Today, after much waiting, the educators of Venezuela called for a national day of protest. They demand better salaries, ... That's pretty much it. Their end-of-school-year/vacation bonus (which used to be a lifesaver for most workers and allowed anyone to buy furniture, remodel houses, buy cars, or travel) is now a laughable amount of money paid in tiny fragments.
What does the revolutionary regime does every time workers try to protest? They call for a counter-protest and call it a support parade: a jolly celebration of eternal chavez-lovers who are now maduro-lovers and who testify about the goodness of the revolution.
Today was a dentist day, which usually gets me on edge. I had to take my laptop to work on a doc that was due in a few hours; on top of that, after two hours getting two teeth drilled, I ran into this sheep parade.
No suffering is enough for the stubborn will of a masochist, and here we have plenty of them. It is very depressing, after all we've been through, to see hundreds of people of all ages marching in defense of the very system that turned them into mendicants.
As I walked through the crowd on my way home, I wondered how many of those supporters of the revolution had appealed to family members, friends, and strangers' generosity after facing a health issue. These days, even people who we might think are well-off or relatively comfortable, launch charity fundraising campaigns because after the revolution destroyed our health system only the very rich can afford any serious health issue. The average person may not be able to afford the basic treatment for non-life threatening contingencies. Very few people can afford insurance these days and hospitals lack everything.
However, it is a fact that nothing will deter their fanatic support or their fear-driven genuflection.
I did not have the chance to see the march of the educators who were protesting. I thing they still do not get is that a) they will not get anything from this regime, and b) to receive the salary-crumps This one controlled the main areas of the city where the other one was supposed to walk. That's one of the many methods these regimes use to invisibilize the dissenters. Who march in favor of such a regime: cowards, bullies, ignorant puppets, lazy people who are content with receiving a couple of dollars a day without having to actually work. They are the new minute-men, ready to go to hell if necessary on behalf of the revolution.
The other group that is marching is the new generation of teachers who have been promised the posts that will be left vacant if the professional ones finally decide to quit.
They may not have the qualifications, but who cares!
That's the next step in the demoralization process of Venezuela.
Colombia had its change to the left today. We'll be hearing a lot from them in the next months. Twenty years of warnings did nothing. Two million of exiles meant nothing. Let's watch the tragi-comedy, then.
