Activists were shot and arrested during a demonstration in Recife in defence of the Venezuelan people
At least five people were injured by gunshots and rubber bullets. Two activists were arrested without reason.
Twenty-five days after the imperialist aggression against the Venezuelan nation and people, protesters in Recife held a combative protest on Wednesday (28) against imperialist intervention in Venezuela. During the march, protesters were violently repressed by the Military Police, who fired lethal firearms and rubber bullets at the protesters. At least five people were hit by the shots and two activists were arbitrarily detained.
The rally took place in Derby Square at 5 p.m., responding to the call of various democratic and revolutionary organisations, such as the International Anti-Imperialist League (LAI) and the Pernambuco Committee of Solidarity with Palestine. Several organisations were present, such as Mangue Vermelho and the Ventania Movement. A delegation of peasants from the League of Poor Peasants (LCP) was also present at the demonstration.
At the front of the group of protesters was a banner reading ‘Yankees out of Latin America! Long live the anti-imperialist struggle!’ signed by the LAI, and another signed by the Pernambuco Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, reading ‘Down with imperialism! United States out of Venezuela and Latin America!’
According to accusations by the Military Police, protesters had thrown Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at a structure belonging to the Yankee monopoly McDonalds, located between two of the city’s largest avenues, Av. Agamenon Magalhães and Av. Conde da Boa Vista. Throughout the demonstration, protesters set off fireworks and chanted slogans such as: ‘Long live the bombs and the Malvinas of the invincible anti-imperialist struggle!’ and ‘The people are preparing their rebellion! A new era for revolution is dawning!’
Military Police, agents of Yankee interests in Brazil
The protesters had organised themselves to march to the Yankee Consulate, the final destination of the demonstration. At the beginning of the march, military police began to repress the protesters, firing lethal ammunition and rubber bullets at the protest and throwing pepper spray at the activists. During the cowardly action of the PM-PE, two activists were arrested and several were shot. After the repression by the old state, shouts of ‘Go into battle without fear! Dare to fight! Dare to win!’ could still be heard.
Throughout the demonstration, from the moment the crowd gathered, activists were closely monitored by the military police. Protesters told the local correspondent for AND in Recife that for months, since the protests in solidarity with Palestine, they have been denied access to the front of the US Consulate, under the pretext of ‘violent actions by protesters’.
After the last demonstration in solidarity with the Venezuelan people was called, a statement was issued to US citizens in Recife on the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Brazil stating that they should avoid Conde da Boa Vista and that “historically, gatherings of this type have been peaceful and orderly; however, demonstrations can quickly become unpredictable‘ and that ’Brazilian public security authorities are aware of these protests and are monitoring the situation,” making it clear that the Military Police monitored the event at the direct behest of imperialism and that imperialists, on national territory, are actively monitoring popular movements.
Demonstrations in solidarity with Venezuela are growing
The demonstration on 28 January in Recife is already the second in the city. The first was held on 5 January and also went from Derby Square to the US Consulate General in Recife. Upon arriving in front of the consulate, demonstrators burned the flags of Yankee imperialism and the Nazi-Zionist entity of Israel, chanting slogans such as ‘Yankees, go home!’, a slogan that enshrined the anti-imperialist struggle in Latin America in the last century. After the burning, another group of protesters spray-painted the message ‘USA = Terrorism! Down with imperialism!’ on the pavement.
After the Yankee invasion of Venezuela and the cowardly kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro on 3 January, masses of people around the world raised a powerful wave of anti-imperialist demonstrations in solidarity with the Venezuelan people, which were recorded throughout Latin America: in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Cuba and Ecuador, near the US embassies. In Porto Alegre, two protesters were detained by the Military Brigade during the solidarity action.
In a recent publication, the International Anti-Imperialist League called for an International Day of Action in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and nation. In an official statement, the LAI denounced that “this act of war, which includes bombings, assassinations and the kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife, constitutes a flagrant violation of national sovereignty, followed by statements that the United States will “govern”, threats to carry out larger attacks and statements that the United States will control Venezuelan oil‘ and advises to ’prepare for a prolonged struggle that will culminate in the definitive sweeping of the imperialist system from the face of the Earth, transforming the Yankee “backyard” into a graveyard for the invaders”.
Source of information: https://anovademocracia.com.br
