Venezuela: Home of the scared

Monica Spear (1984-2014)

As I was reading the news today I noticed many pictures of former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear (29) across the internet and all the social media. Monica was killed along with her ex-husband, Henry Berry (39) on Monday January 6th, 2014 in what seems to be an attempted robbery. Her 5 year old daughter was wounded during the fatal incident and remains in the hospital but in stable condition. The political agenda in Venezuela is now split up between 3 main areas of public opinion: the official view, the opposition view, and the new and powerfully emerging "angry-at-existence" view. 

1. The official view (The government): Venezuela presents the highest level of criminal related deaths per capita in all Latin America and it is ranked in the top 15, sometimes even 5 (depending on the list and the provider) with a solid 24,763 killings in 2013, 79 per 100.000 inhabitants. An impressive number compared to 1998's (year in which Hugo Chavez started the so called "revolution of the twenty first century") stats of 19 per 100.000.  Today Venezuela's government blames the media for inflating the numbers and for making "political propaganda" off the criminal situation, that way, followers of the "Chavismo" can have and solid answer when asked about the topic.  However, when indisputable situations like the killing of former Miss Venezuela take center stage, the tone of the officials change from "blaming game" to "we will find the responsible and bring justice to the families", covering them all possible options for public questioning.

2. The opposition view (Gov. Capriles and followers): To make the story short, these people will just blame the government for anything that can possibly go wrong with the country, even when it has nothing to do with politics.  Behind the rage of this particular group is former presidential candidate Enrique Capriles, who gained considerable momentum after the decease of Chavez, but lost following elections to Nicolas Maduro (Chavez's chosen one) in what he himself called a failed electoral process and a conspiracy by CNE, Venezuela's electoral institution.  For these people, the killing of Spear is the unquestionable result of 15 years of bad political management, lack of leadership against crime, and the conclusion to a cultural and moral decreasing of values that has taken place over the last decade.

3. Angry people (the important part): These are the ones we need to pay attention to.  People within this group are not amazed with anything anymore.  They believe the government is a fraud, and they don't have high expectations for the opposition leaders also.  They want change, no matter how and no matter whom, they are full of rage, tired of listening and seeing the country go down the drain.  They live reality, they are awake to the fact that all those politicians in Caracas are nothing but the same, they ...we know that.
These people are using different ways, different leaders, the leaders within themselves.  They are ready to fight; they are not afraid but tired of being slaves of the opportunist who jump from group to group just trying to get something out of every situation.  They will emerge with a solid unified cause, to bring the land back to the people of Venezuela, to the ones that deal with reality, to the mothers and children growing up in the corruption of ideas that the country has become.  They know what's real and what's not for they have been scared and blind.  They aren't scared no more.  They no longer live in the home of the scared.