For foreigners wondering why Venezuelans are upset about their complaints, keep in mind that you haven't experienced anything I'm about to describe. I'll try to be as explicit as possible, including images and links. I also invite others to share their experiences and other historical events from this dictatorship. Please note that this is a summary; I certainly won't be able to cover everything.
It all began with Chávez staging a coup on February 4, 1992. The official death toll was 32. The coup failed, and all those involved were imprisoned. However, from prison, Chávez orchestrated a second coup. Planes carrying coup plotters flew over Venezuela, bombing the country and causing between 171 and 300 casualties. This second coup failed again, yet Chávez was released years later to participate in the 1998 elections and govern from 1999 onward (by then, socialists were infiltrated everywhere; that's why they staged two coups).
In 2001, there was widespread discontent. A general strike began on December 10, and protests continued until April. Chávez had enacted 49 laws that negatively impacted the population on April 7. In 2002, Chávez began firing some PDVSA workers. By April 11, a march had formed in Caracas, and the Chávez government deployed snipers who opened fire, resulting in what became known as the El Silencio Massacre. On April 12, soldiers rose up against Chávez and detained him at Fort Tiuna, forcing him to resign. However, the following day, sympathetic soldiers brought him back.
Between 2002 and 2003, there was an oil strike. People opposed to the Chávez government, PDVSA workers, brought the entire oil industry to a standstill, partly in response to Chávez's forced layoffs and the 49 laws. On December 6, 2002, protesters in Plaza Francia in Altamira, Caracas, were fired upon. Officially, there were 3 dead and 13 wounded. After all the protests, 15,000 PDVSA workers were laid off—yes, 15,000—many forcibly dismissed by armed soldiers who entered various facilities. From that moment on, PDVSA began to be taken over by Chavismo, leaving run by government supporters with no knowledge of the oil industry.
After the oil strike, Chávez accused RCTV, Venezuela's main television network, of participating in the coup and the protests because it lent its press coverage to document the events. Chávez continued to harass them until, in 2007, he denied them the renewal of their broadcasting license, meaning they could no longer operate. This sparked protests, and on May 27, 2007, RCTV, the leading cultural voice of Venezuelan television, was silenced by Chávez after 53 years on the air, marking the beginning of media censorship. Following this, the channel was replaced by the pro-government TVes, which remains the main source of Chavista propaganda on television.
In 2009, Chávez ordered the imprisonment of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, who had ordered the release of banker Eligio Cedeño. Cedeño had been imprisoned without evidence, and Chávez imprisoned her without a court order, using her as proof that either the justice system was on his side, or he would take action against anyone who opposed him. Afiuni was sent to a regular prison with the inmates she had previously sentenced, where she was subjected to abuse, rape, isolation, torture, and other forms of mistreatment.
In 2013, after Chávez's death, he had stipulated beforehand that Maduro would be in charge, even though he was not the vice president—that position belonged to Diosdado Cabello. Therefore, after Chávez's death, Maduro assumed power illegitimately. Elections were held in 2014, and all indications pointed to a victory for Henrique Capriles Radonski. However, by a very narrow margin, the National Electoral Council (CNE), by then controlled by Chavismo, awarded the victory to Maduro. This sparked the first protests against the Maduro regime. By that time, from the beginning of Chávez's government to the beginning of Maduro's, 206,592 civilians had been killed, either by the government or by organized crime. In these protests, the regime dropped the mask and began using torture, murder, and mass imprisonment, while simultaneously triggering an economic inflation crisis that devalued the bolívar to minuscule levels.
In 2017, another series of protests occurred, not only because of the opposition to Chavismo, but also because of inflation, the exodus, crime and corruption, not forgetting that at that time there was already a food and health crisis, oh yes, and the regime pulled the National Constituent Assembly out of thin air. Inflation had reached around 500% in just three years of Maduro's rule. 81,334 people were victims of violent deaths. The regime employed more force than in 2014: more soldiers, snipers, more people imprisoned, more people forced into exile, and torture became commonplace.
The last mass protests occurred in 2024. The pro-CNE (National Electoral Council) committed another electoral fraud, attempting to disqualify María Corina Machado, then her alternate, and later Edmundo González Urrutia. Despite all this, despite the Venezuelan exodus and Despite the ban on many people abroad voting, and despite attempts by the military and armed civilian groups to seize control of several polling stations, and despite the fact that a significant portion of the young population was not registered with the National Electoral Council (CNE) because it was already perceived as a corrupt institution, Edmundo González Urrutia won with 70% of the votes counted. Imagine if everyone had been able to vote. Even so, the CNE proclaimed Maduro the winner. Thousands of people were imprisoned, including minors, and the so-called "Operation Tun Tun" was implemented, in which regime officials went house to house kidnapping people without warrants, under the pretext of inciting hatred or terrorism. Incidentally, Venezuela has the highest number of terrorism convictions against its own citizens. It is worth mentioning that all of these prisoners were and continue to be tortured; many are missing, and others have died in prison.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTDa3Ui3HNE&pp=ygUbcHJvdGVzdGFzIGRlIHZlbmV6dWVsYSAyMDI0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=seWnX9d-hI4&pp=ygUbcHJvdGVzdGFzIGRlIHZlbmV6dWVsYSAyMDI0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emewit7opj8&pp=ygUbcHJvdGVzdGFzIGRlIHZlbmV6dWVsYSAyMDI0
We have been fighting and dying for decades.
I also want to highlight the following things, although I won't elaborate on them right now: the creation of collectives as a paramilitary apparatus, the extreme poverty that led people to eat stray animals, gang members who murdered people, like the young boys in Caracas, the sale of university degrees, the exodus on foot that claimed the lives of several people, women who were victims of human trafficking because they wanted to leave the country, broken families, the death of education, the takeover of all media outlets, internet censorship, Chavistas who betray their neighbors and relatives, prostitution within the army, the export of narcotics, the silent invasion by Cuba, Russia, and China, the privileges given to Chinese businesses, price gouging, the decline of the transportation system, the guerrillas, the illegal mining in the south of the country, the destruction of the Orinoco basin, the pollution of Lake Maracaibo, police corruption, the government's dealings with criminals, and the mega-gangs. The government's use of evangelical religion and the funding it receives, the increase in witchcraft among the population, the rise in mental illness, the high suicide rate, the miserable pensions of the elderly, and so much more, I'm not even mentioning it.
Armed pro government groups are checking vehicles on the streets of Caracas to identify and arrest those who oppose the dictatorship.
Police in Mérida state announce the arrest of two people for “celebrating the kidnapping of President Maduro”.
Despite this situation, people must continue with their routines. For the past two days, the streets and shops were deserted or closed, but today activities continue as usual.
Besides walking around with your head down because there are armed people in the streets with permission to kill just because, you live with the uncertainty and the constant thought "how long will this last?"
It's all jokes, marketing, and conspiracy theories on the internet, but those who truly experience reality and its consequences are us ordinary people. It doesn't matter the USA, China, or whatever else people argue about online and abroad at the end of the day, the political leaders sit around the same table, having dinner and laughing.
Today I'm going to share a new set of photographs I took in my studio, in this case portrait photographs for a girl's birthday. She had a very interesting idea: the theme of her birthday photographs would be the "burial" of her 20s and the celebration of turning 30.
To carry out the theme, the girl dressed all in black to symbolize the mourning of her 20s, and she also had a cake that said "RIP 20's" and "Hello 30's":
And then her whole family joined the photography:
I took all the photographs with my Canon R8 camera, a 50mm f/2.8 lens, and two light sources.
This part of the session was quite short and fast because we quickly obtained the desired results. In addition to that, the girl brought another completely different change of clothes for the second part of her photography session, but it is so different that I must share it in the next post.
I hope you liked these photographs as much as I did, and thanks for watching!!
#photography #photostr
Today, I want to share a photography session I did in my studio. The girl hired my services because she wanted to take some photographs for her birthday, but she didn't want the typical photos with balloons and cake. The girl opted for a more sober and elegant style.
To achieve that objective, the girl wore two very beautiful dresses, and we started by taking a standing photography:
And then another one in a close up shot:
And then we moved on to take a couple of photographs with the girl seated. I guided her with the poses the entire time to make her feel comfortable and to have a variety of poses:
I approached a little closer and asked if I could take a photography of her dog as a way to break the ice. I spoke with the lady for a while, and it was a very nice interaction:
In the same park, I saw another very beautiful scene, a dad teaching his son to ride a bicycle:
In another part of the city, I saw a little dog tied to a light post. The funny thing is that it was wearing clothes hahaha:
A lady walking with her dog. For me, it is very adorable to see older adults with their pets, because they are like their children:
In Venezuelan cities, it is common to see elderly people sitting outside their houses:
A gentleman walking, wearing a casual hat:
A man buying at a small shop with the typical "symbolism" of bananas hanging outside to indicate that it is a bodega:
I took the following two photographs in the same place:
"Businesses":
A motorcycle taxi driver waiting for clients:
These Jeeps have always been my father's favorites. I wish I could give him one in the future if God allows me:
People exercising, this city is quite sporty!
Reviewing my files, I realized that I still hadn't shared the second part of this photography session, which was so beautiful and interesting. This girl used some incredibly beautiful dresses that looked spectacular on her!
First, we took some standing photographs:
For some reason, her outfit reminded me of Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, the girl looked full of power and pride:
We also took a photography with the girl sitting on the floor:
Then I put a cube on the set, and we took a photography raising the glass as a symbol of celebration for her achievement:
And if you ask, what achievement? Graduating from university:
So, at this point, we started taking a couple of photographs with the graduation cap and gown:
Then with both of her parents:
