Following a month of anti-government protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, tens of thousands of government supporters filled the streets Wednesday to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of Maduro’s ally and predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
As Reuters reports, “Tens of thousands of red-clad ‘Chavistas’ were gathering for rallies in Caracas and elsewhere in honor of the socialist whose 14-year rule won him the adoration of many of Venezuela’s poorest.” The day, filled with parades and events to honor Chavez, was a chance for Maduro “to reclaim the streets and show opponents that he too can mobilize.”
Anti-government protesters in recent weeks have taken part in daily demonstrations, airing grievances against Maduro. Critics, however, say that much of the nuance of the political tensions in Venezuela have been left out of western coverage, with many U.S. outlets in particular portraying the movement as a massive country-wide uprising against the socialist president, threatening the stability of the country.
To the contrary, as many informed experts have pointed out, support for Maduro—who has largely carried on Chavez’s policies—remains high, particularly among the lower and working classes of the country.
“‘Chavistas’ largely remain loyal to their hero’s dying wish that they support Maduro,” asReuters reports. “So far, the protests have not spread far from a middle-class core, and the military seems loyal, making a Ukraine-style change unlikely.”
As Miguel Tinker Salas, Latin American studies professor at Pomona College, wrote yesterday, the anti-government protests have been distorted in the media. He explains:
And foreign policy expert Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote yesterday, the anti-government protests have been “grossly distorted in the major media.” Weisbrot writes:
Wednesday’s opposition protests were smaller than the thousands who marched Tuesday and in previous days, Agence France-Presse reports, with roughly 300 people demonstrating in the capital’s wealthier east side.