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‘The militia is all of us’: Who are Venezuela’s pro-Maduro ‘colectivos’, so demonized by the West? ‘The militia is all of us’: Who are Venezuela’s pro-Maduro ‘colectivos,’ so demonized by the West?
(about 1 hour later)
Ever since the US recognized Venezuela’s wannabe coup leader, pro-government volunteers have been bracing for increasingly likely military intervention, ready to defend the Bolivarian Republic from internal and external enemies. Ever since the US recognized Venezuela’s wannabe coup leader, pro-government activists have been bracing for possible military intervention. Western media have been for years portraying them as thugs of the dictatorship.
Founded in 2008 to help Venezuela’s armed forces secure the gains made by former President Hugo Chavez, the leftist citizen’s militias, or ‘colectivos,’ are being regularly portrayed in Western mainstream media as a sinister and nefarious group. So-called ‘colectivos’ caught the eye of the Western mainstream media around 2011, depicted as government-sanctioned gangs who are allowed to commit crimes in their neighborhoods with impunity as long as they serve as vigilantes against the opposition.
However, with 1.6 million members, or 1-in-20 Venezuelans, the movement is much more than just a part-time paramilitary force and a nationwide citizen militia, RT's project Redfish has discovered. The term comes from much earlier times in the 1960s, when it was used to describe self-organized local political action groups banding together for various causes. An indigenous tribe opposing logging on its ancestral land, a local volunteer radio station going on air to discuss local politics, or an ad hoc labor union negotiating better conditions are all examples of colectivos.
“I’ve learned to read and write,” said one member of a colectivo, Yanira Rusa, who is now studying at university. She added that the militias have given Venezuelan women a greater sense of power and autonomy. The government of Hugo Chavez found natural allies in colectivos stemming from poorer communities, which were the focus of various programs to eradicate poverty, provide basic education and healthcare. The groups, with their experience of collective action and networking, became part of Venezuelan society and served as volunteer organizers for elections. Today, the government claims that 1.6 million people, or one-in-20 Venezuelans, are members of colectivos.
“The US doesn’t sleep. At the moment what keeps them awake is Venezuela,” says one militia group leader, Guadalupe Rodriguez, explaining how the US have always wanted to “dominate” Latin America and impose its political will on the continent.
Venezuelans don’t want war, and on Plaza Bolivar in the capital Caracas, tens of thousands have gathered to sign a petition to US President Donald Trump, urging him to pull the ‘military option’ off the table. Unapologetically, she is saying people should always be ready to mobilize, train militarily and be prepared to defend their country, if they want it to maintain its sovereignty. Ruptly’ Redfish spoke to members of some of these groups, asking what made them join and what they gained from their decision. People spoke about empowerment, politics and, yes, violence. They are training to use arms and prepare for an insurgency, should the US deliver on its threat of military invasion.
“The militia is all of us. It’s the people,” one colectivo member said. “It shouldn’t be taboo to say this.”
Watch the report to learn more.
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