This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/world/americas/venezuela-protests-opposition-maduro.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Venezuelans Opposed to Maduro Pour Into Streets for Day of Protests | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| CARACAS, Venezuela — Many thousands of Venezuelan opposition supporters poured into the streets on Saturday, heeding a call from their leaders to stage another day of mass protests against President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule in hopes of capitalizing on international pressure to force him from power. | CARACAS, Venezuela — Many thousands of Venezuelan opposition supporters poured into the streets on Saturday, heeding a call from their leaders to stage another day of mass protests against President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule in hopes of capitalizing on international pressure to force him from power. |
| In another boost to the opposition, a top air force official broke with Mr. Maduro on Saturday and urged the country to support his rival in protests, one of the highest-level military defections yet in the country’s growing political crisis. | In another boost to the opposition, a top air force official broke with Mr. Maduro on Saturday and urged the country to support his rival in protests, one of the highest-level military defections yet in the country’s growing political crisis. |
| “Ninety percent of the armed forces do not support Nicolás Maduro,” said a man in an online video identifying himself as Division Gen. Francisco Esteban Yánez Rodríguez, an air force official. “I ask my comrades in arms to not turn their backs on the people of Venezuela, do not repress anymore.” | “Ninety percent of the armed forces do not support Nicolás Maduro,” said a man in an online video identifying himself as Division Gen. Francisco Esteban Yánez Rodríguez, an air force official. “I ask my comrades in arms to not turn their backs on the people of Venezuela, do not repress anymore.” |
| The cracks in Mr. Maduro’s armor have started to add up. | The cracks in Mr. Maduro’s armor have started to add up. |
| American officials said they would no longer pay his government for oil sales in the United States, a principal source of Mr. Maduro’s hard currency. | American officials said they would no longer pay his government for oil sales in the United States, a principal source of Mr. Maduro’s hard currency. |
| The United States and more than two dozen other countries no longer recognize him as Venezuela’s president. And the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, has declared himself the country’s legitimate leader before large crowds, calling on the armed forces to join him to topple Mr. Maduro. | The United States and more than two dozen other countries no longer recognize him as Venezuela’s president. And the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaidó, has declared himself the country’s legitimate leader before large crowds, calling on the armed forces to join him to topple Mr. Maduro. |
| And while Venezuela’s top military brass has come out in support of Mr. Maduro, Mr. Yánez joined a growing list of defectors — including the military attaché of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington — who have urged the armed forces to join the opposition. | And while Venezuela’s top military brass has come out in support of Mr. Maduro, Mr. Yánez joined a growing list of defectors — including the military attaché of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington — who have urged the armed forces to join the opposition. |
| Few times in Venezuela’s recent history has so much appeared to be hanging on a protest movement — and its ability to get the military, Venezuela’s chief power broker, to side with it. | Few times in Venezuela’s recent history has so much appeared to be hanging on a protest movement — and its ability to get the military, Venezuela’s chief power broker, to side with it. |
| “This is our best political opportunity,” said Margarita Lopez Maya, a retired political scientist in the capital, Caracas, who has spent decades studying the strongmen of the country’s past and who headed out Saturday to join the crowds. | “This is our best political opportunity,” said Margarita Lopez Maya, a retired political scientist in the capital, Caracas, who has spent decades studying the strongmen of the country’s past and who headed out Saturday to join the crowds. |
| “The street is the key piece in the puzzle now,” she said. “Right now, it’s the moment of the citizens.” | “The street is the key piece in the puzzle now,” she said. “Right now, it’s the moment of the citizens.” |
| Whether protests alone can catalyze a shift in the political standoff in Venezuela is far from clear. As Mr. Maduro broke the power of the opposition-controlled legislature in 2017, demonstrators took to the streets for four months, only to be beaten back in clashes with Mr. Maduro’s security forces that left more than 100 people dead. | Whether protests alone can catalyze a shift in the political standoff in Venezuela is far from clear. As Mr. Maduro broke the power of the opposition-controlled legislature in 2017, demonstrators took to the streets for four months, only to be beaten back in clashes with Mr. Maduro’s security forces that left more than 100 people dead. |
| But this time, Mr. Maduro is not only facing a challenge on his streets, but increasing unity among his neighbors in the region that his rule is over. | But this time, Mr. Maduro is not only facing a challenge on his streets, but increasing unity among his neighbors in the region that his rule is over. |
| Mr. Guaidó’s government has been busy appointing a team of de facto ambassadors to argue its case among the countries that have recognized him. American sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run oil company could topple the country’s long-crippled economy. | Mr. Guaidó’s government has been busy appointing a team of de facto ambassadors to argue its case among the countries that have recognized him. American sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run oil company could topple the country’s long-crippled economy. |
| On Thursday, the European Parliament recognized Mr. Guaidó as president. That fell short of protesters’ demands for recognition from the European Union itself, but France, Britain, Spain and Germany are expected to follow suit in the coming days. | On Thursday, the European Parliament recognized Mr. Guaidó as president. That fell short of protesters’ demands for recognition from the European Union itself, but France, Britain, Spain and Germany are expected to follow suit in the coming days. |
| “It’s perhaps the first time in years that the street isn’t the only factor in this game,” said Yon Goicoechea, a lawyer and political activist who has been imprisoned by Mr. Maduro’s government. | “It’s perhaps the first time in years that the street isn’t the only factor in this game,” said Yon Goicoechea, a lawyer and political activist who has been imprisoned by Mr. Maduro’s government. |
| “If the government represses us as they have been, if they throw us all in jail, it won’t solve the problem,” he added. “This time, the problem isn’t just demonstrations, but the pressure that their economy is suffocating and their diplomatic isolation.” | “If the government represses us as they have been, if they throw us all in jail, it won’t solve the problem,” he added. “This time, the problem isn’t just demonstrations, but the pressure that their economy is suffocating and their diplomatic isolation.” |
| Since Mr. Guaidó began his bid to oust Mr. Maduro this month, at least 40 people have been killed in clashes with protesters, human rights groups say, a steep escalation from previous protest movements in 2014 and 2017. Many hundreds have been jailed, according to human rights groups. | Since Mr. Guaidó began his bid to oust Mr. Maduro this month, at least 40 people have been killed in clashes with protesters, human rights groups say, a steep escalation from previous protest movements in 2014 and 2017. Many hundreds have been jailed, according to human rights groups. |
| The crackdown has been made more lethal by Mr. Maudro’s deployment of a special police unit against activists, whose ranks may have included civilian vigilantes. Mr. Guaidó said the unit was sent to his home, a move the politician said was meant to “intimidate” him and his family. | The crackdown has been made more lethal by Mr. Maudro’s deployment of a special police unit against activists, whose ranks may have included civilian vigilantes. Mr. Guaidó said the unit was sent to his home, a move the politician said was meant to “intimidate” him and his family. |
| With Mr. Guaidó’s face absent from state-controlled television stations, he took to the internet ahead of protests to make a plea to mobilize. | With Mr. Guaidó’s face absent from state-controlled television stations, he took to the internet ahead of protests to make a plea to mobilize. |
| “We will return to the streets, where we have always been, to get our freedom back,” he said in an online video. “We will shout with spirit! Hope has been reborn.” | “We will return to the streets, where we have always been, to get our freedom back,” he said in an online video. “We will shout with spirit! Hope has been reborn.” |
| At an event in Miami on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence again gave strong support to the protesters in Venezuela. | At an event in Miami on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence again gave strong support to the protesters in Venezuela. |
| “Across that country, in the largest cities and the smallest towns, people are rising up in defense of their rights,” he said. “This is no time for dialogue, this is the time for action. And the time has come to end the Maduro dictatorship once and for all.” | “Across that country, in the largest cities and the smallest towns, people are rising up in defense of their rights,” he said. “This is no time for dialogue, this is the time for action. And the time has come to end the Maduro dictatorship once and for all.” |
| While Mr. Maduro remains unpopular among the vast majority of Venezuelans, some said they were not willing to join Mr. Guaidó on Saturday. | While Mr. Maduro remains unpopular among the vast majority of Venezuelans, some said they were not willing to join Mr. Guaidó on Saturday. |
| Andrea Pacheco, a 30-year-old editor who works for a left-wing news site in Caracas, said she recently became fed up with Mr. Maduro’s government and even attended the opposition protest on Jan. 23. | Andrea Pacheco, a 30-year-old editor who works for a left-wing news site in Caracas, said she recently became fed up with Mr. Maduro’s government and even attended the opposition protest on Jan. 23. |
| But she said Mr. Guaidó’s swearing in as “interim president” was a step too far for those like her who spent years backing the country’s former leftist president, Hugo Chávez. | But she said Mr. Guaidó’s swearing in as “interim president” was a step too far for those like her who spent years backing the country’s former leftist president, Hugo Chávez. |
| The opposition, she said, “seems to forget that without the people who are the true Chavistas, they won’t be able to make it.” | The opposition, she said, “seems to forget that without the people who are the true Chavistas, they won’t be able to make it.” |
| David Smilde, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights group, said it was unclear whether Saturday’s protests were a make-or-break moment for Mr. Guaidó, but they had amounted to the first time in years that the opposition had been able to deliver quick results to those who backed them. | David Smilde, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights group, said it was unclear whether Saturday’s protests were a make-or-break moment for Mr. Guaidó, but they had amounted to the first time in years that the opposition had been able to deliver quick results to those who backed them. |
| “The successful protests on the 23rd brought about results,” said Mr. Smilde, referring to the American sanctions and international recognition of Mr. Guaidó. “People can say now, ‘I participated and I saw things happen.’ That can lead them to decide to come out again.” | “The successful protests on the 23rd brought about results,” said Mr. Smilde, referring to the American sanctions and international recognition of Mr. Guaidó. “People can say now, ‘I participated and I saw things happen.’ That can lead them to decide to come out again.” |
| Still, the ultimate power over the disputed presidency may rest with the Venezuelan military, not the protesters. | Still, the ultimate power over the disputed presidency may rest with the Venezuelan military, not the protesters. |
| Francisco Rodríguez, an economist who worked as an adviser for Mr. Maduro’s rival in the election last year, said large-scale mobilizations have occurred before and been put down by soldiers who appeared numb to the demands of protesters. | Francisco Rodríguez, an economist who worked as an adviser for Mr. Maduro’s rival in the election last year, said large-scale mobilizations have occurred before and been put down by soldiers who appeared numb to the demands of protesters. |
| The biggest risk for Mr. Guaidó, he said, would be for Mr. Maduro to wait out the street mobilizations, especially if they eventually peter out in a few weeks. | The biggest risk for Mr. Guaidó, he said, would be for Mr. Maduro to wait out the street mobilizations, especially if they eventually peter out in a few weeks. |
| “If the street protests decline, then the government will move in — and then they will imprison Guaidó or take some other move,” said Mr. Rodríguez. | “If the street protests decline, then the government will move in — and then they will imprison Guaidó or take some other move,” said Mr. Rodríguez. |