A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2017 Venezuelan protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Protests against Nicolás Maduro | |||
 .jpg)   Top to bottom, left to right: Julio Borges speaking on 1 April following the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. Millions gather during the Mother of All Marches on Francisco Fajardo Freeway. Paola Ramírez, a demonstrator killed by colectivos on 19 April. Protestors facing National Guard armored vehicles | |||
| Date | 31 March 2017—12 August 2017 (134 days) December 2017 (sporadic) | ||
| Location | |||
| Resulted in |
| ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | 165[8][9][10][11] | ||
| Injuries | 15,000+[12] | ||
| Arrested | 4,848[13] | ||
The 2017 Venezuelan protests were a series of protests occurring throughout Venezuela. Protests began in January 2017 after the arrest of multiple opposition leaders and the cancellation of dialogue between the opposition and Nicolás Maduro's government.
As the tension continued, the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis began in late March when the pro-government Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) dissolved the opposition-led National Assembly, with the intensity of protests increasing greatly throughout Venezuela following the decision.[14][15][16] As April arrived, the protests grew "into the most combative since a wave of unrest in 2014" resulting from the crisis[17] with hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protesting daily through the month and into May.[18] After failing to prevent the July Constituent Assembly election, the opposition and protests largely lost momentum.
Background
Following the death of President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela faced a severe socioeconomic crisis during the presidency of his successor, Nicolás Maduro, as a result of Chávez's policies and Maduro's continuation of them.[19][20][21][22] Due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict price controls,[23][24] civil insurrection in Venezuela culminated in the 2014–17 protests.[25][26]
Protests occurred over the years, with demonstrations occurring in various intensities depending on the crises Venezuelans were facing at the time and the perceived threat of being repressed by authorities.[27][28][29][30]
Due to the discontent with the Bolivarian government, the opposition was elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly for the first time since 1999, following the 2015 parliamentary election.[31] As a result of that election, the lame duck National Assembly, consisting of government officials, filled the TSJ with allies.[31][32]
Into early 2016, the TSJ alleged that voting irregularities occurred in the 2015 parliamentary elections and stripped four lawmakers of their seats, preventing an opposition supermajority in the National Assembly which would be able to challenge President Maduro.[31] The TSJ court then began to approve of multiple actions performed by Maduro and granted him more powers.[31]
After facing years of crisis, the Venezuelan opposition pursued a recall referendum against President Maduro, presenting a petition to the National Electoral Council (CNE) on May 2, 2016.[33] By August 2016, the momentum to recall President Maduro appeared to be progressing as the CNE set a date for the second phase of collecting signatures. Though it made the schedule strenuous, stretching the process into 2017 made it impossible for the opposition to activate new presidential elections.[34]
On 21 October 2016, the CNE suspended the referendum only days before preliminary signature-gatherings were to be held.[35]
The CNE blamed alleged voter fraud as the reason for the cancellation of the referendum.[35] International observers criticized the move, stating that CNE's decision made Maduro look as if he were seeking to rule as a dictator.[36][37][38][39]
Days after the recall movement was cancelled, 1.2 million Venezuelans protested throughout the country against the move, demanding President Maduro to leave office. Caracas protests remained calm while protests in other states resulted in clashes between demonstrators and authorities, leaving one policeman dead, 120 injured and 147 arrested.[40] That day the opposition gave President Maduro a deadline of 3 November 2016 to hold elections, with opposition leader Henrique Capriles stating, "Today we are giving a deadline to the government. I tell the coward who is in Miraflores ... that on 3 November the Venezuelan people are coming to Caracas because we are going to Miraflores".[40]
Days later on 1 November 2016, then National Assembly President and opposition leader Henry Ramos Allup announced the cancellation of the 3 November march to the Miraflores presidential palace, with Vatican-led dialogue between the opposition and the government beginning.[41]
By 7 December 2016, dialogue halted between the two[42] and two months later on 13 January 2017 after talks stalled, the Vatican officially pulled out of the dialogue.[43]
Timeline
Protests were originally much smaller in the early months of 2017 due to the fear of repression.[44] The first large protest to occur in 2017 was on 23 January 2017, with several thousand Venezuelans participating. Following that day of protest, opposition leader Henrique Capriles stated that only surprise protests would occur for the meantime.[44]
The following day, the first surprise demonstration occurred with only hundreds of Venezuelans attending, blocking the Francisco Fajardo highway in both directions holding a sign saying "Elections now", with Venezuelan authorities not being able to respond until an hour later when the protest was peacefully broken up.[45] There were no other surprise protests to follow.
Constitutional crisis
On 29 March 2017, the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis began, with immunity being taken away from opposition parliamentarians by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ), with the TSJ assuming legislative powers of the opposition-controlled National Assembly.[46][47] Days later, the Supreme Court reversed its decision on 1 April, though the opposition argued that the juridic action was still a "coup".[48] Protests following the constitutional crisis grew "into the most combative since a wave of unrest in 2014".[14][15] Weeks later on 14 April 2017, the opposition announced the "Grand March and Great Taking in All States", later known as the "Mother of All Marches", to take place on 19 April to "overflow" Caracas.[49][50]
Mother of All Marches
On 19 April 2017, the "mother of all protests", as it was called by organizers,[51] occurred. The day began with demonstrators gathering around the country at about 10:30 a.m., with Caracas having 26 different routes for the main march to head to the office of the Ombudsman to demonstrate.[52] As the march progressed through Caracas, the National Guard began to block routes and fire tear gas at marchers at 11:50 a.m., with the demonstrators refusing to leave despite the use of force.[52] At about 12:30 p.m., demonstrations by both opposition and pro-government Venezuelans fill Caracas' avenues.[52] Shortly after 12:45 p.m., protesters on the Francisco Fajardo Freeway near Bello Monte begin to flee the area after enduring over an hour of tear gas from authorities, with many leaping into the Guaire River, which is used for sewage drainage, to avoid the gas.[53][54] Near 2:10 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed at a protest.[52]
At about 4:35 p.m., pro-government paramilitaries called colectivos shot and killed Paola Ramírez, a 23-year-old woman who was protesting.[52] Later in the evening, a National Guardsman was killed south of Caracas, the first authority killed in the year's protests, with the day's deaths raising the death toll of the 2017 protests to at least 8 people.[55] By 9:00 p.m., the Penal Forum stated that 521 Venezuelans had been arrested throughout the day, bringing the number of total arrests since the beginning of the year to over 1,000.[56] Several media outlets stated "hundreds of thousands" participated[57] while Central University mathematics professor Ricardo Rios estimated at least 1.2 million protested, which would make it the largest protest in Venezuela's history.[58] According to pollster Meganálisis, 2.5 million Venezuelans protested in Caracas alone, while 6 million protested throughout the country.[2][4][5]
OAS withdrawal
The government began efforts to withdraw from the Organization of American States, a two-year process, on 26 April 2017, after multiple member states called for a special session to discuss Venezuela's crisis.[59]
Following the death of a student the same day, the son of Ombudsman Tarek Saab, Yibram Saab, uploaded a video on YouTube stating that he had protested that night and that "That could've been me!", condemning what he called "the brutal repression by the country's security forces", and pleading to his father saying "Dad, in this moment you have the power to end the injustice that has sunk this country. I ask you as your son and in the name of Venezuela, to whom you serve, that you reflect on the situation and do what you have to do".[60][61][62]
Constituent assembly proposal
On 1 May 2017, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans protested, attempting to march to various government buildings to have their demands met. Police responded to the peaceful marches violently, firing tear gas, with one National Assembly member, Jose Olivares, being struck in the head with a tear gas canister, which led to heavy bleeding. President Maduro announced later that day plans to replace the National Assembly with a communal national assembly and called for the drafting of a new constitution under a handpicked constituent assembly, the third in modern times.
The move by President Maduro would also allow him to stay in power during the interregnum, essentially nullifying the 2018 presidential elections, as the constitutional process would take at least two years.[63][64] According to Reuters, "Maduro's call ... to rewrite the constitution has energized the protest movement".[65]
Hundreds of thousands of people marched on 3 May, denouncing President Maduro's proposed rewrite of the constitution. The clashes between protesters and authorities left more than 300 injured and one dead; in one incident, National Guard VN-4 armoured personnel carriers rammed protesters who were rushing a group of guardsmen. A video went viral of President Maduro dancing on state television while National Guardsmen were seen using tear gas on protesters nearby.[18][66] Reuters again noted that "images of a military vehicle running over a demonstrator ... caused further outrage", with protests continuing.[65]
Opposition officials, on 5 May, draped a large banner down the side of the National Assembly's administrative building high above central Caracas reading "Dictator Maduro".[67] Citizens of La Villa del Rosario burned and tore down a statue of late President Hugo Chávez, an act compared to the destruction of Saddam Hussein's statue in Iraq as well as other instances of statue toppling during times of popular unrest.[68][69]
President Maduro announced a plan of "a military constituency to deepen the Bolivarian military revolution within the very heart of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces" on 8 May, calling for the military to help draft a new constitution with the goal to "strengthen the union" between the military and civilians.[70] On 13 May 2017, President Maduro declared a "State of Emergency and Economic Emergency throughout the national territory" in the Official Gazette N° 6,298, creating the possibility of granting Maduro more decree powers and the power to temporarily suspend some constitutional rights.[71]
On the 50th day of consecutive protests, millions of Venezuelans protested in Caracas on 20 May during the "We Are Millions" march, demanding an end to violent repression and immediate elections.[72] The day resulted in over 120 injured in Caracas alone,[73] while one man was killed in Valera, Trujillo by colectivo members despite nearby police presence.[74]
The same month, the investment bank Goldman Sachs purchased $2.8 billion of PDVSA 2022 bonds from the Central Bank of Venezuela.[75] In its original statement, Goldman stated that "We recognize that the situation is complex and evolving and that Venezuela is in crisis. We agree that life there has to get better, and we made the investment in part because we believe it will.".[76] Venezuelan politicians and protesters in New York opposed to Maduro accused the bank of being of complicit of human rights abuses under the government and declared that the operation would fuel hunger in Venezuela by depriving the government of foreign exchange to import food, leading the securities to be dubbed "hunger bonds."[77] The National Assembly voted to ask the U.S. Congress to investigate the deal, which they called "immoral, opaque, and hypocritical given the socialist government’s anti-Wall Street rhetoric".[76] In a public letter to the bank's chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, the National Assembly president Julio Borges said that "Goldman Sachs’s financial lifeline to the regime will serve to strengthen the brutal repression unleashed against the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans peacefully protesting for political change in the country."[78]
Barinas riots
It is pretty symbolic that the citizens are venting their frustrations on the author of the Bolivarian revolution
Eric Farnsworth, vice president of Council of the Americas[79]
Residents of Barinas – the hometown of President Maduro's predecessor, late President Hugo Chávez – began the day by demonstrating against Maduro's proposed constitutional changes.[80] Following the death of Yorman Alí Bervecia and Jhon Alberto Quintero on 22 May, who were allegedly killed by the National Guard during the protests, citizens of Barinas began to riot.[81] Individuals began to attack state institutions and buildings of the ruling PSUV party, including the local CNE office, the Barinas state PSUV headquarters and the La Concordia police station, where uniforms and firearms were stolen.[80] Residents later turned their attention to the birthplace home of the late President Hugo Chávez, burning his childhood residence.[81] Five statues of Chávez were also destroyed in the area's rioting.[79] Among the chaos in "the cradle of Chavez's revolution",[79] former chavistas were seen gathered and burning government related paraphernalia, denouncing President Maduro as "a tyrant" while chanting that his days were numbered as the leader of Venezuela.[82] As the day concluded, over 50 stores were looted in Barinas, while additional deaths were recorded, with the death toll rising up to six killed as well as reports of hundreds being injured.[80][81][83] Opposition leaders condemned the violence as the Barinas riots overshadowed their official demonstrations surrounding the healthcare of Venezuela that day.[81][84][85]
Helicopter incident
We would never give up, and what couldn't be done with votes, we would do with weapons, we would liberate the fatherland with weapons.
On 27 June 2017, President Maduro stated that if his government fails, he and his supporters would use forces to reestablish the government.[86] That afternoon, a video was released showing men with assault rifles flanking Oscar Pérez, a film actor and investigator of CICPC, Venezuela's investigative agency, stating that "We are nationalists, patriots and institutionalists. This fight is not with the rest of the state forces, it is against the tyranny of this government".[87][88] Hours after the video was released, Pérez is seen piloting a CICPC helicopter over the Supreme Court with a banner on the side reading "350 Liberty", a reference to Article 350 of the constitution which states that "The people of Venezuela ... shall disown any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values, principles and guarantees or encroaches upon human rights".[89] While the helicopter was near the Supreme Court, gunfire was heard in the area.[89] President Maduro stated that a military rebellion had occurred while opposition officials said that the actions were staged so Maduro could justify a crackdown on those who oppose his government and the constituent assembly.[89] National Guardsmen then stormed the National Assembly, assaulting the largely opposition legislative body.[89]
2017 Venezuelan referendum
On 5 July 2017, the National Assembly announced plans of a referendum for Venezuelans to decide whether they agree with the Constituent Assembly election, demanded the military to recognize the National Assembly or demanded immediate general elections.[90] That day, Vice President Tareck El Aissami led government supporters to the Palacio Federal Legislativo, where the National Assembly was later attacked by colectivos.[91]
Days later, the 2017 Venezuelan referendum was held on 16 July, with the opposition stating that about 7.5 million Venezuelans participated in the process, with over 99% voting against the Constituent Assembly, voting for the recognition of the National Assembly and voting for immediate general elections.[92][93]
Trancazos and strikes
Following the rejection of the referendum's results by the government, the opposition announced plans for a "zero hour",[94] planning trancazos, or sit-ins where citizens often congregated in mass on streets to impede city life, and setting dates for general strikes. From 18 to 19 July, trancazos closed the streets of many cities in Venezuela.[95][96] On 20 July, millions of Venezuelans participated in a 24-hour general strike.[97]
2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election
Despite opposition efforts, the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election was held on 30 July 2017. The majority of those elected into the 2017 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela were loyal to the government due to the opposition boycott of the election.[98][99] More than 40 countries condemned the elections,[100][101] and raised concerns of Venezuela turning into a dictatorship.[102][103]
Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council, announced that 8,089,230 persons voted, with a 41.53% turnout[104] though the voting machine company Smartmatic stated that the number of votes were manipulated by at least one million votes[105][106] while Reuters also reported that according to internal CNE documents leaked to the agency, only 3,720,465 votes were cast thirty minutes before polls were expected to close, though polls were open for an additional hour.[107]
Disillusionment of protest movement
On 6 August 2017, about 20 individuals led by fugitive Captain Juan Caguaripano's "41st Brigade" attacked Paramacay Military Base near Valencia, Venezuela and stole weapons from the facility, with many residents of Valencia supporting the rebellion and shouting "freedom" in the streets.[108][109][110] Most members of the attack as well as their leaders were captured days later.[111]
By 8 August, a national trancazo called by the opposition was quickly dispersed and experienced low turnout.[112][113] A march organized for 12 August had only about 1,000 participants, with many Venezuelans stating that they had lost interest in the protest movement due to the fear of repression and because of their anger towards the conflicted opposition, and expressing their disapproval with the opposition's decision to participate in the regional elections.[114]
Following the 2017 Venezuelan regional elections where the opposition only won five of twenty-three governorships, disillusionment with the opposition movement grew, especially after four of five opposition governors elected of Democratic Action decided to be sworn in under the government-led National Constituent Assembly despite promises to never recognize the body.[115]
Christmas protests
Shortly before and after Christmas, Venezuelans throughout the country, with these individual groups numbering no more than fifty, began to gather in groups and protest against the shortages of food and gasoline. Many gas stations throughout the country resorting to having military personnel distribute rationed amounts of gasoline.[116][117]
Protest violence
Deaths
| States and Districts | Number of deaths[8][10][11] |
|---|---|
| Amazonas | 0 |
 Anzoátegui
|
4 |
 Apure
|
0 |
 Aragua
|
3 |
 Barinas
|
10 |
 Bolívar
|
3 |
| 25 | |
 Carabobo
|
21 |
 Cojedes
|
0 |
 Delta Amacuro
|
0 |
 Falcón
|
0 |
 Guárico
|
0 |
 Lara
|
20 |
 Mérida
|
17 |
 Miranda
|
23 |
 Monagas
|
0 |
 Nueva Esparta
|
0 |
 Portuguesa
|
0 |
 Sucre
|
2 |
 Táchira
|
21 |
 Trujillo
|
1 |
 Vargas
|
1 |
 Yaracuy
|
0 |
 Zulia
|
14 |
| Total | 163 |
April
In the first month of protests, April 2017, 33 Venezuelans died as a result of incidents surrounding the protests. A large proportion of the deaths occurred on 20 April 2017, with 16 deaths being attributed to looting occurring in Caracas that evening consisting of thirteen electrocution deaths and three firearm deaths. Venezuelan authorities were the cause of 7 other deaths that month; five firearm deaths, one tear gas canister wound and one asphyxiation from tear gas, while pro-government paramilitary groups known as colectivos, which cooperate with government security forces to repress protesters, were responsible for another 6 deaths, all the result of firearms. Deaths perpetrated by unknown individuals accounted for 4 Venezuelans killed in April; three gunshot wounds and one head injury.[9]
May
In the month of May, a total of 47 Venezuelans died following violence occurring near protests. Unknown perpetrators were the cause of death for 24 Venezuelans; twenty gunshot wounds, one head injury, two electrocutions and one unknown cause of death. Security forces were responsible for 16 deaths; all sixteen deaths attributed to firearms, while colectivos killed 2 individuals; all two resulting from firearms. Accidental and incidental deaths claimed 4 lives; two from an automobile accident with a barricade, two from being struck by a vehicle. Citizens of Barinas shot dead 1 member of the National Guard during the riots in the area in late-May.[9]
June
In June, a total of 25 Venezuelans were killed during the protests. Fifteen deaths were attributed to unknown individuals, three deaths were caused by colectivos with all being gunshot wounds, three were caused by civilians, two were attributed to accidents, two were caused Venezuelan authorities with both being gunshot wounds. The causes of death were seventeen gunshot wound incidents, five incidents where individuals were struck by a vehicle, one death by tear gas asphyxiation, one death by blunt trauma and one lynching.[9] A man who was struck in the head by a tear gas canister in June 2017 later died on 13 February 2018.[11]
July
A total of 58 Venezuelans were killed in the month of July as protests culminated into the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election. During the election day alone on 30 July, 10 individuals died as a result of violent clashes, representing a large number of those killed in the month. Excluding those killed during the 6 August Paramacay Military Base attack, July was the final month in which protesters were killed, as the protests began to dissipate in mid-August.
December
The final death during the 2017 protests occurred on Christmas Eve when an 18 year old pregnant woman was caught in a protest over limited amounts of pork. She was shot and killed by a National Guardsman at the scene who was later arrested.[10]
Government
Amnesty International maintains that the government has a "premeditated policy" to commit violent and lethal acts against protesters, stating that there is "a planned strategy by the government of President Maduro to use violence and illegitimate force against the Venezuelan population to neutralize any criticism".[1]
Torture and abuses
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