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Students take part in an anti-government protest in Caracas on February 17, 2014 (AFP photo by Juan Barreto)
Students take part in an anti-government protest in Caracas on February 17, 2014 (AFP photo by Juan Barreto)
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Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has spoken in support of the Government of Venezuela amidst mass protest by the opposition in Caracas, calling for the Nicolas Maduro administration to go.

Protestors are demanding Maduro’s resignation over issues ranging from inflation and violent crime to corruption and product shortages.

Gonsalves on Tuesday spoke against what he said were efforts to destabalise the presidency of Maduro, who was elected after the death of Hugo Chavez last March.

The Vincentian leader, who is also chair of CARICOM, spoke hours before the regional bloc issued a statement saying it is “concerned by the confrontations” in Venezuela over the past few days in the course of demonstrations.

At least four people have died in the protest and CARICOM said it “deplores the deaths … arising from the resulting acts of violence.

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“The Community calls for respect for the democratically elected Government of the Bolivarian Republic. In all democracies, citizens have the right to air their views and differences, however, this must be done within the constitutional framework and not through violent demonstrations.

“No democratic society can reasonably pursue disorder or any unwarranted subversion of democratic institutions.

“CARICOM calls on all parties to take the necessary steps to refrain from any further action that would hinder a peaceful resolution of the differences and a return to peace and calm in the country,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Gonsalves said he was scheduled to meet later on Tuesday with the Venezuelan charge d’affaires in Kingstown and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Kingstown was sending to Caracas “a statement of solidarity with the government and people.

“We just can’t have attempts to destabilize a government which has been duly elected. The man won the presidential election — President Maduro. They just won overwhelmingly the local government elections, the state elections.

“What you can’t win by the polls, you want to win it by subterfuge and violence and illegal behavior? “That can’t be accepted, and the government of St. Vincent is in solidarity with the government and people of Venezuela on this matter and we are asking for calm, restraint on all sides and let the constitutional process, the legal processes function,” Gonsalves said.

Caracas on Monday gave three U.S. Embassy officials 48 hours to leave the country, accusing them of supporting opposition plots to unseat the government.

The opposition leader in Caracas, Leopoldo Lopez re-emerged Tuesday from days of hiding and surrendered to police. Lopez was being sought by authorities for allegedly inciting violence that broke out during protests last week.

He said his surrender will open Venezuelans’ eyes to the increasingly authoritarian bent of their government.

10 replies on “Gonsalves supports Maduro amidst mass anti-government protest in Venezuela”

  1. Gonsalves forgets he came to power by an undemocratic process called the ‘Road Block Revolution’ is he trying to tell us its only Marxists that are allowed to do that kind of thing?

  2. Here is what I suggest Gonsalves the elder do, take your son Camillo and cousin Francis, all dress up in our military style police jungle warfare uniforms, take all the police that wear those same uniforms and join Maduro.

    Take them and go and support what you describe as democracy, Marxist style democracy.

  3. This is interesting I wonder if there was a duly elected government when we had the road block revolution that brought down a government before its time

  4. By using the age old “bread and circuses” trick the Chavistas are slowly but surely pushing Venezula into civil anarchy and irreversible poverty. The traditional poor class has been tricked into believing that the universally failed policy of expropriating private companies and industries, controlling prices, limiting enterprise, etc. will magically lift them out of their impoverished condition. This didn’t work in the former Soviet Union, China, North Korea, or Cuba. It will not work in Venezuela. Big goverment and Big Brother are the problem, not the solution.

  5. We should all remember for the day of reckoning, that PM Gonsalves supported the Soviet Union who murdered millions of their citizens, he supported the Marxist and Leninist belief a group with a tradition that is responsible for the murder of millions of people. He supports the Syrian regime that has killed thousands of its people, he supports the Venezuelan communist regime who are now killing their people on the streets.

    Just keep it in mind for the next election, and on behalf of the worlds people murdered by communism take revenge at the next election.

  6. Prime Minister Gonsalves, don’t have any other choice but to support President Maduro, yes he was elected democratically, but the situation is Venezuela is by far the worst it has been in years. It has one of the highest murder rates in the world, more people are in poverty, no investments are flowing into the country and it goes on and on. But I forgot, Gonsalves needs the cheap oil SVG receives (at the expense of Venezuelans)

  7. This is a post by a Venezuelan woman name Martina who is living in Venezuela right now, and it is a shamed. It is also similar to the kind of corruption that we see taking place in SVG, Vincentians, we need to get the government out of office before they make the poor relief list any bigger, and we all beg on the road.

    Martina Says

    I understand information gets blurred once it reaches international news but I (and the majority of venezuelans) would appreciate if the truth was mentioned. we are not only fighting freedom of speech we are fighting against a dictatorship which has lasted over 15 years. maduro did not win the elections and chavez lost many of them too. the government owns everything in the country and we know now how they cheated many of the elections. we are aware of the 7.7 billion francs in switzerland that belong to only a group of 10 chavistas. we are aware that diosdado cabello could soon beat bill gates in “the richest man in the world”.

    we went from being an almost self-sustained country to having huge debts, low national reserves, zero coffe, cacao (or any other type of agriculture) production, no gas for our cars (due to 15 years of no maintenance), no food and basically no future. it is also important to note that venezuela has a “control de cambio” like many communist countries we are not allowed to freely buy dollars or any type of currency. the official rate is 6 bolivares per dollar while the parallel “black-market” is at 90 bolivares. the government has stopped giving dollars to our big companies which import most of our goods and then they blame them “the rich class/american/fascists/whateverirrelevantname” for charging so much for their goods (of course, they are forced to buy these goods with parallel dollars not at the official rate). this also has huge implications on international students, to go to university abroad you have to apply to get the dollars (as if the government was paying you your uni) to see if they give you the cost of uni at 6 bolivares. most times its like the lottery. many venezuelans have been forced to go back because if you don’t win the “cadivi lottery” you would have to pay your uni 15 times more expensive. hospitals no longer have the necessary pharmaceuticals. doctors have become used to write 6 prescriptions for their patients because they are aware that it is unlikely that they find all of the medicines required in one place. they are forced to disinfect with chlorine and sometimes that is not even found.

    chavez pushed towards “patria socialismo o muerte” and looking back his original plan was needed. the gap between upper and lower class was too big (like in all latin countries). once in power everything changed. his plan was no longer to bring everyone to a middle class (like any other slightly left government would do) but to make everyone poor (like cuba did) in order to control the country. he instilled in the “poor people’s” heads that rich people were bad, americans worse and that he had the solution. ever since our middle class has been completely eliminated, our rich class fled and the poor have been taught to beg, hate the rich and to become thieves and murderers. because we are an oil country the poor know the govenrment is rich and their new way of thinking is “we don’t need to work, that is why the government is there, they will give us free everything” and they have for what…. one percent of the poor people. so while the poor are getting frustrated the middle class is being extenguished and the people with firms are being chocked with new laws.

    talking about law. the government (since they own the parliament and any other type of governmental office) make ridiculous laws as they go. one day they force people to rent out spaces at whatever price they see fit, other days they fix hospital prices and other days they only allow families to own one home. all of these laws have been placed and or altered and removed since they clearly saw that they would not work.

    venezuela is moving backwards in time. it is the country of papers. to do anything, from traveling to buying a home to running a business you have to fill in a million papers go to some government office pay whoever is there not to reject your papers because she or he did not like the way you signed one of the 1000 papers and move on. the country is paralized in a cue. a cue for the supermarket to fight for that last roll of toilet paper or harina pan, a cue for your passport which you ordered 6 months ago and are still expected to pay ANOTHER person under the table to get it or a cue for your electricity supplier to ask once again why is it that half of the day during half of the week there are energy shortages….

    it is sad to say and God help africa, but my country is close to those levels. our economy is down the drain and i found it unbelievable that no one has made an attempt to help us.

    OIL IS OUR COURSE AND OUR BLESSING. our South American countries do not know what to do as venezuela gives them oil… and personally i would prefer being under the states command than under our ignorant uneducated corrupt government.

    please help. this is only a short story of the truth. There is much more that the government hides, such as helping guerrilleros and drug lords.

    this should be of international concern and myself and many venezuelans would like to ask the OEA to help us out.

  8. BLANE, thank you for your input, not that I think it will make any difference to how our man thinks, his mind is addled with Marxist-Leninist communist indoctrination, he will still cheer on Maduro.

    Blane why not revamp this and make it ready for publication, its very moving and very revealing. Because people like this woman would be described a counter revolutionary terrorist by these sick minded Marxist scumbags. Turn it into a story and ask Mr Chance to publish it.

    Unless we are very careful in SVG we could well end up in a similar situation if we re-elect the current regime.rds to you

    Peter

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