Venezuela Student Protests: Who is Leading the Movement on the Streets of Caracas?

Clashes between protesters and police have been going in Venezuela since Feb. 12, when groups of students headed to the streets to demand the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro.

Thousands of people in Venezuela have joined the marches since then to protest the country’s high inflation, lack of security, repression of dissent and shortages of basic goods.

But Maduro’s government also has a large contingent of supporters who see him as the leader that is most faithful to Hugo Chavez’s legacy. They live mostly in Venezuela’s poor neighborhoods, where protests have had little impact, as the New York times recently reported.

Many protesters nevertheless, claim that Maduro has turned Venezuela into a quasi-dictatorship. They want to bring the government down through their sustained series of protests, or at least force it to make some significant concessions on issues like media freedoms and economic policies.

But as the country returns from the recent carnival holiday and commemorates the first anniversary of Hugo Chavez’s death, some analysts wonder if the student protests can even sustain their current round of protests, or if the action on the streets will fizzle, as fatigue with protests settles in.

Student leader Juan Requesens of the Universidad Central de Venezuela insists that protesters won’t give up.

MORE FROM THE FUSION DISPATCH SERIES IN VENEZUELA:

Fusion Dispatch: Inside the Venezuela Protests Part One

Fusion Dispatch: Inside the Venezuela Protests Part Two

Fusion Dispatch Part Three: Up Close With a Venezuelan Student Protest Leader

Text for this post by Fusion Latin American Correspondent Manuel Rueda.