Caracas Chronicles

The sound of cacerolas fills Caracas. I hadn’t heard them in years. Caraqueños woke up with fourteen metro stations closed because this public transport system serves the PSUV. A lot of people had to walk to their jobs, because the shortage of car parts keeps the amount of buses servicing the streets on the low side, and the price gap for fees is huge. They had to walk without security because every single cop was posted at Plaza Venezuela, ready to disperse an opposition march.

Almagro wrote for all of us

I read several Human Rights activists criticizing the OAS’s Secretary General’s letter. I think anyone can react to constant discrediting accusations, regardless of their position. Former president Pepe Mujica defended Almagro, saying that he’s no traitor and, despite the great respect he claims to have for Nicolás, he blurted: “that doesn’t mean I won’t admit he’s mad, mad as a goat.”

The Foreign Affairs Minister can play alongside Nicolás in that league. She turned to Twitter again to insult Almagro: “Every one of your statements shows your hatred for Venezuela and its legitimate authorities. You’re part of the imperial scum (…) The word pueblo is not fit for your mouth, only repeating scripts written by your imperial masters. You will never give orders in Venezuela,” as she promoted the hashtag: #FueraAlmagro.

Threats

“We came to make important announcements,” said Nicolás at the start of his cadena, where he spoke about the activation of a special plan to enable the CLAPs (Local Commissions of Supply and Production) within communities, whether to improve the lottery of food bags or as a political arm for public order, we don’t know. Nicolás said that he couldn’t have done anything of what he’s done in the past four months if he depended on the National Assembly, that he won’t be beaten and of course, that there are severe threats to peace.

Saying that his decree is “a new model of state of emergency,” is admitting that it violates the Constitution. That’s why he threatened to decree a State of Commotion due to internal conflict -more restrictions to freedom-, although he claims that his government is deeply democratic. “Traitor garbage” were his words for Almagro but his fixation with Henry Ramos Allup made him mention the man more times than el finado and he let slip that on October, when it’s time for him to introduce the national budget, Allup might no longer be there. He also said that there will be communal military drills on Friday and Saturday, where 519 revolutionary fighters will participate, including officers, soldiers and the militia. Weapons for the PSUV.

The militia vice-president

“They said they had three million signatures, liars, they have fake, forged signatures,” said Aristóbulo Istúriz at the closing event of the International Meeting for Justice, Reparation and Peace, as hundreds of policemen and soldiers repressed the opposition march. According to him, anybody can go to the “farthest corner of the country and they will find a doctor,” not mentioning the simultaneous difficulty of finding supplies and medication. That must be why he’s concerned that the opposition “continues to fill the streets with blood and death,” although I’d swear that’s what criminals do, with total impunity. He finished with this: “Maduro has two alternatives: he can support the people or surrender. He’s not going to surrender, he’ll support the people,” the people who wants to revoke him. Trozo de genio.

When he’s not verifying, he’s accusing

Jorge Rodríguez accused Henry Ramos Allup and Henrique Capriles Radonski of being responsible for the violent events that took place during the march – blockade?- of the opposition in Caracas and he will go to the Prosecutor’s Office to denounce the attack on the residential building Livia Gouverneur: “This was expected, they had already pre-conceived this plan,” he said. If you want another version of the events, you can check Fran Monroy’s account (@fmonroy on Twitter) who was reporting on site. Later, the Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace said that the young protesters arrested this Wednesday will be sent to the 26 de julio prison in San Juan de los Morros, and he regretted that six National Police officers were wounded in Caracas, but didn’t mention the attacks perpetrated by colectivos in Mérida.

The voice of the original 4F

Clíver Alcalá Cordones only fulfills one task. The Torquemada of el finado’s spirit spoke with Vladimir Villegas this Wednesday, saying that the same conditions that motivated the failed coup d’etat on February 4, 1992, are reproduced almost facsimile now. He would vote for a recall, he doesn’t believe that Maduro can recover the country, he assumes that the legacy is alive and well, that Padrino López is a decent Venezuelan – and that the Armed Forces couldn’t be in better hands. He’s not a friend of Rodríguez Torres, although he has the same target and his wisdom is enough to demand more controls, but managed by honest men like him. A lousy spokesman for those who wish to survive Nicolás’ chavismo, in olive green, showered by impunity and the glory of a dead man they claim to love like a father.

Request delivered

The Democratic Unity Roundtable assured that the protests to get an adequate response from the National Electoral Council will continue and they demand that the new request delivered to the electoral institution be taken into account, so as to allow a democratic, peaceful, constitutional and electoral regime change. The request is the same: validate the signatures. Meanwhile, CNE official Luis Emilio Rondón said that the demands will be discussed by the heads of the institution.

In the other country

Minister Luis Motta Domínguez announced that the electrical rationing will be reduced from four to three hours starting next Monday, eliminating the rationing block from 10 p.m to 7 a.m. Add this to the fact that the national price index for consumers reached -according to extra-official sources- 18.7% by the end of April, representing an 86.4% average increment, and 397.4% for the year. We suffer that every day, nobody needs to confirm it to us.
The sound of cacerolas fills Caracas. My husband’s phone receives a friend’s audio message, telling him about her 3-year-old niece who asked why they were ringing and her family explained to her that food is scarce. “I want tetero, I want tetero,” says the little girl, set against the background of cacerolas, with the night and the safety of home allowing that simple protest method, without the risk of breathing tear gas, without closed metro stations; only 3 years old, the same time Nicolás has held power.