Elderly March in Venezuela after Night-Time Clashes
Hundreds of mainly elderly people marched Sunday in downtown Caracas in support of President Nicolas Maduro, a day after Venezuela's largest demonstrations in weeks of escalating protests left 25 people injured.
Maduro is grappling with the biggest crisis of his rule since narrowly being elected last year after the death of leftist icon Hugo Chavez, with at least 10 people dead since protests erupted on February 4.
Hundreds of thousands of pro- and anti-government protesters again hit the streets of the capital on Saturday, leading to night-time clashes with security forces that were some of the most serious to date.
Student and opposition demonstrators are campaigning over bleak economic prospects, including a shortage of food and commodities, repression by police and a dire job market. Dozens of people, including opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, have been arrested or wounded.
In contrast to the violence just a few hours earlier, pro-government demonstrators Sunday dressed in red -- the color of the socialist administration -- held Venezuelan flags and pro-Maduro banners, protesting what they called "fascist violence" by student opposition.
"That's enough youth violence, this is a country of peace, we want a future of peace," Cristina Marcos, 60, told reporters during a rally that began in the morning at the Plaza Bolivar and headed towards the Miraflores Palace, where the president was expected to give a speech.
Of the 25 people hurt in the late-night unrest in Caracas's Chacao municipality, 14 were wounded from buckshot, before protesters were dispersed using gas and birdshot, the Chacao mayor said Sunday.
Competing mass rallies in the capital are laying bare a chasm between those who support Maduro and those who oppose him, in an oil-rich country that despite having the world's largest proven reserves is grappling with basic goods shortages, rampant inflation and violent crime.
The protests -- which began in the western city of San Cristobal led by students angry over the soaring crime rate -- have increasingly been accompanied by violence and attempts to intimidate protesters and the media.
Source: Agence France Presse
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