Posted on 01/23/2010 3:41:46 PM PST by La Lydia
Thousands of protesters have turned out in Venezuela, both in support of Hugo Chavez, the president, and against him, signaling a heated political climate ahead of the 2010 elections. Organised by the opposition to coincide with the anniversary of the downfall of General Marcos Perez Jimenez, a former dictator who was overthrown in the late 1950s, protesters marched to the centre of Caracus, the Venezuelan capital...Andres Velasquez, an opposition leader, told the crowd the opposition movement was "building unity to bring about the end of the dictatorial regime."
Politicians critical of Chavez criticised the country's high crime rates and electricity rationing ordered by the government in response to an energy crisis stemming from a drought that drained the country's dams, as well as currency devaluation. The marches were the first since Chavez sharply devalued the bolivar currency and deployed soldiers to stop retailers hiking prices...
According to opinion polls, the popularity of the leftest leader, which approached 60 per cent approval at the beginning of 2009, has reduced to less than 50 per cent....
(Excerpt) Read more at english.aljazeera.net ...
The “Hugo supporters” don’t have much of a choice, their jobs could be at stake or more. They are ordered to march, like Bataan.
The anti-Hugo marchers face possible violence and punishments and they come of their own free will.
They need to roast the El Puerco Hugo on a spitfire and Venezuelans can solve lot of their problems. Put an American grown apple in his mouth as a fitting tribute.
I know there are a lot of great, freedom-loving, repressed people down there that are about to explode and take back their country.
God be with them all.
Univision news had a report on this. All the opposition demonstrators were carrying signs that said, “¡Tas ponchao!” which means “it’s your third strike and you’re out.”
Reminds me of that Billos song about Los Tigres and the other equipos de beisbol: “paloypaloypaloypalo....”
Colonel, USAFR
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