I Fight for Venezuela because...

Social media, like Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, were just apps I used to stay informed and connect with family and friends. Now they have become my lifeline, the sources from which I find out if the route to my children’s school is barricaded, where I can buy milk or oil, the date and place of the next protest, instructions from our opposition leaders in addition to infinite articles and videos that capture and try to make sense of the chaos we are living today. My children didn’t go to school for a month, starting on February 12th. In that month Charles and I have had to learn to subdue our anger, feelings of impotence and sadness and transmit to our girls that things are ok, that everything will work itself out when we both feel our country, our rights and our voices slipping away. Although we were already in dire straits, before February 12th I used to fall asleep to the sound of Charles’ voice telling me about his day, now I lie awake until 2am, scrolling down Twitter to find out how many tanks the National Guard have sent to disperse the nightly protest in Plaza Altamira, what was the told of the dead for the day. I am so overwhelmed by the amount of information that I am petrified to write, I don’t know where to begin and I am afraid that if I document my worst fears they are more likely to come true. My one obligation to myself is to memorize the names of the students who have died fighting for our future since February 12th. Every day I add a name.

In the midst of all this uncertainty one of the things that affects me the most is the difference of opinions that exist among our opposition leaders. I understand that the co-existence of diverse ideas is an illustration of true democracy and that our leaders have a common objective, but still, it makes me nervous that there isn’t a united front, one set of instructions we must all follow, a single path to reach our goal. How can we become an inclusive, united Venezuela if differences divide us at this level? My greatest wish, right now, is for the opposition/resistance leaders to set aside their human vanities and personal agendas and reach a common understanding of a single strategy and final goal. I think this would streamline our efforts and enable us to reach our goal with greater speed. This will never happen because they, the four, are different people with diverse ideas about how to attain freedom. I am also bothered by the rhythms of politics that bring a leader into the limelight to call for a peaceful protest and then hides him or her away in the shadow of chaos. I yearn for consistency.

What is the opposition? The opposition consists of Venezuelans that disagree with the policies of Nicolas Maduro. The opposition, as such, first coalesced with the election of President Hugo Chavez in 1999 and consisted of all the political parties (old and new) that didn’t want to move in the socialist direction the President had envision for Venezuela. The opposition may represent half of the country, illustrated by the last presidential elections in which Maduro beat Henrique Capriles by a small margin of 1.5% in 2012. (Even though all elections since 2004 have been fraudulent, the small margin reflects that even the government can't hide amount of people that oppose them). Some experts declare that the opposition to the government has grown since then because of the rising inflation, increasing insecurity and food shortages. Today, the opposition or resistance includes Chavistas that have become disgruntled by Maduro’s policies and most recently his use of military force to repress peaceful protests of university students, resulting in twenty deaths and counting.

Who are the resistance leaders?

First, Henrique Capriles Radonski, who ran against Chavez and Maduro in presidential elections. He predicates peace and inclusion and believes that changing the current government will only happen when the poor population (still the majority of Venezuelans) join the resistance.

In contrast, Leopoldo Lopez believes in ceasing the moment and asking the current president, Nicolas Maduro, to resign for violating the human rights of the students that protested peacefully. Currently, most of the resistance seems to be with Leopoldo, although his followers don’t necessarily include the poorest class.

Thirdly is Maria Corina Machado who is a deputy in the National Assembly. Although she has been consistent in speaking up in the face of injustice, she is a woman from the high class. To many, she is the bravest leader because she has been physically and verbally abused in the National Assembly and yet continues to fight against corruption and injustice. Unfortunately, Venezuelans might not be ready to vote for a woman from the upper class as their president.

Lastly we have Antonio Ledezma who is the governor of the metropolitan area. He has the most years of experience in politics and has been clear in his strategy of working hard for the people while also speaking out against the government.

Both, Maria Corina and Antonio lean towards maintaining the protest on the streets until the president resigns. I follow all four leaders closely, attend the marches or heed their instructions of peaceful protest. Maybe their common strategy is to resist the government from different angles, to give people choices so they are not all accused of a bogus charge and thrown in jail, like Leopoldo.

Me? I waver between leaders and their strategies. I understand the necessity for inclusion, the reality that all the sectors of our society must be duly represented if we are going to rebuild Venezuela to its true potential. I believe we must create opportunities for the lower class to succeed without making them dependent through hand outs. Simultaneously, I want the change to happen now because I find life here, as it is, unsustainable. Everyday people have less… less money, less variety, less safety, less places to visit, less medicines, less friends that stay… all of which translates to less freedom to choose. The other day, as part of a massive demonstration, we were asked to make a sign that stated why we protest, I couldn’t do it that day because I was overwhelmed by the infinite reasons. Today, right now I understand why I do it.

I FIGHT FOR VENEZUELA BECAUSE I BELIEVE SHE IS RICH ENOUGH TO PROVIDE FOR ALL OF US.