Venezuela: Fifth week of protest marches

With the motto “Let’s give a brake to the dictatorship”, the opposition in Venezuela marched yesterday in Caracas, in order to express the rejection against  the arrest of two opposition mayors, the crackdown on the protests and rates of crime, inflation and shortages in markets. It was a new measure of popular force, after five weeks of protests that have left deaths and injuries.

The opposition held a massive concentration in the municipality of Chacao, convened by the jailed leader of the Voluntad Popular party, Leopoldo López.

In a speech to the massive presence of supporters with white t-shirts, caps and tricolor flags, the opposition leader, Antonio Ledezma, said he is looking for popular support to the popular Deputy Maria Corina Machado, who could not speak on Friday at the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on the Venezuelan situation, because “we do not know what may happen when she returns to the country”.

Meanwhile, the ruling party accompanied the so-called March of students for peace”, in favor of the Experimental University of the armed forces. Thousands of students and Government supporters marched from the Plaza Venezuela heading to the National Assembly. In addition, they called opponent leaders to accept the dialogue proposed by the regime.