Venezuela Commemorates Uprising with March against Economic War

Venezuelan leftists and government supporters will march in Caracas this Jan. 23, a symbolic date Venezuelan democracy, a municipal mayor of the city has announced.

One of the straunchest Chavista neighborhoods in Caracas is the 23^rd of January barrio, which commemorates the popular 1958 uprising against the dictator General Marcos Perez Jimenez.

Mayor of Caracas’s Libertador District Jorge Rodriguez explained that Monday’s demonstration will retake the streets for the “heroic people of Bolivar and Chavez.”

The Venezuelan Socialist Party member invoked the historic events of Jan. 23 1958, when dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez was overthrown in a civilian-military movement.

“The peace that we have in Venezuela is owed to the people and in our strategy for peace, we go to the streets Jan. 23,” Rodriguez told a press conference.

The government is facing increasing pressure from right-wing opposition, who last year called for violent actions and economic agitation set on bringing down the elected, Bolivarian government. While much of the violent street demonstrations that claimed 43 lives have stopped, government officials and experts say segments of the opposition have focused on sabotaging the economy.

President Nicolas Maduro is preparing to reveal new policies to strengthen the country’s economy in the face of what the leader has called “an economic coup.”

During an interview with teleSUR, Maduro cited the recent confiscation of “hundreds of tons” of basic foods discovered in a warehouse in the east of the country as an example of the recent destabilization efforts by right-wing opposition groups.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week, Maduro told reporters that he had “acquired the necessary resources to maintain the economic stability of Venezuela.”