“People are queuing for bread from two blocks away”
Venezuelan photographer explains underexposed crises in Venezuela
Citizens in the city of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, have been protesting now for more than sixty days straight. More than sixty people have been killed throughout these protests, demonstrators have been sent to military prisons, people from the press abused, participants attacked.
Betty Laura Zapata, a Venezuelan photographer based in London, went back to her country to delve into the economic, political and humanitarian crisis Venezuela is currently facing, to raise awareness on an international scale regarding what is happening. The Malta Independent spoke to her about the situation and her personal viewpoint towards it.
“As a journalist, although I live in London, I have always followed what is happening with social issues in my country,” she told this newspaper. “With the protest so big, I thought that it was different this time, people are finally reacting, something is happening every day. I felt I needed to be there,” she said. “I want to show another angle to the story, to more of an international network, I want to show why the protest is happening.”
Aljazeera reports that in the past weeks, demonstrations have turned more violent, as people feel their president, Nicolas Maduro, is moving more and more towards a dictatorship, and are asking for his resignation.
“People are tired of the government. There is also a huge economic and humanitarian crisis,” Betty says.
“Scarcity of medicines is probably one of the biggest concerns. It is so sad to see people die because they do not have medicine or cannot afford it, and people cannot find the treatment they need in order to be cured.”
Betty explains how because of the economic crisis, people are still queuing for hours in front of supermarkets for the basic food products; coffee, sugar, bread. “You will see people queuing to buy a loaf of bread from two blocks away,” she says, adding that inflation increased by about 700% in just one year.
Of late, the President is succeeding in his plan for the creation of a popular assembly to rewrite the constitution, subsequently receiving uproar from the opposition; not wanting a ‘fraudulent Madurist constitution’, according to a tweet by the Opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
Protests have been going on for years, but have reached a climatic intensity of late, beginning when Venezuela’s Supreme Court magistrates, aligned with the socialist President Nicolas Maduro, had ordered that it will rule the legislative powers of the Congress, which is led by the opposition. The opposition parties slammed this as an attempt to construct a dictatorship leadership.
Protestors are taking to the streets in all big cities around the country, whilst remaining constant in the country’s capital. “The opposition groups are going to the centre of Caracas every day trying to denounce something in the government offices,” Betty said. “And every day police are waiting there for the march, with tear gas and glass marbles as weapons to try and stop the demonstrators.”
Betty explains that in some cities, protests stopped as many young protesters were being taken to military prisons, intimidating people to protest in the streets.
Further intimidation is being inflicted on the press; journalists and photographers. Betty tells how the press are being treated in a violent manner. “Every time we go to the streets we have to cover ourselves in helmets and bulletproof vests and jackets, there has been a lot of theft of equipment.
“It is supposed to be that press is safe in these countries, but every time we go out we have to stay in groups; there is no respect for the press anymore.”
As a photographer and journalist, Betty is trying to gain the perspective of people living in slums and struggling to live, however, she explains that people are afraid to talk and denounce things that are happening as many are employed by the government. “They are government employees and so feel that if they talk they may lose their jobs and benefits,” she says.
The economic crisis has now been upon Venezuelan shores for the past three years, with record levels of crime and poverty. Needless to say, the President’s supporters have decreased drastically over these years.
When asked whether President Maduro has many supporters, she said, “the government say that they still have many supports, but in their marches there are not filled with as many people as there used to be, and they allegedly bring people from other cities so it seems like they have more supporters, but videos show that they do not have as many as they used to.”
The term of presidents in Venezuela lasts six years. “There is an election in two years but the people do not want to wait that long with the severity of the crisis,” she said.
“In the middle of the six year term people have the right to ask for a referendum,” she said, “and we tried to do that last year but, because of corruption, authorities said that there weren’t enough requirements of what was being asked for.”
The opposition fighting the government is a coalition of various parties, represented mainly by the Democratic Unity Roundtable. The coalition has received criticism both internally and externally.
Instagram: @bettylaurazq Website: www.bettylaurazapata.com