The Chavez Aftermath

Many of us thought that after Chavez died Venezuela was going to change for the best. We were wrong. Ever since Election Day I haven’t stopped following the Venezuelan news. Nicolas Maduro has managed to create more chaos and polarize the country even more than Chavez did; and in a shorter amount of time. As a Venezuelan I have never felt more impotent and heartbroken for my country, where a civil war is close to break out.

During his time in office, Maduro has devastated the economy even more than it was, he has devaluated the Venezuelan currency twice. He has fired and, basically, prosecuted opposition public workers for supporting Capriles, and last but not least, yesterday, opposition representatives in the national assembly were physically attacked by Chavista representatives. Maduro’s government is hanging by a thread, and the hate he is instigating is only backfiring. 

Half of the country is fighting for their votes and their right to ask for a recount. Capriles called his followers to take the streets and protest peacefully, but Maduro sent military and police patrols to disperse the protests by terrorizing them. What is ironic is that Maduro and his regime call Capriles, and his followers, fascists who are causing violence and creating discontent.

Many protests and concentrations, of Venezuelans who demand democracy, have surged after the government denied Henrique Capriles a recount of the votes emitted last April 14th. Sofia Salama, a law student from Caracas, calls herself a “Caprilista” and has hit the streets since the day after elections to support her leader and claim her rights as Venezuelan citizen, she tells all about what she lived...

Chavez Aftermath: Why did you decide to protest after the elections on April 14th?

Sofia Salama: I’ve always believed in fighting for my rights and speaking up when witnessing injustice and corruption. I voted for Capriles in desperate hope of change, to see my country evolve from what I have seen all my life: what Chavez left behind. It is clear that the government committed fraud in these past elections, not only did they win by 1%, a completely unsustainable and unrealistic result, but I witnessed their followers sabotaging the elections.

After results were announced, Capriles, my leader, called all of us to protest peacefully and defend the right to ask for a recount of votes. The National Election Council denied Capriles petition to do so. I, as his follower, feel the need to support his cause, and as a citizen and democrat, I must defend my vote.

CA: What happened when you went to protest?

SS: My relatives and I all went to the Plaza Altamira at Caracas where people were protesting. When we arrived everyone was peacefully holding signs and protesting, then all of a sudden, National Guards started to appear on motorcycles. At first we thought they were just there to monitor the event, we were wrong, though. They started shooting in the air to scare everyone.  Apparently that wasn’t enough, because moments later we were surrounded by tear gas. They threw around 12 tear gas bombs in our direction. That was enough to disperse the protest and have everyone run away in panic. This is not the first time National Guards have taken these measures to cease protests.

CA: What happened afterwards?

SS: We went home defeated but we still wanted to defend our rights. We are not scared, but corrupted and armed authority outnumbers us. They are trying to provoke us into being violent as well, but Capriles specifically stated that we peacefully protest. We will still continue to protest, it’s not over.

CA: What do you have to say about everything that you have experienced so far?

SS: I believe that we can never give up. We have been optimistic in spite of everything and we’re glad we finally have Capriles as a leader. I also believe that when injustice is made, rebellion is a right. I have doubts sometimes and I get scared of what the government might be capable of, but anything they do to terrorize us, only makes us want to claim our rights and have justice even more. 

See video of this protest here.

Did he or did he not die?      

Venezuelans faced constant uncertainty since the day Chavez flew to Cuba to undergo surgery. Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s current president and Chavez’s vice president, announced that Hugo Chavez’s death of cancer was the result of United States government poisoning. Maduro’s attempt to attract media and focus on “imperialist” oppressors only created more doubt, which led to the following conspiracy theories:

     1. Chavez was poisoned 

Hours before Chavez’s death was announced Maduro stated that he was going to investigate and scientifically prove that Chavez’s cancer was inoculated by enemies from “the Empire” –as Chavez and his regime refer to the United States. “There is no doubt that historic enemies of our country sought to damage the health of our commander” said Maduro during a press conference.

Bolivian president, Evo Morales is one of the prominent believers of this theory since he stated that he is “almost certain” that Chavez was murdered and that "the Empire has all the instruments to plan actions to overthrow governments, leaders, social movements that are against capitalism,"             If only anyone had that power…

     2. Chavez died long before March 5th       

February, Guillermo Cochez -Panama’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States- claimed that by the time Chavez’s daughters called for medical disconnections on December 30th, he was brain dead. This allegation could be proven by the fact that the Venezuelan government cancelled New Year’s celebrations due to a “medical complication” in Chavez’s health.        

There was also a picture prowling the internet that showed Chavez and his daughters smiling in his medical room, Cochez stated that this picture was fake. See picture here.                                                  

    3. Chavez died in Cuba, not in Caracas     Chavez reportedly came back to Venezuela after his surgery on February 18th. According to The Telegraph, he went back to Cuba after receiving treatment in Caracas, where he eventually died. He was then flown back to Venezuela so that the government could announce his death.  This theory suggests that only his corpse came back.

This theory is confirmed by Maduro, who days after Chavez’s death appeared on TV spilling “…my commander died far away from his country, like Bolivar did…”

A curse of countless years for his country or personal wealth? 

After 14 years in power, Hugo Chavez left a divided country with a devastated economy upon his death. Even though he proclaimed himself as the savior of the poor, Venezuela has yet to receive its justice. Chavez’s legacy speaks for itself.

According to statistics, Venezuela is the second most violent country in the world, it has one of the highest inflation rates in Latin America, with a currency recently devaluated 32%, and a 41% poverty rate. In the last decade, his government expropriated 1,168 businesses, yet the public sector has failed to help the economy. 

Additionally, Chavez instigated the remarkable division and hatred between lower and upper classes. On December of 2007, after losing a referendum to reform the Venezuelan constitution, Chavez said, “People from the opposition have to learn how to deal with their shitty victory.”         

It was a cold spring afternoon around 6 pm when the voting process culminated. That time of Election Day where Venezuelans are glued to TV news channels waiting for results. Rumors were being spread about whom was taking the lead, videos and stories about voting process irregularities prowled around social media. Even before results were announced, it all pointed in the same direction: the government, among all its corruption, was cheating, of course.

News reported Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate, called his followers to attend the audit of votes in their polling centers. “Caprilistas” (parties in favor of Capriles) complied with the call to find centers being terrorized and vandalized by armed subjects on motorcycles, identified as Tupamaros (the followers of officialist candidate, Nicolas Maduro).

Each voting center was a riot created by Tupamaros. They threatened people, robbing them and shooting in the air, preventing them to attend and hear the audit of votes. It was reported that opposition witnesses of some polling centers were taken out of their audits at gunpoint. There is no doubt that this was all planned by Maduro and his people to sabotage the elections.

Finally, the moment came, Tibisay Lucena, the president of the National Election Council, took the podium at 10 pm. Hearts pounded rapidly, it was evident and almost proven, that Capriles was the winner. In spite of all this, everyone knew deep down what was about to happen: Nicolas Maduro was announced as the winner of the 2013 Venezuelan elections.

Venezuela’s interim president and presidential candidate, Nicolas Maduro, assured that Chavez appeared to him in the form of a “little bird” to give him his blessing on the beginning of the election campaign that started this past Tuesday. It is not the first time Maduro makes impulsive allegations like this. Last month he said in a televised show that Chavez’s death had a lot to do with the election of the Latin American pope when Jorge Bergolio, an Argentinian cardinal, was chosen as head of the church.

According to news media, Maduro made a statement from Chavez’s childhood home in the state of Barinas saying “"I felt him there, like he was giving us his blessing, saying: ‘Today the battle starts. Go to the victory. You have our blessings.’ That is how I felt it in my soul."           

Maduro told he was praying at a little chapel where there was an image of Chavez when the little bird appeared and started whistling at him. Maduro responded to the whistling and claims the bird chirped back, establishing what he called “a communicational exchange” that made him feel the spirit of Chavez.            

Last Monday night in Caracas, Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, was bathed by a crowd that accompanied him in a march against violence. It was a massive concentration that was organized as part of his presidential campaign for the upcoming elections in April. 

Aware of citizens’ concerns over violence on the streets, Capriles pointed out his amazement at the amount of people who had attended the event. "At this hour most of you are confined to your homes, complying a curfew, as they say" he said.

He also recalled an episode in the state of Bolivar where a young boy expressed his wish to be able to play peacefully in front of his house. Capriles translates this as a realization to reduce violence, “I summon you all to defeat violence together,” he said, inviting people to vote for him in the upcoming elections.

 It is important to know that Venezuelan citizens have struggled with this issue since Chavez came into power in 1999. The Venezuelan Violence Observer reported that there were over 21,000 homicides during 2012 in the country, a statistic that has increased throughout the years. This shocking figure makes Venezuela the second most violent country in the world and Caracas the most dangerous city in Venezuela.