Venezuelan opposition resorts to violence for political ends: Analyst

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rally in Caracas on August 27, 2016. (AFP photo)

Press TV has conducted an interview with Caleb Maupin, a political analyst and journalist, and Gloria Gomez, a journalist and founder of Aculco Radio, about opposition leaders in Venezuela pushing for a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro.

Maupin says the Venezuelan opposition seems to be committed to the use of violence to further its political ends even though it is freely allowed to participate in the elections or express its views in the media.

He also mentions the extremist elements in the opposition are seeking to seize the capital city of Caracas and topple the government.

The analyst also argues there is a “big gap” between the opposition and a lot of people who have voted for them.

Maupin also notes most people in Venezuela are “frustrated” with some of the policies that the United Socialist Party has carried out in the country.

However, he believes, this frustration is not a call for US intervention nor is it a desire to go back to the situation the country was in before 1999.

He goes on to say Venezuelans do not want violence or a civil war, adding that they want their country to “remain peaceful.”

“We have a situation where the United States is destabilizing Venezuela, we have an opposition that is engaging in violence to further political ends and we have the elected president of Venezuela trying to hold together the country peacefully and make sure the situation does not destabilize into some civil war,” he states.

Gomez, for her part, believes Venezuela has been destroyed by different ideologies and there needs to be "changes" immediately.

The analyst also thinks there is no “democracy” in the country and people who are living there are “unhappy.”

“Nobody wants to have an American capitalism in Latin America. People want to have free education, freedom, people want democracy but in Venezuela that did not happen,” she says.

Since 2014, Venezuela has been grappling with protests against Maduro who is under fire by critics for his handling of the economy.

The opposition blames Maduro’s Socialist government for the triple-digit inflation as well as shortages of food, medicine and basic goods that have triggered violence and looting.

The president, however, blames the problems on an “economic war” waged by the opposition with a helping hand from Washington aimed at bringing about a coup d’état in the oil-rich country.


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