Huge Crowds Rally Against Venezuela's Deeply Unpopular President

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/26/499491180/huge-crowds-rally-against-venezuelas-deeply-unpopular-president

Huge crowds of demonstrators rallied in the streets of Venezuela's capital and in cities across the country, after authorities halted a campaign to hold a recall election intended to oust the country's deeply unpopular president, Nicolas Maduro.

The demonstrators were protesting "what they call a sharp turn towards authoritarianism," as reporter John Otis tells our Newscast unit. "The Maduro government has jailed opposition leaders, stripped Congress of its powers and cracked down on the press," he says. Maduro, who was elected in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chavez, is also presiding over the country's current economic implosion.

The opposition was gearing up to gather signatures in order to trigger a recall election when the electoral council blocked the effort last week, citing alleged fraud, as The Two-Way has reported. "Basically, they're saying that they are not willing to give up power through constitutional means," Harold Trinkunas, a Venezuela expert at Stanford University, tells Otis.

Opposition leaders point out that the members of the council are aligned with Maduro. They say "their only alternative now is to take over the streets and convince President Maduro to resign," Otis adds.

[MADem]

1. The people were packed onto the highway for as far as the eye could see.

It was remarkable--reminded me of the Green protests in Iran.

[Bacchus4.0]

2. some pics

?bf36f5

[MADem]

3. It was really quite remarkable....

Some raw footage...

Who in their right mind can think this shit is OK? Maduro has taken away even the right to petition for a recall. He IS a dictator. No one who gives a shit about small-d democracy should support this asswipe:

[Marksman_91]

4. Remember...

For some in this site, it's literally better to have an authoritarian left-wing dictatorship than a democracy with a government that's even just slightly right of center.

[MADem]

5. Many of those authoritarians have departed....

They're pining away elsewhere--appropriately so.

Oddly, they'd rather see an authoritarian right winger running our country, some of 'em.

[Zorro]

6. Well, Ol' Faithful is still around

[MADem]

7. LOL...here and there...! nt