Hello, dear friends. Work activities have kept me very busy and do not give me much time to write in this space. But today, for those things in life, two customers failed me this afternoon and decided to go home. Watching TV had a program about the February 27, 1989: "Caracazo." And I brought to mind that fateful day for Venezuela. If I remember correctly, was a Monday. Early began to hear protests against the increase in passenger car and bus for positions in addition to increased fuel announced by the government of Carlos Andres Perez and his "economic package" demanded by the International Monetary Fund . What balls! And excuse me the expression.
I remember most of the morning of that day by calling a friend of mine who owed me some money, until I found. He told me to 4 PM of that day, passed by the CCCT, and there he would pay the debt. In the riots of the day, my children did not have classes, so I took them to visit my friend. We arrived at 4 and 20 PM approximately. The friend had not arrived but they said it was close. I was about to arrive. Arrived, I paid and drove my children and me. We got the car, we started, but we do not move much because the traffic was too slow. To spend about 20 minutes and we went, I told my children: "We're going back, we see a movie in the cinema and later, when there is less traffic, we're going home. And we did. We bought popcorn, soft drinks , etc, and as we saw a movie at 7:30 PM, we left the cinema. We got in the car and ... nothing. The traffic was still detained. The exit to Chacao, El Silencio, etc, not moving. After a while stuck in that queue, I thought: "... and if I go for Altamira, I go to the Cota Mil, under the zuassss Baralt and headed for the house ..."
And I did. I looked like heads to Altamira, and so move slowly until I came to La Cota Mil. But to reach Baralt Avenue, at the height of the San José del Avila Church, the large parking lot. Did not move any car, but gunfire and explosions were heard, then I worry. The news was no radio, tuned into Capital Radio, Radio Caracas Radio Directions, news etc and zero about what was happening. People in the car said that at the Plaza Miranda had a confrontation between police and demonstrators. But it was too much the amount of explosions that were heard to break up a demonstration as we were accustomed to seeing on TV, almost every Thursday, at the gates of the UCV. And at this time of night? How odd!
That was very strange. Cars were not moving. The hours passed, my children scared and one without learning anything. The radio gave no news.
I had to find another exit. I thought, I'm going for La Pastora, low for Lidice to Avenida Sucre, I climb Mount Mercy, looking Moran and zuazzzzz Avenue ... straight home. I made commentary on some of the drivers to give me a little space and pulled, some followed me. In front of me were 3 cars, making the same journey. We crossed La Pastora, Lidice and we started down the avenue towards Sucre y. .. This is my surprise, when I see a lot of people, carrying shopping carts, boxes full of food, bags, bags of "not that" I told my kids watch this mess, people are stealing from a supermarket . Suddenly, as we reach Sucre Avenue, just half a block away, a patrol of the Metropolitan Police, gets in the way and we bar the way, and began firing at the people who ran with the things looted. I told the children to lie on the floor. The poor were that they came out the heart. Do not get up, I shouted. Houses and buildings threw him to the police patrol a number of bottles and stones that these were displaced. Seize the moment and we jump, searching for sunbed paguita Church at Mount Mercy and do the thinking, but when I reached the first block of Mount Mercy, the disruption was greater. The streets were crowded with garbage containers on fire, burned cars, people like crazy ... and said, "I cross the sheath or January 23 in those conditions."
So I could, I returned, I went through and came to Caño Amarillo Baralt Avenue again. Children were pale. I tried to reassure them by talking, asking them to help me find a radio station to say something, but NOTHING. RADIO said nothing. I stuck the nose of the car, and I looked up towards the Church of St. Joseph of Avila, and were still a lot of parked cars, hoping not to. I saw down at the Plaza Miranda, and I told my children. Echense the floor, which ripped a million here and that I go through I take them ahead. So a single "cholazo", toured the entire Baralt Avenue, via the Paradise, and without stopping, I flew, to get home. It was after 11 pm the night.
My mother, my sister, all worried about us, but thank God we had already arrived. We told them our Odyssey and we replied that there was looting in parts of Caracas and Guarenas. There was much uproar in the streets, but the radio did not say anything. On TV spent some pictures of what had happened in Guarenas in the morning and that was the trigger for so great an uproar.
The next day, February 28, 1989, the Zaperoco continued. Throughout Caracas, people started coming out into the streets to protest against government economic measures against Carlos Andres Perez. There was a trade that was not looted. A Automercado, a wine cellar. People were so crazy. Then came the worst: the great slaughter of Venezuelans at the hands of the Metropolitan Police, Guard and the national army. Yet, 20 years later, no one knows exactly the number of Venezuelans who died in the 2 or 3 days of riots. The government announced "The curfew from 6 pm in the afternoon. Everyone should stay home. Guarantees were suspended. etc, etc, etc. The death toll was incalculable. 2000?, 3000?, 5000?. Nobody said anything. Carlos Andres Perez said most of the dead and injured was due to the glass of the people broke windows to loot. But ... days later, one was walking in certain neighborhoods of Caracas and saw buildings that were shot at "close range" as the boys.
is 20 years since that tragedy. Tragedy served to awaken a people who had been subjected for almost 40 years to live off the crumbs left by the rulers who "went to this country" from Romulo Betancourt to this 2nd CAP government. IMPOSSIBLE TO FORGET
