After the State security forces prevented the mobilization called by union leaders from reaching the Miraflores Palace this Thursday, April 9, the union representatives called for a new march to the United States embassy in Caracas, on April 16.
The call was proposed after a review by union representatives outside the Central Workers of Venezuela (CTV). The leaders of the march that intended to reach the Executive headquarters met there to demand a fair salary and the repeal of laws that harm workers.
Ramón Gómez, general secretary of the CVG Professionals and Technicians Union, denounced that the police forces truncated the tour that began in Plaza Venezuela.
The union leader explained that free transit constitutes a citizen right that the State must guarantee throughout the national territory.
“At the height of all the avenues we began to encounter police obstacles, a police picket that prevented us from marching along the planned route,” Gómez stated during the press conference. The spokesperson criticized that the authorities use force to restrict labor struggles that only seek compliance with the law.
Gómez also questioned the opacity of government announcements about supposed increases that do not appear in official gazettes.
“The responsibility is that you comply with the Constitution, that you comply with the collective agreement and that you comply with labor legislation,” stated the leader.
Balance of repression and liberation
Lawyer Eduardo Torres, human rights defender and member of the NGO Provea, described the day as a success for the popular movement because the protesters broke seven police fences in the center of Caracas.
During his assessment on human rights, Torres confirmed that the authorities have already released the Upel union leader, Javier Márquez, whose arrest they initially denounced.
“Unfortunately, the same structures that have been governing Venezuela for 26 years are authoritarian and not democratic,” said Torres when evaluating the deployment of the security forces. The lawyer emphasized that the country needs democracy and justice to achieve real development that benefits pensioners and workers.
Torres warned that, while officials repressed the march in the streets, relatives reported similar situations inside the cells of Rodeo 1, in the state of Miranda.
“Venezuela demands freedom, democracy and justice. It is very serious,” concluded the defender.
Demand for clear answers from the US
Ángel Bolívar, spokesperson for the labor and student sectors of Guayana, stated that the Venezuelan people feel tired of the institutions that ignore their claims. The leader pointed out that natural resource transactions generate wealth for the elites while the hospitals and workers’ pockets remain empty.
“We are going to the United States Embassy to demand to speak clearly and say what the guachafa is, what the game is, transition or we continue with the same mockery,” Bolívar declared about the next action.
The protesters demand that international actors show their faces and listen to the feelings of youth who demand scholarships and decent transportation.
The mobilization next Thursday, April 16, will depart at 10:00 in the morning from the PDV service station on the main avenue of Las Mercedes (former Texaco), in the Baruta municipality. The leaders invited all citizens to join to consolidate a movement that brings freedom and definitive democracy to all sectors of the country.
