Venezuelan protest overrun by government forces.

[MADem]

115. Peter Boehmer is operating under old paradigms.

The students aren't taking orders from the "opposition" (which, BTW, is not a unified entity, as the article seems to insinuate--it's a whole shitload of groups and they don't always agree on much of ANYTHING). The students are leading the charge--this is very reminiscent of the protests against the Vietnam war, in my view. Further, the guy being whined about, Capriles, took a back seat to Lopez over a week ago--and Lopez was then promptly JAILED.

So there's no "opposition" leaders directing people to the barricades. You can't even find photos of them, never mind a presence. This is an organic thing happening, and the more people try to pin it on political leaders, and suggest that they are to "blame" for the dissatisfaction, the more it's clear they don't have the bubble.

This isn't about "politics." It is about basics, as I have said repeatedly. Maduro is incompetent--he hasn't been able to do the job. Even the article you post as a "defense" acknowledges how fucked up the place is. And if you think people aren't going hungry, well, as long as there are mamey trees, they won't starve...but how long should children go without milk? How long should people who don't work for Maduro have to go without meat? And how long should they live in fear that their rationed items will be stolen from them as they try to make their way home, and they could even be killed for them? Before too long, they won't need toilet paper--the money they have will do.

Here's some light reading:

Student who lives with parents rises as leader in Venezuela's protests

Juan Requesens, a student leader, has leapt in recent weeks from campus politics to the swirling center of Venezuela’s worst unrest in a decade. A talent for public speaking has driven his rise, but perhaps just as appealing is that he is not one of the well-established opposition politicians Venezuelans already know.

In the past week, President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly invited him to “peace” talks, but Requesens refuses, insisting that Maduro free jailed protesters and meet other preconditions first. Venezuela’s interior minister is publicly pressuring Requesens to go to the western state of Tachira, where the protests first erupted and barricades are blocking deliveries of food, to get students there to stand down.

Even opposition politicians have begun deferring to Requesens, saying they, too, will not meet with Maduro until the students go first.

With hundreds injured and at least 22 killed, including another student leader, Daniel Tinoco, who was shot Monday night in the western city of San Cristobal, it is a big load on the shoulders of Reque­sens.....Requesens said he prefers marches over barricades and wants to turn the student rebellion into a broader social movement capable of transcending Venezuela’s economic divides and winning over former Chávez supporters who are losing confidence in Maduro. In a country where political debates often devolve into name-calling, taunts and overheated rhetoric, student leaders sometimes sound more adult than elected officials do.

Venezuela's 'angry gochos': Why protests continue in western Venezuela

....in a region of Venezuela long considered an opposition stronghold, and known for experiencing some of the worst food shortages in the nation, heavy-handed attempts to clear the streets have only served to strengthen the protesters resolve. "Every barricade they tear down, we will rebuild,” says Jose Vicente García, a student leader and city councilman.

Using heavy machinery and armored cars, the National Guard plowed through the barricades of old sofas and broken down refrigerators, bags of trash and barbed wire. They have dispersed the mostly student demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets, and some civilian pro-government militias have used live rounds.

Even as protesters mourn the death of Daniel Tinoco, who received a bullet wound to the chest Monday night, they began setting up new barricades at key intersections of the city today. “We will answer repression with more people on the streets,” Mr. García says.....locals say the protests are more about everyday life than party politics. Venezuelans have been suffering from the shortage of basic goods for several years, and the central bank's scarcity index shows that 1 in 4 basic goods were out of stock at any given time across the country in January this year. But that situation has long been more acute in Táchira.

...Protests initially sparked in Venezuela when university students here launched demonstrations last month demanding more security after the alleged attempted rape of one of their classmates. The anger swelled as government forces cracked down on protests, arresting demonstrators, and soon general uprisings against food shortages, spiraling inflation, and one of the world’s highest crime rates spread across the nation.
....

So you see, it has gone far beyond the silly, bifurcated nonsense you read coming from ideologues on either "side" of this situation in VZ--it's just not about sides, anymore. It hasn't been since that assault on that student over a month ago.