Venezuelans protest blackouts, lack of water
CARACAS: Angry Venezuelans set up burning barricades near the presidential palace here and in other parts of the country on Sunday in protests over constant power outages and shortages of drinking water in the wake of two major blackouts.
The situation has fuelled frustration with the government of President Nicolas Maduro and frayed nerves as schools and much of the nation’s commerce have been interrupted by problems with public services for nearly three weeks.
Protesters, some carrying rocks and their faces covered, burned tyres and tree trunks along a stretch of downtown Caracas as they demanded Maduro improve the situation.
“We’re here fighting for water and power, we’ve gone twentysome days without water,” said Yofre Gamez, 32, a vendor.
“They put the power on for two hours, then turn it off at night, it came on the next day for half an hour and then it went off again — we’re tired of this.”
A witness heard shots ring out as Gamez spoke.
Demonstrators reported that one woman had been injured by gunfire, which they attributed to pro-government gangs.
Similar protests took place in other parts of the country, including the central state of Carabobo, where demonstrators burned tires and blocked roads, according to witnesses.
Rights group Penal Forum said 12 people were arrested nationwide in protests against public services.
Venezuela suffered a week-long nationwide blackout starting on March 7 that left hospitals unable to attend to the sick and businesses giving away perishable food before it rotted.
The power went out again on March 25 and has been intermittent since.
Maduro, in a televised broadcast on Sunday night, announced a 30-day plan of “load management regime to balance the process of generation and transmission with consumption”, a phrase widely interpreted on social media as power rationing.
He did not offer details on how this would work.
Maduro first mentioned load management last week.
On Sunday, Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said school activities, which were called off for most of last week, would remain suspended.
Business hours would run only until 2pm, he said.
The government has offered a variety of explanations for the blackouts, ranging from Washington-backed cyberattacks to opposition-linked snipers causing fires at the country’s main hydroelectric dam.
Critics insist they are the results of more than a decade of corruption and incompetent management of the power system, which the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez nationalised in 2007.