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LatinNews Daily - 03 October 2018

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Venezuelan protests deepen

Development: On 2 October Venezuelan public sector workers took to the streets again in nationwide protests in demand of improved salaries and working conditions.

Significance: Any nationwide domestic protest is a cause for concern for the government led by President Nicolás Maduro at the present time because of the risk that it could have a snowball effect.

  • Widespread public disenchantment with the government’s inability to get a handle on hyperinflation, shortages of food and basic goods, scarcity of essential medication, and the collapse of public services has pushed many Venezuelans into desperation, prompting waves of migrants. Many remain cowed by fear of government reprisals - the loss of their jobs or entitlements received through the ‘Carnet de la patria’ cards needed to receive food parcels, pensions, and bonuses - but there is the potential for the current labour conflict to provide the spark for more widespread anti-government protests.
  • The latest protests took place in Caracas, the central state of Carabobo, the southern state of Bolívar, and the western state of Táchira. Protesting teachers denounced the violation of their collective contracts, claiming that their salaries were insufficient because, despite large increases, they were nowhere near keeping pace with inflation.
  • Medical workers complained that, in addition to a lack of medical supplies and essential equipment in hospitals, they had to come to work with toilet paper and drinking water. Steelworkers from the Ferrominera del Orinoco in Bolívar protested that they had not been paid for a month. They vowed to keep demonstrating until they are paid.
  • Some called for President Maduro to resign if his government could not resolve the economic problems afflicting the country.

Looking Ahead: The umbrella political opposition movement Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre (FAVL) is trying to tap into the anger of public sector workers by organising nationwide protests in defence of workers’ rights for 5 October. This will clash with a ‘national march for peace’ in central Caracas called by the head of the national constituent assembly (ANC) and vice president of the ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello.

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