CARACAS (Reuters) – Red-clad “Chavistas” rallied in central Caracas yesterday to protest the killing of a young ruling party lawmaker, while across town a protest called by the opposition’s new leader failed to attract as big a crowd.
The government says the stabbing to death of the 27-year old Robert Serra in his home earlier this month is part of a wider plot by an elitist, self-interested opposition to bring down Venezuela’s socialist experiment, created by beloved late president Hugo Chavez.
“Do you know why they killed Robert Serra?” President Nicolas Maduro said at the rally in front of a podium emblazoned with the slogan ‘Against terrorism’.
“To silence us! The right-wing fascists are scared of young rebels, young revolutionaries,” said Maduro, clad in a yellow, blue and red Venezuelan tracksuit.
Several arrests have been made in Serra’s case, including one of his bodyguards. Maduro has also blamed Colombian paramilitaries, although some media say the case looks like an inside job and Venezuelan opposition leaders deny involvement.
Critics say Maduro, whose popularity has slipped, is seeking to capitalize on the crime to distract from shortages of basic goods, sky-high crime rates and 60 per cent annual inflation.
