YOU BEAT FASCISM BY COVERING ALL YOUR FRONTS! EVEN THE POOR ONES! AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY IN VENEZUELA AFTER ALL THE VIOLENCE! CAN WE GET ALONG?? REUTERS: Venezuela slums shun protests for community work - by Brian Ellsworth Opposition activists in the slums of eastern Caracas hope to unseat President Nicolas Maduro, but not by blocking streets or burning tires. They plan to build parks and fix roads to show that the opposition can do more for poor neighbourhoods than the ruling socialists. The capitals slums have seen hardly a trace of the smouldering barricades and violent demonstrations that have engulfed middle-class areas for over a month in the South American OPEC nations worst unrest for a decade. In the sprawling Petare slum, a hillside maze of red-brick homes and humble shacks that was once a stronghold of support for late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, opposition organizers say the rock-throwers are missing the point. We dont want violence or blocked streets, thats not how were going to get rid of this president, said Junior Pantoja, a municipal councilman who works in Petare with opposition party Justice First. Weve won over more chavistas than you can imagine. How? By working. Thats more effective than marching. Petare, made up of hundreds of neighbourhoods that run from groups of zinc shacks to humble but ornate homes, has been an example of how the opposition can use clear-headed public policy to challenge the government even in poor areas. An opposition mayor won the district in 2008 by tapping into discontent with the socialist incumbent and consolidated support by paying attention to problems in poor communities. Many poor Venezuelans say they support peaceful demonstrations against soaring inflation and chronic product shortages. But they also say protests have intruded on their daily lives and are doing little to weaken Maduro. Guevara said that despite being an ardent Maduro supporter he backs opposition mayor Carlos Ocariz because he has worked to fix street lamps, collect garbage and improve roads. Though protests have unleashed partisan animosity in middle-class areas, slums such as Petare are often models of coexistence where neighbours treat political differences as no more significant than being fans of rival sports teams. CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE! uk.reuters/article/2014/03/19/uk-venezuela-protests-slums-idUKBREA2I0NG20140319
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 22:19:40 +0000
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