Venezuelan students start a 20-day march across the country to reject Maduro’s regime and demand a decent life

Venezuelan students began this Saturday a march from various states of the country that they hope to conclude on June 24 in Caracas, in order to show their rejection of the government of Nicolás Maduro and to demand the “freedom” of the country, the end of the crisis and a “decent life”.

On the march, called “Route through Venezuela” (#RutaXVzla)In addition, various civil society organizations participate, depending on the promoters, including various associations from different sectors.

The appeal, led by the Confederation of Students of Venezuela (CONFEV), it was announced on March 18 to start on April 19, but was then postponed until today, for “organizational reasons”.

“The students are going to go from the interior of the country to Caracas, to the capital, and we are going to demand a life of dignity for each of us”, Autonomous Universities spokesperson Yeissel Pérez said at the March meeting, in which the activity was announced.

At the moment, it is unclear how they plan to circumvent the mobility restrictions typical of the quarantine that governs Venezuela to stop the contagion of covid-19, as well as the permanent checks of the state security forces.

The spokesperson for the country’s private universities, Terry Villanueva, asked the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Chilean Michelle Bachelet – as well as the international community -, when launching the appeal , be attentive to these mobilizations to ensure that the Venezuelan authorities do not seek to prevent them. “We warn the regime and, in particular, Nicolás Maduro, that if they try to silence or suppress us, they will be responsible for our integrity,” added Villanueva.

Pérez said on Saturday that the situation the country is going through is “life or death” and is suffered by all Venezuelans.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó supported the call for mobilization launched by the students and offered them his support.

Venezuela has been going through the worst political and economic crisis in its modern history for more than five years, resulting in high inflation and the emigration of more than five million people.

The regime attributes this situation to the blockade generated by the sanctions of the United States and other countries against Venezuela, despite the fact that the crisis began years before the economic fines, which date from 2017, were imposed.

The sanctions imposed on previous dates were applied exclusively to certain Chavismo officials and leaders in a private capacity, without affecting the country’s economy.

However, the collapse of state-owned oil company PDVSA, one of the country’s major sources of wealth for decades, began in 2014, three years before economic sanctions were imposed on Venezuela.

With information from the EFE

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