1 comment:
Cuba was lucky to receive aid, ironically, from Venezuela after the collapse of the Soviet Empire, which gave the Castro regime some brief breathing room, but that dried up after socialist decline under Chavez and Maduro. Cuba was economically up against the wall until rescued by the Obama administration.
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