Chávez Burns in Sinamaica

/ August 6, 2015

Milagros Socorro broke Twitter yesterday with her reporting of a guajiro upheaval in the border town of Sinamaica. The Zuliana journo summarized the story in 26 tweets and then filled in the blanks with an article at Konzapata. Turns out a pissed wayuu crowd raided -as vikings do- the town hall of the Bolivarian Municipality of La Guajira.

The Breakdown: The National Guard and the local government have cracked down heavily on the towns people, most of them guajiros, on accounts of them being bachaqueros and smuggling price-controlled goods across the border to Colombia.

According to Socorro’s local sources, at least 40 young men have been murdered by the military in the past year in the area. The most recent one, a 16 year old kid. Also, the locals believe that the real smugglers are -you guessed it- the National Guard and the government. They are mad, and on August 4th decided to protest.

And then, this happened…

“Yesterday, #4A, 4 fully trucks loaded with food crossed the control post of the National Guard at Río Limón.”

“The 4 trucks also crossed with no problem the post of the regional police. At that point, the people of Sinamaica were enraged:”

“If they try to cross with two packs of harina PAN, the police takes one; if they try to cross with two bottles of cooking oil, one is confiscated.”

“When a police officer told the protesters that the trucks were crossing “by orders from upstairs,” the trucks were raided.”

After raiding the trucks they went for the town hall, and burned at least half of the Municipal offices, including the Civil Registry. Then, the good people of Sinamaica took to the town’s square carrying four portraits they found in the now scorched offices: Mayor Herbert Chacón; Governor Francisco Arias Cárdenas, President Nicolás Maduro, and Hugo Chávez. A bonfire was lit.

In Milagros’ own words:

In the Venezuelan #Guajira people went from radical chavistas to be the first to burn Chavez’s portrait in a public square.

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35 thoughts on “Chávez Burns in Sinamaica”

    • Me too. It would have done this country so much good in the long run by killing his myth and firmly connecting him with the inevitable results of his disastrous misrule.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. more on the story here:
    http://www.wayuunaiki.com/crecen-tensiones-en-sinamaica-por-falta-de-alimentos/

    where by Paragraph 2, the government blames the poor Colombians!: “Juan Morillo, miembro del Cuerpo de Policía Bolivariana del Estado Zulia (CPBEZ), afirmó que los causantes del suceso “son migrantes colombianos, desplazados que vienen a Sinamaica indocumentados a causar caos en busca de productos para llevarlos al vecino país”.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I believe these exploits might be worthy of a folk song, titled “Sinamaica, Guajiro, Sinamaica”. I know a tune that might be used, but we need some words.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. The guajiros are not typical venezuelans , they usually share both the colombian and venezuelan nationality , traditionally smuggling is for them a totally acceptable form of earning ones livelihood, their response at the injustice of being prevented by the authorities from engaging in smuggling as per their customary social rules while seeing the same authorities engage in smuggling tipped them over into an attitude of open rage and rebellion . including the burning of Maduros and Chavez portraits.

    Ordinary Venezuelans are not exposed to the same experiences , they are restrained in their bachaqueo activities by the authorities but the bachaqueo activities of the authorities is covert and not in plain view . If it ever becomes flagrant then you might see a similar response .!!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Oh well, I hope they have learnt the lesson now.

    The thing is that most probably if they are allowed to smuggle products from Venezuela to Colombia they will be radical chavistas again.

    It’s probably me, been away from Venezuela for relatively long time (7 years) , that I’m not sensing how bad things are and how the people have changed their opinion.

    Venezuelans need to understand that the main problem are themselves and their feel of entitlement to basically everything: free petrol, (almost) free dollars, free state provided houses and so on.

    If the opposition ever win power and start doing what they need to do to in order to make Venezuela a semi normal country you’ll see lots of these bonfire events as well. Probably a lot more given what it will take to revert the current schizophrenic situation.

    At least they gave good use to those portraits

    Liked by 1 person

    • “..they will be radical chavistas again.”
      You’re probably right, also per the sarcasm noted in here:

      Quemaron una foto de Chávez en Sinamaica? oh guao !! vamos todos a ocuparnos del fenómeno, importante, decisivo y transformador.— WebArticulista (@webarticulista) August 6, 2015

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Como dijo un usuario comentando en la noticia: Esos retratos del burro y del muerto debieron ser reciclados como papel tualé, que bastante falta le hace al pueblo.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. As I twitted her, Milagros Socorro should run for the MUD, and then for President. She’d get millions of desperate votes just by posting her name.

    And as I wrote on the previous post, and twitted her too: “The problem is that the next Chavista-light MUD will fail miserably, and the spoiled Chavistas you mention will resurface.” Millions and Millions are still very resentful from the 4 decades of ad/copei alienation, still Chavistas. ,

    Incredible as it may seem, the majority of Vzla’s massively under-educated populace still loves Chavez. They loved the shower of free gifts, “vivienda” promises, the dreams and bullshit of last decade with their adored Chavez. Like these “socialista” Guajiros, and in most other provinces. They now think Madurismo and this particular Government, or la “ultra-derecha imperialista” are to blame for everything. Not Chavismo.

    Even the PSUV rats are jumping ship, from “madurismo” back to Chavismo. Along with the 4-5 Million direct enchufados, and the pueblo Chavista, they will all be amnestiedand re-integrated in the MUDmix.

    They will all come back with a vengeance after the Chavista-light MUD somehow regains power, and inevitably, for numerous reasons I’m tired of enumerating, fails miserably again. Apparently, after almost 17 years, the majority of the ignorant pueblo that is left in Kleptozuela have not learned their lesson yet.

    Liked by 1 person

      • The results of the next fraudulent “election” are probably already set in stone. Expect a meaningless, laughable 55% Mud “victory”.. the usual late-evening Smartmatic touches will ensure a nice, “democratic” result.

        But as we all know Maduro will certainly fall, sooner or later, with more or less violence. The Chavista-Light MUD, some “democratic” corrupt, inept government will eventually come back, unless of course the Military hits hard and grabs power.

        That’s the most likely scenario. Doesn’t mean that Vzla’s Galactic, Monumental problems at all levels of society, will go away anytime soon, under the new MUDcrap, far from that. That’s when the vast and profound Chavismo resentment will come right back in full force.

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        • I still don’t believe in a Mud victory, for all the reasons I’ve explained in other posts, and, even for the reasoning you expressed above in your 9:27 post.

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  12. Its kind of ironic whats happening now with the crisis, it used to be that the cult of chavez helped prop up the image of Maduro and now its the bad image of Maduro ( and the debacle he presides over) which is starting to give Chavez a bad image. So BOTH their portraits get burned. !!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. The most noteworthy part of the story is the burning of Chavez’s portrait, not the 40 extra judicial executions. It was a pretty short span of time in which this kind of violence in Venezuela went from the main story of the day to “context”.

    Liked by 3 people

    • I think the Sinamaica event, unfortunately, is an outlier; only when/if it becomes general will the Country begin the slow slog to recovery….

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  14. Just in from Milagros:

    Milagros Socorro ‏@MilagrosSocorro 45m45 minutes ago View translation
    A esta hora, 10 a.m. #6A, ni el alcalde de la Guajira ni el Gob. del Zulia se han presentado en #Sinamaica.

    Floyd
    ‏@GrooveSurvey
    @MilagrosSocorro esa gente es supersticiosa, “sera ‘pa que noj caiga la mardicion Guajira?

    Milagros Socorro ‏@MilagrosSocorro 37m37 minutes ago
    Milagros Socorro retweeted Floyd
    Lo dirá usted en broma, pero uno de mis informantes lo dice en serio. ”

    Another taste of our 95% alphabrutized, highly superstitious Cubazuela.

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  15. I put my “parts” on hot charcoal Chavismo will win there at Parlamentarias.

    They´re only pissed off at the fact government doesnt want competition in the bachaquero business.

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    • Perhaps you are right, though sweeping generalizations like that one pretty much kill all possibility of a discussion.

      That said, did you read the report? Not even the bachaqueros deserve 40 dead gunned down like animals by the Nazional Guard these last few months, not to mention being humilliated by said group of bastards. We are talking about an entire town being treated like dirt by the olive green thugs for years, without any Law to oppose them, not to mention the recent visit of the SEBIN inquisitors.

      Which leads me to another point: After 15+ years of a goverment by the military, for the military, the last thing that this country needs is another military thug as president.

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      • Im afraid that the current military are so broken up into mutually suspicious or rival personalities , groups and factions , so disorganized and dysfunctional , so fearful of losing their privileges or jobs or heads in a chaotic civil war situation , that they cannot muster the collective will to stage a coup d etat with any chance of success . the shared sprit de corp that once made them into a force to be reckoned with is long gone , Some isolated group might try something if the situation turns chaotic and then if by chance they create the image that they can succeed other groups might join them to protect their own position , but to expect the army to be able to mount a take over of govt would require some exceptional circumstances to ocurr .

        This means that there is a chance that the current deep miasma the country is morassed in might remain so for a very long time just because there is no strong united military establishment whose actions allow for a break in the current situation opening the door to the chance of an improved situation for the future.

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  16. Let me tell you about the POS Arias Cardenas who kidnapped my good friends mother because her son did not want to sell his airline to Arias Cardenas. This was ten years ago. GAES somehow made the rescue. Fuck you Arias Cardenas.

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