Venezuela (2019)

On Saturday March 16, for two hours I joined a massive demonstration of Venezuelans rejecting US policies against their country and leadership. The people in this video are largely excluded by corporate media reporting on Venezuela. They include Caracas' poorest, defiant supporters of the Venezuelan government and Bolivarian project [see: https://venezuelanalysis.com/topic/bolivarian-project] Media would have you believe they are against President Maduro, and that any who show up to such rallies are forced to do so. You decide whether these vivacious, strong, informed people seemed forced to participate. Venezuela has for years been subject to an economic war led by the U.S., and continues to face sanctions after brutal sanctions by the very governments purporting to care about human rights and hunger. https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/

March 2019, when most Western corporate owned media were insisting most stores in Caracas were empty-shelved. At the time, I walked around Caracas noting how most of the shops actually had full shelves. But for skeptics, that wasn't good enough. So, I went with a friend on his motorcycle to Petare, which is generally dubbed the "largest slum in Latin America", in other words a very poor area, where if there were empty shelves you'd think it would be there. We first went to a central hub, filled with food shops, and then up into the hills where in smaller barrios we still kept seeing tables of produce for sale, signs for chicken, cheese, and stalls with full shelves. This is not to say there is not poverty (thank you Western sanctions and economic war on Venezuela), but to highlight that what the media were screaming was patently false. They were painting scenes of chaos that didn't exist. Recall that this was around the time the West was pushing the lie that Guaido was "interim president", which he was/is not. For more on Venezuela, I can't recommend enough Dan Kovalik​'s excellent book, The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil [https://www.amazon.com/dp/151075072X], which gives the needed historical context to the current situation in Venezuela (the US-led economic war and quite overt interference in that country's internal affairs) and surrounding countries where dictatorships and violations of human rights about, but the West and the bought-and-sold media keep hush about it (as with Saudi, israel) because those countries are allies... US is manufacturing a crisis in Venezuela so that there is chaos and 'needed' intervention https://www.rt.com/op-ed/455081-manufactured-crisis-venezuela-us-intervention/ Venezuela isn't Syria… but America’s war tactics are the same https://www.rt.com/op-ed/459333-syria-venezuela-same-tactics-america/ Yesterday in Petare, largest barrio in Latin America (& one of poorest in Caracas), I saw not-starving ppl purchasing similar vegs, plus meats, walking like normal ppl, not like a "crisis". Media is lying about a humanitarian crisis. Same media that doesn't care about Yemen. https://twitter.com/EvaKBartlett/status/1111409230043439111

From March 2019: Message from a Venezuelan man in the mountaintop community of (Urbanismo) Ciudad Mariche. Excerpts include: "We are Venezuelan people, we are not the government. We are poor people, but we are proud, we have dignity. We are, at this moment, fighting against Imperialism. Against rich people that want our country, that want us as slaves. That want our oil, our water. But we will win. Today, it's Venezuela. Yesterday, Palestine, Syria, Libya... And in this part of the world its Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua... Imperialism is our common enemy. We're asking you for your solidarity, your compassion, for our people, our families. We're not starving. We have many general problems, but not starving. We're learning how to prepare food differently, but this is not a humanitarian crisis. The rich people, and the governments of the United States and other nations, want to tell everybody that we are starving, we are dying in the streets, we are being oppressed by our government. But we've never been more free than now, in spite of all the problems we do have. There are things that could be better. But we are sure that before it was worse, before we were treated like nothing, we were treated only as workers, that was it. Say to your governments, this isn't a fight against Maduro, this is a fight against a people that are trying to be free."

On March 30, I joined hundreds of members of a motorcycle-taxi union colectivo driving their motorcycles through and around Caracas in a show of support for their country and defiance against foreign intervention. These were women and men making a statement with their physical presence: they would not allow their country to be attacked, from within or without. One of the organizers, acutely aware of how colectivos are portrayed, told me, “We are not terrorists, the terrorists have come with that lackey opposition,” and went on to say that governments bring terrorism to Venezuela. Another man at the motorcycle demonstration said: “We are suffering because of terrorism that has been implanted through a US puppet named Juan Guaidó. We say to you Guaidó and we say to you Trump: You took away our water, you took away the light, but you ignited our soul, and we are determined to defend the country with our lives if it is necessary.'” The same bikers later joined up with the tens of thousands of Venezuelan civilians who took to the streets in a festive show of support for President Maduro. Two weeks prior, on March 16, I'd walked for a few hours in another such mass demonstration, filming demonstrators, hearing their opinions on the non-president Guaido, on their support for Maduro, and on their refusal to see their Bolivarian project be destroyed. [https://odysee.com/@EvaKareneBartlett:9/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity:6?r=EymDGnAtYEjvNCAh13tU3WL6QWGjETBs&lid=1e213e88fef5948f7c2faafebe20bf423242a37b ] https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/

I filmed these scenes on March 10, but until now have been too busy and also lacking good enough internet to upload. My objective in filming is not to say there is no poverty in Venezuela, nor to imply there is no hunger or shortages anywhere. However, when corporate media is flat out saying shelves are empty all over Caracas and the city is in crisis, well this is false. The scenes I'm seeing are much like I saw in 2010. I know there are differences since then and now, of course, but there isn't the pandemonium MSM is attempting to claim is happening here. Also, this is not a wealthy area of Caracas, its perhaps lower middle class. I'll film the wealthy areas where typically opposition live in coming days. Further, in the days since filming this, I have had the opportunity to visit organized communities growing massive amounts of produce, also breeding rabbits (apparently a high source of protein)...and also one of the cities urban garden initiatives. I'll upload more on that when time allows, but for now, day 1, no "crisis", but people were dealing with the effects of the nation wide power outage, one believed most likely due to US acts of sabotage on the electricity grid. Articles related to that belief: http://misionverdad.com/MV-IN-ENGLISH/venezuela-under-attack-7-notes-on-electric-shock-special-report https://consortiumnews.com/2019/03/12/us-regime-change-blueprint-proposed-venezuelan-electricity-blackouts-as-watershed-event/ Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

I filmed these scenes on March 15, but until now have been too busy and also lacking good enough internet to upload. My objective in filming is not to say there is no poverty in Venezuela, nor to imply there is no hunger or shortages anywhere. However, when corporate media is flat out saying shelves are empty all over Caracas and the city is in crisis, well this is false. The scenes I'm seeing are much like I saw in 2010. I know there are differences since then and now, of course, but there isn't the pandemonium MSM is attempting to claim is happening here. Also, this is not a wealthy area of Caracas, its perhaps lower middle class. I'll film the wealthy areas where typically opposition live in coming days. Further, in the days since filming this, power has fully returned to Caracas and most of Venezuela, metro is running, things are as they were before the power cuts. I have had the opportunity to visit organized communities growing massive amounts of produce, also breeding rabbits (apparently a high source of protein)...and also one of the cities urban garden initiatives. I'll upload more on that when time allows, but for now, day 1, no "crisis", but people were dealing with the effects of the nation wide power outage, one believed most likely due to US acts of sabotage on the electricity grid. Articles related to that: http://misionverdad.com/MV-IN-ENGLISH/venezuela-under-attack-7-notes-on-electric-shock-special-report https://consortiumnews.com/2019/03/12/us-regime-change-blueprint-proposed-venezuelan-electricity-blackouts-as-watershed-event/ March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

On March 18, opposition/supporters said they'd march on the National Assembly. A local journalist said their intent was to create & film a provocation while the UN's HR commission people are still here. I only saw two handfuls of people who seemed to be opposition (well dressed, expensive jewellery), not huge numbers that would qualify as a march. In any case, if there was an intent to create a scene of violence, they didn't have the chance. Venezuelan civilians came out in masses to defend the area and keep the peace. Opposition media is calling them "armed colectivos", implying they are paid thugs. These are Venezuelan people, definitely from the poor sectors of society, defending their country. To listen to them speak, their political knowledge, you'd cringe (if you don't already) at the vacuous rhetoric of western newsreaders. March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

During a pro-Venezuela, anti-Imperialist march, I asked Paul Dobson of Venezuelanalysis.com to speak briefly on corporate media/opposition's attack on colectivos. "Colectivo means collective, an expression of the organized community, incl workers, women's, ecological, pensioners..." March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/