Venezuelan students continue to seize the nation's attention in the second week of their protests of the closure on May 27 by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela's most popular TV station.
This past week saw the students hold their biggest protest yet on Wednesday, whose march culminated in the delivery of a letter to the Attorney General. On Thursday, a student representative delivered a speech to the National Assembly.
The speech at around 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon by Mr. Douglas Barrios, an economics major at Metropolitan University, was at pains to claim that the students' protests were not in the service of any political party or partisan interest, either domestic or foreign.
In Barrios' words, "We are on the streets making politics without politicians, forging a daily fight in the name of our nation, and safeguarding the interests of the entire society."
Barrios identified the goal of the students' protests as being "freedom" and their opposition as being to "dictatorship." He emphasized the need for national reconciliation, and insisted the students would adhere to non-violence.
Visit to the Attorney General
On Wednesday afternoon at around 2 p.m. Mr. Antonio Paris, the rector of Central University, presented to Mr. Isaias Rodriguez, the attorney general of Venezuela, a letter that described the students' protests in terms consistent with Barrios's speech. But the letter added one important element: University autonomy.
Written by Paris, the letter was signed by the rectors of three other major universities: Simon Bolivar University, Catholic University, and Metropolitan University.
It defends the legality of the students' protests, and notes that "the University can't be indifferent to the official decisions that have left freedom of expression at risk and that puts at risk the fundamental principles of democracy."
The letter then goes on to say "the principle of autonomy is the cardinal factor of academic life, that comes from a tradition long before the state, that is today assumed as a human right and a fundamental to academic life."
On May 24, three days before the closure of RCTV, Chavez had announced that he would end the autonomy of Central University.
That university predates democracy in Venezuela. According to long-standing tradition in Venezuela, Central University, which is very large, functions almost like an independent city.
Venezuelan police have no powers there, and discussion and debate inside the precincts of Central University has been untrammeled, even if restrictions have been placed in the rest of Venezuela on freedom of speech.
For this reason Central University has served as an incubator for past democratic movements in Venezuela.
Chavez's threat to end the university's autonomy is said by Miguel, a chemistry student, to have "awakened" the students and primed them to protest. The closure of RCTV was the trigger.
Both the threat to end Central University's autonomy and the closure of the TV station are part of a pattern of actions by Chavez in which he has one by one closed or nationalized institutions that might be independent of him.
In addition, both actions point to the continued strengthening of Chavez's control over what may or may not be said in Venezuela. Apart from the very weak station Globovision, no other TV station other than RCTV criticized Chavez. Since the protests began on May 27, Chavez has also threatened to close Globovision, which, if done, would eliminate the last independent voice in Venezuelan TV.
Miguel says that students are concerned that Chavez wishes to transform Venezuela's universities into institutions that indoctrinate in Chavez's ideology, what Miguel calls "a brainwashing education."
Huge Protests
The passions aroused by these threats to freedom of speech very quickly lead to the large student demonstrations, numbering tens of thousands of students, that began on May 27.
Wednesday's demonstration, however, included students, teachers, and staff from every Venezuelan university.
The Caracas police are not releasing crowd estimates, and neither are the pro-Chavez media. Miguel, who took part in the march, believes it had around 100,000 people. Laura, a high school teacher who was present, noted that it required 40 minutes to an hour for the marchers, who filled the entire street, to pass.
Many of the students from outside Caracas had to struggle to join the demonstration. Large buses filled with Chavez supporters intercepted car loads of students at toll booths.
The students were not allowed by these buses to drive any further toward Caracas. Not allowed to drive, they got out and walked, and joined the demonstration in the afternoon.
Students have told the Epoch Times that many motorists stopped and gave the stranded students lifts into Caracas. Malury is a native of Venezuela now living in Florida who works in computer graphics and who has stayed in close touch with friends and family across Venezuela involved in the protests. She says that this action was in fact very significant: "Because of the violence in Venezuela, no one gives anybody a ride. You might get killed. That the people did this shows how much support the students have."
No Debate
Barrios was one of about 15 student leaders who visited the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon. They also experienced the support of the Venezuelan people.
According to Malury, in Venezuela, if you do not agree with something you make a loud sound. In the case of the protestors, such loud noises have been a form of support. Laura says that afternoon the entire city was filled with car horns blaring as the 15 students with their supporters walked through Caracas.
Inside the National Assembly matters were different, though. The assembly is dominated by Chavez, and 10 pro-Chavez students were said to be awaiting the 15 protesting University leaders when they arrived.
Members of the assembly called loudly for a debate, using terms like "imperialist" or "American puppet" to describe the students. The protesters had anticipated this would be a hostile venue, and had prepared a bit of stagecraft. They arrived wearing the red t-shirts typical of Chavez supporters.
After refusing the debate, Barrios is reported by the Web site El Universal to have said "We dream of being taken into account without wearing a uniform." He then took off his red t-shirt, and the other protesters did so as well. He then said, "Now, we are leaving, for now."
According to Miguel, outside the National Assembly building pro-Chavez supporters greeted the 15 protesters with a shower of rocks and bottles.
According to El Universal, the students later offered to debate their opponents at a University or on the street, but not in a closed, hostile venue like the assembly.
Meanwhile, Chavez allowed himself what is called in Venezuela a "cadena": He commandeered the TV stations to broadcast Chavez speaking for four hours straight. He thus assured there would be no chance for any discussion on TV of the students' exploits at the National Assembly.
Courage
So far, the students have persisted in protesting the closure of RCTV on a daily basis in spite of suffering beatings, water cannon, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
Sometimes the intimidation is very personal. Mr. Yon Goicochea had been one of the members of the organizing committee for the protests and a spokesman for the students. This week he revealed the pressure that has been exerted on him in a leaflet distributed in Caracas.
His father is serving a sentence in prison for having killed an intruder into the family's home two years ago. According to the leaflet, first, his father called him from prison to tell Goicochea that conditions in the prison had been become more difficult since Goicochea had begun speaking out for the students.
Then, the Vice President of Venezuela Mr. Jorge Rodriguez contacted Goicochea and offered a deal: If the protests ended, his father would be freed.
Goicochea stopped performing as spokesperson, but has also refused to try to end the protests.
Asked why the Venezuelan students have shown such courage in opposing Chavez, Miguel says, "We students have awakened from our sleep, we have been catatonic for some time, and this is because we hadn't been threatened."
Malury says, "In Venezuela, we see so much violence. It is nothing to kill a person. And we have seen so much injustice under Chavez. The students have a feeling there is nothing [left] to lose."
When it is pointed out to her that the students seem very idealistic, she says, "That is right. There is also hope now."
On Sunday there will be an all-female protest.
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