Massive protests have been launched in Caracas, Venezuela at the behest of the city’s Socialist Mayor to protest the removal of official portraits of the late Socialist President Hugo Chavez.
The newly inaugurated conservative opposition leaders of Venezuela’s federal legislative body, the National Assembly, requested the removal of the portraits.
Protests began after a video emerged of the President of the National Assembly instructing someone to remove some of the portraits. “Look, the only portraits that should be here are classic portraits of ‘El Libertador’ [The Liberator Simon Bolivar],” the president says. “I don’t want to see Chavez or Maduro, none of that here. You can take it to Miraflores [the Venezuelan equivalent of The White House] or throw it in the garbage.”
Modern versions of Simon Bolivar’s portrait which were advanced by Hugo Chavez are also being removed from the National Assembly. Nicolas Maduro referenced this when paying homage to Chavez at his mausoleum along with several cabinet ministers where he stated, “the removal of Bolivar’s portrait from congress is the most-serious affront to the memory of “the Liberator” in the nearly 200 years since his death” according to the Associated Press.
Socialist protesters were visibly displeased with the actions of the conservative opposition and were wearing red in support of Chavez and Bolivar. One protester dressed up as Uncle Sam pulling the strings of a cut-out Ramos,” according to the Associated Press.
This week the conservative MUD (Democratic Unity Roundtable) coalition took power in Venezuela’s National Assembly. The conservatives won legislative elections on December 6th, 2015, which marked the first time that the Socialist Party has had a divided government.
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