On Saturday March 16, for two hours I joined a massive demonstration of Venezuelans rejecting US policies against their country and leadership. The people in this video are largely excluded by corporate media reporting on Venezuela. They include Caracas' poorest, defiant supporters of the Venezuelan government and Bolivarian project [see: https://venezuelanalysis.com/topic/bolivarian-project] Media would have you believe they are against President Maduro, and that any who show up to such rallies are forced to do so. You decide whether these vivacious, strong, informed people seemed forced to participate. Venezuela has for years been subject to an economic war led by the U.S., and continues to face sanctions after brutal sanctions by the very governments purporting to care about human rights and hunger. https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/

March 2019, when most Western corporate owned media were insisting most stores in Caracas were empty-shelved. At the time, I walked around Caracas noting how most of the shops actually had full shelves. But for skeptics, that wasn't good enough. So, I went with a friend on his motorcycle to Petare, which is generally dubbed the "largest slum in Latin America", in other words a very poor area, where if there were empty shelves you'd think it would be there. We first went to a central hub, filled with food shops, and then up into the hills where in smaller barrios we still kept seeing tables of produce for sale, signs for chicken, cheese, and stalls with full shelves. This is not to say there is not poverty (thank you Western sanctions and economic war on Venezuela), but to highlight that what the media were screaming was patently false. They were painting scenes of chaos that didn't exist. Recall that this was around the time the West was pushing the lie that Guaido was "interim president", which he was/is not. For more on Venezuela, I can't recommend enough Dan Kovalik​'s excellent book, The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil [https://www.amazon.com/dp/151075072X], which gives the needed historical context to the current situation in Venezuela (the US-led economic war and quite overt interference in that country's internal affairs) and surrounding countries where dictatorships and violations of human rights about, but the West and the bought-and-sold media keep hush about it (as with Saudi, israel) because those countries are allies... US is manufacturing a crisis in Venezuela so that there is chaos and 'needed' intervention https://www.rt.com/op-ed/455081-manufactured-crisis-venezuela-us-intervention/ Venezuela isn't Syria… but America’s war tactics are the same https://www.rt.com/op-ed/459333-syria-venezuela-same-tactics-america/ Yesterday in Petare, largest barrio in Latin America (& one of poorest in Caracas), I saw not-starving ppl purchasing similar vegs, plus meats, walking like normal ppl, not like a "crisis". Media is lying about a humanitarian crisis. Same media that doesn't care about Yemen. https://twitter.com/EvaKBartlett/status/1111409230043439111

From March 2019: Message from a Venezuelan man in the mountaintop community of (Urbanismo) Ciudad Mariche. Excerpts include: "We are Venezuelan people, we are not the government. We are poor people, but we are proud, we have dignity. We are, at this moment, fighting against Imperialism. Against rich people that want our country, that want us as slaves. That want our oil, our water. But we will win. Today, it's Venezuela. Yesterday, Palestine, Syria, Libya... And in this part of the world its Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua... Imperialism is our common enemy. We're asking you for your solidarity, your compassion, for our people, our families. We're not starving. We have many general problems, but not starving. We're learning how to prepare food differently, but this is not a humanitarian crisis. The rich people, and the governments of the United States and other nations, want to tell everybody that we are starving, we are dying in the streets, we are being oppressed by our government. But we've never been more free than now, in spite of all the problems we do have. There are things that could be better. But we are sure that before it was worse, before we were treated like nothing, we were treated only as workers, that was it. Say to your governments, this isn't a fight against Maduro, this is a fight against a people that are trying to be free."

On March 30, I joined hundreds of members of a motorcycle-taxi union colectivo driving their motorcycles through and around Caracas in a show of support for their country and defiance against foreign intervention. These were women and men making a statement with their physical presence: they would not allow their country to be attacked, from within or without. One of the organizers, acutely aware of how colectivos are portrayed, told me, “We are not terrorists, the terrorists have come with that lackey opposition,” and went on to say that governments bring terrorism to Venezuela. Another man at the motorcycle demonstration said: “We are suffering because of terrorism that has been implanted through a US puppet named Juan Guaidó. We say to you Guaidó and we say to you Trump: You took away our water, you took away the light, but you ignited our soul, and we are determined to defend the country with our lives if it is necessary.'” The same bikers later joined up with the tens of thousands of Venezuelan civilians who took to the streets in a festive show of support for President Maduro. Two weeks prior, on March 16, I'd walked for a few hours in another such mass demonstration, filming demonstrators, hearing their opinions on the non-president Guaido, on their support for Maduro, and on their refusal to see their Bolivarian project be destroyed. [https://odysee.com/@EvaKareneBartlett:9/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity:6?r=EymDGnAtYEjvNCAh13tU3WL6QWGjETBs&lid=1e213e88fef5948f7c2faafebe20bf423242a37b ] https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/

I filmed these scenes on March 10, but until now have been too busy and also lacking good enough internet to upload. My objective in filming is not to say there is no poverty in Venezuela, nor to imply there is no hunger or shortages anywhere. However, when corporate media is flat out saying shelves are empty all over Caracas and the city is in crisis, well this is false. The scenes I'm seeing are much like I saw in 2010. I know there are differences since then and now, of course, but there isn't the pandemonium MSM is attempting to claim is happening here. Also, this is not a wealthy area of Caracas, its perhaps lower middle class. I'll film the wealthy areas where typically opposition live in coming days. Further, in the days since filming this, I have had the opportunity to visit organized communities growing massive amounts of produce, also breeding rabbits (apparently a high source of protein)...and also one of the cities urban garden initiatives. I'll upload more on that when time allows, but for now, day 1, no "crisis", but people were dealing with the effects of the nation wide power outage, one believed most likely due to US acts of sabotage on the electricity grid. Articles related to that belief: http://misionverdad.com/MV-IN-ENGLISH/venezuela-under-attack-7-notes-on-electric-shock-special-report https://consortiumnews.com/2019/03/12/us-regime-change-blueprint-proposed-venezuelan-electricity-blackouts-as-watershed-event/ Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

I filmed these scenes on March 15, but until now have been too busy and also lacking good enough internet to upload. My objective in filming is not to say there is no poverty in Venezuela, nor to imply there is no hunger or shortages anywhere. However, when corporate media is flat out saying shelves are empty all over Caracas and the city is in crisis, well this is false. The scenes I'm seeing are much like I saw in 2010. I know there are differences since then and now, of course, but there isn't the pandemonium MSM is attempting to claim is happening here. Also, this is not a wealthy area of Caracas, its perhaps lower middle class. I'll film the wealthy areas where typically opposition live in coming days. Further, in the days since filming this, power has fully returned to Caracas and most of Venezuela, metro is running, things are as they were before the power cuts. I have had the opportunity to visit organized communities growing massive amounts of produce, also breeding rabbits (apparently a high source of protein)...and also one of the cities urban garden initiatives. I'll upload more on that when time allows, but for now, day 1, no "crisis", but people were dealing with the effects of the nation wide power outage, one believed most likely due to US acts of sabotage on the electricity grid. Articles related to that: http://misionverdad.com/MV-IN-ENGLISH/venezuela-under-attack-7-notes-on-electric-shock-special-report https://consortiumnews.com/2019/03/12/us-regime-change-blueprint-proposed-venezuelan-electricity-blackouts-as-watershed-event/ March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

On March 18, opposition/supporters said they'd march on the National Assembly. A local journalist said their intent was to create & film a provocation while the UN's HR commission people are still here. I only saw two handfuls of people who seemed to be opposition (well dressed, expensive jewellery), not huge numbers that would qualify as a march. In any case, if there was an intent to create a scene of violence, they didn't have the chance. Venezuelan civilians came out in masses to defend the area and keep the peace. Opposition media is calling them "armed colectivos", implying they are paid thugs. These are Venezuelan people, definitely from the poor sectors of society, defending their country. To listen to them speak, their political knowledge, you'd cringe (if you don't already) at the vacuous rhetoric of western newsreaders. March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

During a pro-Venezuela, anti-Imperialist march, I asked Paul Dobson of Venezuelanalysis.com to speak briefly on corporate media/opposition's attack on colectivos. "Colectivo means collective, an expression of the organized community, incl workers, women's, ecological, pensioners..." March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

Jaskeherry is the head of a colectivos in Caracas. I asked how his community got through the power outage earlier in March. March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 31 (2019), I spent over an hour with a Venezuelan journalist, Ricardo González, talking with people who had come to Waraira Repano mountainside to collect clean spring water. In spite of the media hype that Venezuela is in a state of crisis, you can see people calmly waiting for their opportunity to fill up water jugs, kids wading in the water, people joking, also people frustrated as to be expected under such exhausting circumstances. You can also hear a variety of opinions here. It's interesting that those who spoke in a pro-government stance seem to be politically aware of US machinations against Venezuela, which is something I've encountered among many of the poorest I've been meeting in my last few weeks here, moving around Caracas' poorest areas. March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 31 (2019), I spent over an hour with a Venezuelan journalist, Ricardo González, talking with people who had come to Waraira Repano mountainside to collect clean spring water. In spite of the media hype that Venezuela is in a state of crisis, you can see people calmly waiting for their opportunity to fill up water jugs, kids wading in the water, people joking, also people frustrated as to be expected under such exhausting circumstances. You can also hear a variety of opinions here. It's interesting that those who spoke in a pro-government stance seem to be politically aware of US machinations against Venezuela, which is something I've encountered among many of the poorest I've been meeting in my last few weeks here, moving around Caracas' poorest areas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

(2019) In March, one of the leaders of a youth collective in Caracas explained the importance of the space to the community.

In 2006, the "Bolivar 1" urban agriculture plot was inaugurated by former president Hugo Chavez who, according to the Ministry of Urban Agriculture, had spent time in New York and was impressed by the urban agriculture he'd seen there and prospects for improving food security. The Ministry of Urban Agriculture was created three years ago, in 2016. Their goal is to provide 50% of the food needs ultimately, 25% by the end of this year. Given the dire effects of the US (and Canada) economic war and sanctions against Venezuela, this initiative is needed. One of the youths on the plot, from a nearby housing mission, explained: "We're about 20 young people working here, from the Robert Serra mission. We give them technical training, but also political training, so they understand why we're doing this. The political side of things is also part of what's going on here. The idea here is creating some independence, so we don't have to depend on importing food any more, especially in the war context we're now in.” Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

On March 11, I took a walk around Plaza Bolivar, Caracas, with Paul Dobson of Venezuelanalysis.com. He explained that some of the buildings in this beautiful square had been abandoned, that the government restored them, turning them into theatres, with a very cheap entrance fee, providing cultural activities. I asked about a sign I saw about Wifi, he said normally it was working but due to the power outage not that day. Life was as I remembered it from 2010, perhaps fewer people since the metro wasn't running, but otherwise much the same. I returned another evening with a friend and the plaza was even busier, kids playing, adults talking. That friend said every time he'd been there random people would come up to him and without introduction start in with their political views. On March 11, as we walked from the square, we came across a group of people chanting 'long live Maduro' to a tv journalist from Catia tv, a poor urban sector of Caracas. Excerpts of what they were saying to the camera: Woman: “We didn't vote for you, Guaido. We're not a North American colony. We're not Colombia. Respect Venezuela. The US wants to steal our resources. Trump, stop fucking us over.” Man: “Our president, Nicolas Maduro, the constitutional president of Venezuela, should be hard against Guaido. He should be arrested for violating the constitution. We in Venezuela will solve our own problems.” Other woman, passionately saying President Maduro needs to be tougher, Guaido and the US backers are ruining the country. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

In Catia, western Caracas, a barrio of over 1 million people, mainly supporters of Chavez and and now overwhelmingly of President Maduro. In the 1980s, people living here weren't even on the map of public planning agency, so they didn't get any public services, no water, no electricity, no medical services. That changed under Chavez. Poverty is still a major issue in Venezuela, prime factors being the US long economic war, and sanctions, against the country, but also the practises of opposition supporting suppliers, jacked up food prices, hyperinflation. Visiting the Fabricio Ojeda commune, I met Venezuelans enthusiastically talking about their rabbit breeding project aimed at enabling households to be self-sufficient in affordable proteins as well as cash, and their array of outdoor beds and plastic roofed greenhouses. In 2016, they produced 17 tons, sold in the community at between 30-50% lower than average market price. A spokesperson of the commune explained: “This was built in 2011. Everything produced here goes to the community. So far this year, we've already produced 2 tons of food, in spite of some difficulties..." Another spokesperson: "All this is thanks to the local commune. We're trying to achieve self sustainability of this produce, for the community. This is what we're doing against the economic war.”

In case that title is too elusive, as I explain in my video, the Univision anchor stated repeated he was 'near', 'close to', 'minutes from' Venezuela's presidential palace. But he was in a wealthy eastern Caracas district, roughly 7 km away when he filmed the clip in question. I went to that district, to film it and show how he lied. Why did he feel the need to repeatedly lie and claim he was 'minutes from' Miraflores? Ramos is just one of many in international media fabricating the notion there is a 'humanitarian crisis' in Venezuela. There is indeed a long and sustained US-led economic war against Venezuela, but Ramos won't address that. Instead, he fabricates his location and perhaps the clip itself. The latter I cannot prove, but the former, yes. This is now my 12th day in Caracas, and I haven't seen the signs of a 'humanitarian crisis'. The media is trying to persuade people of this in order to support yet another immoral US intervention, this time in Venezuela. Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

On March 17, Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, met with the US Peace Council delegation for over an hour, speaking on issues related to the recent power outage, how the Venezuelan people responded, and the US draconian policies against Venezuela. I filmed around 10 minutes of our over hour long meeting. What President Maduro had to say about US policies against, and obsession with, Venezuela is accurate, and reminds me of their same grotesque policies and propaganda against Syria, Libya, Iraq, Cuba... Western corporate media will never allow leaders of the nations the US is targeting to speak freely, because that might allow a Western audience to think for themselves, based on the leader's words and not on corporate media's propaganda. President Maduro on the March 7 power outage: "What they had in mind was on the fifth day to generate violence in the streets and assault the presidential palace. And in the midst of the chaos, they would call upon US troops to enter the country to re-establish the peace. The perfect plan. However, they didn't expect we would respond the way we did. The first response was peace in the country and the consciousness of our people. The Venezuelan People Do Not Want Violence or Foreign military intervention. The Venezuelan people are very proud of their national independence." On US Imperialism: "This is all a result of the extremist political policies of the Trump administration. So far, they have undertaken a failed and extremist policies against Venezuela. We are not a threat to the US. We have the largest certified oil reserves on the earth. And we are currently certifying the largest gold reserve. We have the fourth largest gas reserve on earth. Soon, we're going to certify the largest diamond reserve as well. On top of iron, aluminum, and water reserves. We have our own native political project, whose source of inspiration is Bolivar. And I think that this is the most irritating factor for the extremists currently ruling in the White House. Because they are used to giving orders and being obeyed. We refuse to obey, we will never obey." "This is not about Maduro. This is about a country, a project—an historic project. Whether Maduro is sitting here or not, the project will go on. It is not about Maduro, it is about the people." As one the US Peace Council delegation co-leaders, Ajamu Baraka, wrote: "For the collaborating Western imperialist left, I guess I will now be a "Maduroist" for meeting with him last week at the presidential palace. But understand, it is only among the infantilized consciousness of Westerners that politics gets reduced to personalities. The people of Venezuela are clear that they are defending a process that goes beyond any individual." Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

The San Agustín – Parque Central line was one of the first cable cars in Caracas, built at time of Hugo Chavez (2010), purely for transportation for the people who live in the barrios. It serves four stations between hilltop barrios. Before the cable car, people living in these barrios took 3 or 4 buses, taking as many hours, to go down into the city, or walked down—impossible for disabled, elderly, pregnant women—or would simply just not come down at all for extended periods. Integrated into the metro system, this is an effectively free system of transportation (I went on the metro a number of times and never saw anyone buying tickets, nor ticket vendors). Paul Dobson (Venezuelanalysis): “For a lot of people it's free; for those who pay, it's a tiny price—much less than a cup of coffee.”

April 26, 2019 Last night, I gave a talk in Toronto on some of what I'd seen in Venezuela, March-April, sharing photos and clips--with an emphasis of allowing people to hear voices our media generally silences or pretends don't exist. In Q & A, the issue of discrimination and racism in Venezuela was raised. This eloquent Venezuelan musician replied to the question so articulately, and disturbingly, that I asked him to re-address it on camera after the event. Do listen to his words not only on the racism that still exists (not only in Venezuela but in media portrayal of Venezuelans), that in the 80s there actually was a crisis, unlike today, and that the people won't let their revolution end. "In 1999, for the 1st time every in any country in South America, a law was passed to not discriminate against people of colour. People that never had a voice now have one and will never give it up again. You can go to the remotest area in my country and everybody can read. Everybody knows their rights and knows that their voice counts." "In Venezuela, its a racism that's very alive, but hidden under class status. When you come to Canada, you just don't see Venezuelans that look like me, at all. Or even if you go to the States, anywhere you go, you're not gonna see Venezuelans that look like me." ... "What the Canadian public, the American public and the international community are watching is a huge Hollywood show." "I have a challenge for anyone in the opposition to simply answer one question: What would they do different? What is their plan? If they're planning to go back to those great old days (sarcasm), the people are not having it. Two million militias, old people, young people, everybody knows what the United States is doing. My mother is 70, she's about to join the militia!" Related: https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

March 2019, Caracas. Paul has been living in Venezuela for 14 years and has intimate knowledge of the country, having lived and worked in various regions from southeast to the west. He has connections with indigenous and civil society groups and has a deep understanding of the economic, social, political and cultural realities of Venezuela. I interviewed him on Venezuela Analaysis, an independent English-language news site which began in 2002 and has provided needed covered of events in Venezuela. Following are some of Paul's recent articles/commentaries on Venezuela: -Venezuela: A Diplomatic Coup? VA’s on-the-ground journalist Paul Dobson explains why Guaido’s attempted coup has had next to no impact within Venezuela. https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14317 *More here: https://venezuelanalysis.com/search?keyword=Paul+Dobson&keyword_op=AND&sort_by=created https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/

In Caracas, I spoke with Canary writer, John McEvoy, who spent two weeks living with a colectivo (collective) leader. He speaks of the vilification of colectivos, and how they and Venezuelan people in general came together to help one another during the electricity blackouts. March 2019, Caracas. https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/31/us-is-manufacturing-a-crisis-in-venezuela-so-that-there-is-chaos-and-needed-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/march-16-demonstration-of-solidarity-with-venezuelan-government-and-against-imperialism/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/03/25/president-maduro-the-venezuelan-people-do-not-want-violence-or-foreign-military-intervention/ https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2019/04/04/venezuelans-calmly-helped-one-another-during-manufactured-electricity-crisis/