Chaos in Venezuela: blackout and mass marches
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Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó called their followers to mobilize today in the capital and other cities amid the strong blackout that leaves the country in darkness
Last Thursday, March 7, at around four in the afternoon, a huge blackout began in almost all the 23 states of Venezuela. This, left the country without water and without Internet, in addition to a serious situation in the hospitals and a generalized fear, by the state of the foods that keep refrigerated before the shortage.
Leer en español: Caos en Venezuela: apagón y marchas multitudinarias
In spite of the fact that today, Saturday, March 9, it has been possible to reestablish the service in Caracas and in the states of Miranda and Vargas; Táchira, Zulia and Barinas are still without electricity, and other states report instability in the service, reports La Vanguardia.
The government of Nicolás Maduro attributed the blackout to an electric war promoted by US imperialism.
Hoy, cuando el imperio de los EE.UU., en su desespero por echarle mano a nuestros recursos naturales, intensifica sus brutales agresiones contra la Patria, nos plantamos con firmeza para defender nuestra tierra y gritar con fuerza: ¡Yankee Go Home! ¡Somos Antiimperialistas! pic.twitter.com/eGeU3qHZqB
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) March 9, 2019
Regarding this, the Secretary of State of that country, Mike Pompeo, responded that "the power cut and the devastation that hurts the Venezuelans is not due to the United States or other nations. The shortage of energy and hunger are the result of the incompetence of the Maduro regime. Maduro's policies only bring darkness. There's no food. There are no medicines. Now, there is no energy. Then there will be no Maduro ", writes Infobae.
Read also: What the arrival of Guaidó to Venezuela left
On the other hand, Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, interim president, called his followers to mobilize today in the capital and other cities.
"I call on all the Venezuelan people to express themselves massively in the streets against the usurper, corrupt and incompetent regime that has put our country in darkness", Guaidó said in his Twitter account on Friday night.
For his part, Maduro summoned his followers to an anti-imperialist march. "We continue in battle because of the permanent and brutal aggression against our people. Today, more than ever, we are anti-imperialist. We will never surrender!", The president of Venezuela wrote today on Twitter.
How are the opposition marches moving forward?
After the request to march from Guaidó at the beginning of the week, thousands of people went this Saturday to march against the Maduro regime. The blackout of the previous days throughout the country, which, according to the opposition, killed dozens of people, was an incentive to march this day.
However, since the morning there was talk of the strong police presence, which were trying to prevent the mobilizations. According to EFE, an opposition rally in Caracas was dissolved this Saturday with tear gas by the Bolivarian National Police (PNB). Although the riot contingent prevented the movement of the protesters, they remain close to the site of the rally.
Read also: Another blow to Chavismo: Chávez's daughter would be deported
In addition, the Guaidó team had already denounced that they were not allowed to install the platform from which the interim president would speak and that three people who were transporting the structures were arrested.
"They intend to play at the expense, but they no longer have a way to contain a town that is determined to specify the cessation of the usurpation. And today we are going to demonstrate it in the streets" he posted on Twitter without offering more details.
Meanwhile, the anti-imperialist march convoked by Maduro, also had assistants who have taken the blackout to protest against imperialism, with the slogan 'Yankees Go Home'.
LatinAmerican Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez
Translated from "Caos en Venezuela: apagón y marchas multitudinarias"
