First, on the issue of riot cops beating protesters. Maduro actually fired many security forces that were using violence. That's a lot to say for him, considering that around the world (especially in the US) riot cops beat protesters without any consequences. Even worse, we see cases like Cecily McMillan, an Occupy protester that experienced police brutality, but was charged herself and sent to prison for assaulting an officer.
Social_Critic wrote:Given the fact that protesters aren´t all "rich protesters." Your primary premise is wrong, the protests are being carried out primarily by university students (this follows latinamerican tradition). There are other protesters involved, this ranges from housewives to old men to nuns, physicians and poor unemployed.
I didn't say they were all rich protesters. I said the majority are middle-upper class, and the majority of protests took place in well-off neighborhoods. Even pro-opposition media in the US like the New York Times,
reported on this.
Here's a quote from an anti-Maduro Venezuelan journalist, Francisco Toro, in
an article republished by The New Republic:
Outside the Andean states, protests remain largely confined to the better-off areas of the larger cities. Are there exceptions here and there? Certainly. But they’re just that: exceptions.
With its image increasingly defined by its least appealing members, it’s little surprise that the protest movement has failed to build meaningful alliances outside the opposition base. People in working class neighborhoods, whether urbanizaciones populares or barrios, see the protest movement as something alien, different, not about them, not by people like them and certainly not for people like them. (Yes, there are exceptions, but again, they’re only that: exceptions.)
Social_Critic wrote:However, government repression against the protests has been quite brutal (over 30 protesters dead and who knows how many killed).
You're obviously quoting that terrible propaganda op-ed by your beloved opposition figure head Leopoldo Lopez in the New York Times (in which he says 30 protesters were killed). Don't you remember that the times corrected him in an edit, saying that the number represents security forces and civilians, as well.
The current death tole (which is now closer to 40) is split pretty evenly between protesters, security forces, and civilians. I believe the majority of deaths were actually civilians killed by road blocks randomly, in which both sides (protestors/govt) blamed each other for it. Considering this isn't the first time that the opposition has killed civilians to legitimize it's cause, I wouldn't doubt that they did it again.
Social_Critic wrote:NGO´s have issued statements explaining the government is using torture and violating protesters´rights as per the Venezuelan constitution.
Yeah, you're talking about that terrible Human Rights Watch report, that says there wasn't any lethal force used by protesters against those who tried to take down road blocks. Yet another bias and ridiculous report from HRW.
Social_Critic wrote:But right now, in May 2014, the key issue isn´t really the protests. It´s the full scale economic meltdown taking place, which is caused by government idiocy.
Please explain how government idiocy caused the economic meltdown. For months now you've done nothing but blame Maduro for Venezuela's economic problems (like the rest of your right-wing opposition cohorts) without giving a detailed explanation. Conversely, I (as well as others) have explained how the economic elite of Venezuela caused the current economic crisis.
Social_Critic wrote:For those PoFo readers who wish to see the situation covered by a network other than Al Jazeera, here´s a piece on CNN, it´s five days old, but it goes over CNN´s perspective
CNN team denied right to cover Venezuela local elections
CNN should be banned from Venezuela.
CNN Venezuela was involved in the 2002 attempted coup when they worked with coup generals by taping them giving their statement about sniper attacks, before they even occurred. Here's a video of former CNN Venezuela correspondent, Otto Neustadtl, talking about how he was with the coup generals hours before the sniper attacks took place, to tape their statements about the sniper attacks.
[youtube]_CI511EVelA[/youtube]