VENEZUELA: Grand parents take to the streets, demand president’s resignation

Three days after demonstrations in Venezuela turned messy when protesters lobbed bottles and bags of faeces at soldiers in Caracas, grandparents have now joined the protests amid worsening economic crisis which has hit the South American country.

Elderly people who have been particularly affected by the crisis in the health system were seen throwing punches and demanding respect from police who in turn blocked access to a main road in the capital and used pepper spray to try to control the crowd.

“I’m here to defend my grandchildren, to defend my country,” 78-year-old Rafael Colmenares told Reuters news agency during the demonstration in Caracas.

Read also: VENEZUELA: Anti-govt protests turns messy as protesters fling faeces at soldiers

“Respect the elderly,” many demonstrators shouted.

One elderly man summed up their grievances: “The government is killing us in three ways. We’re dying of lack of food, we’re dying of lack of medication and they’re killing us at the protests.”

Another woman held up a sign reading: “Today I’m turning 60 and for the first time I don’t have enough for a cake.”

Florentino Montilba, 75, said he was taking to the streets because “this is the last option they’ve left us with”.

“If need be, we’ll die here on the streets,” he said.

In the last one month, violent clashes between supporters of the opposition and President Nicolas Maduro have hit Venezuela with the opposition asking Maduro to step down, accusing him of eroding democracy.

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