Women in Venezuela march to send a message about country’s political crisis

World Today

Anti-government protesters stage a sit-in blocking the Franciso Fajardo highway during a women’s march against repression in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, May 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

The ongoing political crisis in Venezuela has claimed at least 38 lives.

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations says Washington is concerned about the government’s “violent crackdown.” Over the past month, almost daily demonstrations have resulted in violent and deadly clashes between the opposition and police. Now women in Venezuela are taking a public stand, and marching to send a message.

CGTN’s Juan Carlos Lamas reports from Caracas.

Women of all ages, backgrounds and socio-economic backgrounds gathered in the Venezuelan capital city ready to march and send a message. On one side of the city were women dressed in red to show support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In the wealthy eastern part of Caracas, women dressed in white to show support for the opposition in an event billed as a “women’s march against repression.”

The demonstration was organized by Lilian Tintori – the wife of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was given a long-term prison sentence after the last major wave of street protests three years. Opposition leaders are demanding freedom for political prisoners; calling on the Venezuelan government to open a channel for humanitarian aid so food and medicine can get inside the country; a restoration of the National Assembly’s Constitutional roles; and they want a timeline set for new elections to take place.

President Nicolas Maduro has said opposition demonstrations are aimed at generating chaos in Venezuela, and insists the best way forward is to dissolve the National Assembly and to rewrite the constitution.

The latest protest movement in Venezuela has drawn masses of people into the street nearly every day since March. And, without a political solution, it’s unlikely the demonstrations will slow down anytime soon.


For more on the Venezuelan political crisis, CGTN’s Susan Roberts spoke with Joseph Humire, Executive Director of the Center for a Free Society.