What do Government Supporters Have to Say About Protests in Venezuela? · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

While the opposition looks for ways to keep the momentum going and continue the protests in various parts of the country, the supporters of Nicolas Maduro’s government are online denouncing fake photographs and questioning the intentions of the protesters. They are also demanding that the protesters be arrested and brought to justice, given the large number of disturbances and the damages that have resulted from some of the protests.
Thus, there are two major trends in social media, often under the same tags.
Understanding the views of both sides is extremely complicated, particularly because of the variety of positions and circumstances of various communities. In this installment, we seek to explore the opinions that have been shared on the Internet during the last weeks of protests, from the point of view of government supporters.
In her blog [es] and on Twitter, Indira Carpio notes the “apparent contradictions”:
Protesta por la libertad; apresa a sus vecinos con las guarimbas. #Brújula #DesconectateDeLaGuarimba
— Indira Carpio Olivo (@icarpio) February 25, 2014
Protest for freedom; apprehend your neighbors with guarimbas [protests with blockades/street clashes].
Guarimbas [es] are where the opposition groups are assembled to protest. They are street barricades: they use objects to close the streets, sometimes burning tires, or other objects.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuelan Communications and Information Minister, shared this photo on Twitter:
@NicolasMaduro: Alerta ante grupos mercenarios que simulan ser chavistas y que atacan la ciudad pic.twitter.com/xG38Dq5Gsd
— Delcy Rodríguez (@DrodriguezMinci) February 24, 2014
Warning about mercenary groups posing as Chavistas [supporters of former President Hugo Chavez] attacking the city
With respect to the opposition's opinions, María Fernanda says:
La oposición se la pasa creando mitos acerca del chavismo, que sólo ellos se lo creen.
— María Fernanda (@pinamafe) February 25, 2014
The opposition spends its time making up myths surrounding Chavez that only they believe.
For his part, Alejandro Salcedo says:
#VenezuelaSeRespeta @NicoIasMaduro es el Presidente Constitucional por la Voluntad democrática dl pueblo venezolano pic.twitter.com/w0dCK9gdTi
— GNBCorazonyAcero (@alejlancedo) February 25, 2014
Nicolas Maduro is the constitutional President by the will of the Venezuelan people
And Gabriel López reports:
Luego de ver cosas como las que acabo de ver intentando salir de #LaUrbina, que NADIE me diga que la guarimba sirve para algo. #NMJ
— Gabriel López (@GaboVzla) February 25, 2014
After seeing some of the things I did trying to leave La Urbina, NOBODY can tell me the guarimba is good for anything.
Nicmer Evans discusses in a more detailed way the basics of the conflict in his blog [es]
Más allá de los señalamientos estériles entre un bando y otro, si uno dice que él otro es responsable, y viceversa, entonces o la culpa es de la vaca, o hay un tercer factor o “factor x” que está jugando a la desestabilización, al caos y a generar una confrontación que la mayoría de la población considera estéril.
Me atrevo a afirmar que existe un “Factor X” infiltrado en todos los sectores políticos que está jugando a la confrontación, que incita al odio, que desborda la institucionalidad. Por un lado se ha activado una violencia estimulada por el odio y que ha encontrado en algunos estudiantes un recurso gratuito, para aportar la sangre que necesita el Factor “X” para sus objetivos, y por el otro lado, excesos policiales que han dado alimento al Factor “X” para que la confrontación adquiera potencia en el escenario internacional. Pero si es así, también existe complicidad de quienes no terminar de develar a los responsables de bando y bando.
Beyond the fruitless accusations between the two sides, if one says the other is responsible, and vice versa, then [we can] blame it on the cow; or there is a third or “x” factor that is playing around with destabilization, chaos, and generating a confrontation that most of the population considers fruitless.
I dare say there is an “x factor” infiltrated in every political sector which is fomenting confrontation, inciting hate, and overwhelming institutionalism. On one hand, it has triggered violence fueled by hate, and has found in some students, a free resource—providing blood that the “X Factor” needs for its objectives, and on the other hand, police excesses that have fed the “X Factor” so that the confrontations gain credence in the international arena. But if that is true, there is also a complicity by those who don’t uncover those responsible on each side.
Finally, the author considers some proposals that he considers priorities:
Una propuesta urgente: Una Alianza Popular Revolucionaria de Rectificación Socialista y Chavista, que permita una verdadera recomposición de las fuerzas políticas a lo interno y de resistencia ante la arremetida contrarrevolucionaria, una “revolución dentro de la revolución” encabezada por usted. Aún hay tiempo camarada.
An urgent proposal: A Revolutionary Popular Alliance of Socialist and Chavista Rectification that allows a true restructuring of political forces internally, and resistance to the relentless counterrevolution, a “revolution within the revolution” led by you. There is still time, comrade.