The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elias Jaua, is heading to Egypt and Iran on a mission to check up on the Israeli-Gaza war. Venezuela has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian people since Chavez came to power, a stance which Maduro carries on to this day.
Earlier this week, Tarek El Aissami, the governor of Aragua state, called the United States “a terrorist state” for its continued support for Israel during the conflict.
Maduro’s Call for Higher Gas Prices Causing Stir
Henrique Capriles, the governor of Miranda state, voiced his concern at government plans to increase gasoline prices. Speaking at an event in the Guaicaipuro municipality, Capriles said:
They talk about a debate [to raise gas prices], but there’s every indication that the decision has already been made. They want to raise gas prices while they gave away oil to other countries, our oil. There it is, 25 million dollars have disappeared and so far not a single person has been held accountable. So now our country has to pay for the broken dishes.
Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Metropolitan Caracas, had a similar criticism of the plan, saying
[The government] is desperately looking for money to pay for services [and to pay down] the debt. They need to take money out of people’s pockets any way they can, because the country is up to it’s teeth in debt.
Ledezma also showed dismay for the government’s penchant for giving away oil and money to allied nations. Ledezma said:
The most shocking fact is that they’re going to raise gas prises and still keep giving away money to “friendly” nations, irresponsibly helping them to buy weapons and ships. The least Maduro could do is stop giving Castro [Cuba] 100,000 barrels of oil a day, who then sell some of the oil at market prices. It hurts that they’re mortgaging oil to go into debt with China, which means that the oil which was supposed to belong to future generations [of Venezuela] no longer does.
Capriles Highlights Economic, Scarcity Crises
Speaking at the same event in Guaicaipuro in which he criticised the proposed increase to gas prices, Capriles made several observations regarding the economic and scarcity crises Venezuela is currently suffering through:
The government says that there are no economic problems… but we can all see the long line-ups in front of supermarkets to buy food and other products. The people should be resting on Saturdays. Instead, they’re lined up for 7 or 8 hours. These things are a clear example of the governmnet’s failed economic model.
(…)
Let the people know why we’re living in a country with scarcity, insecurity and a high cost of living. We have these crises because the model the government promotes does not build, it destroys.
Finally, some pictures of a Pro-Palestinian rally held today in Caracas:
In Venezuela 