Another Color Revolution?
The Deceptive Use of the Phrase “Peaceful Protests” in Venezuela
The Venezuelan opposition and much of the media
use the term “peaceful protests” to distinguish gatherings of protesting
students and other young people from the more violent actions including
vandalism and shootings carried out by those outside of the university
community.
“Peaceful protests,” however, is a loaded term
that serves to plant doubts about the intentions of the Chavista
government. In the first place, the actions of the police and National
Guard are portrayed as a violation of the constitutional right to
peacefully demonstrate at the same time that the government is blamed
for failing to get the “violent” protests under control. In the process,
Venezuela is depicted as virtually a failed state or, as opposition
leader Leopoldo López put it in the title of his March 25 New York Times
op-ed article, “a failing state.” Another outlandish assertion that
makes its way into the media is that the “violent” protesters are
actually Chavista infiltrators intent on discrediting the opposition.
Consequently the violence has absolutely nothing to do with the peaceful
protests and the opposition in general.
Barricades setup by “peaceful protests” are removed by people living in Las Vegas de Táriba, Táchira state.
The Chavista discourse sometimes plays into this deceptive line of reasoning in an attempt to isolate the radical fringe of the opposition. In appealing to the mainstream opposition group the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) to join the government-sponsored “Peace Dialogue,” President Nicolás Maduro and other Chavista leaders sometimes reinforce the distinction between the “peaceful” and “violent” protesters.