Today and tomorrow (September 4 and 5) there will be a series of marches in Venezuela, Colombia and throughout the world based on the theme of “No More Chávez”. El Universal, one of the independent newspapers in the Venezuelan capital, has a short blurb here.
Two weeks ago a march against the new education reform in Venezuela was met with police officers and tear gas “when government opponents knocked over a fence marking the end of the authorized route” (Reuters). Prior to this event, a very interesting video (in Spanish) shows a commander of the National Guard giving a speech against repressive tactics. He warns his personnel to remain alert because “sectors of the opposition are trying to create a climate of instability within the country”. In addition, he explained that the opposition would benefit from violence leading to any deaths, and he therefore requested his troops to be fully cognizant of wider repercussions of their actions.
My question for the current protests is: how will the administration respond when the protesters are criticizing not just a policy of their President, but the man himself?
At this point it does not appear that the major international news services have reported on these rallies – perhaps they too are waiting with baited breath to see what will happen?