Almost 100 more people have been injured in clashes with police. As Venezuela's 66th day of protest came to an end, the government repeated its pledge of a constitutional referendum.
Image: Picture alliance/Zumapress/A. Manzol
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Protesters clash with security forces in Caracas
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Leaders of the opposition alliance Democratic Unity Roundtable said some 100 demonstrators had been injured on Monday.
Lawmaker Juan Requesens, who was hurt along with his colleague Miguel Pizarro, said police officers teargassed, beat and even robbed demonstrators and journalists on Monday.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles even alleged that authorities had used live fire to disperse protesters. The Public Ministry remained silent on the injuries, except to announce without details that three members of the security forces had been hurt during demonstrations in Caracas on Monday. Argentina and neighboring Colombia condemned the attacks on legislators, protesters and the press.
At least 65 people - about one per day - have died and more than 1,000 have sustained injuries since early April as the government's response to protests against President Nicolas Maduro has grown increasingly violent. The protests have emerged as the country faces its most difficult economic circumstances since the emergence of the modern financial system and, with a 2014 drop in oil prices hitting the export revenues that Venezuela has come to rely on. The opposition has called for fresh elections, but Maduro has refused to step down and has accused his opponents of conspiring with foreign powers, including the United States, to bring down his government.
'It's not sufficient'
Authorities have doubled down on their pledge for a referendum on Maduro's desired constitutional changes. On Monday, Jorge Rodriguez, the speaker of Zamora 200, one of several constituent committees, which is working on the proposed changes, told journalists that officials had already submitted the request for a referendum to the national elections council.
Luis Emilio Rondon, the electoral commission's chief rector and the only of the five members to oppose remaking the constitution, said the request for a referendum was lacking. "It's not sufficient," Rondon said late Monday.
Rondon said the election committee had not approved "the timeline, proposal or committees" to expedite an already "hasty" process. "In no way does it contribute to political participation," Rondon said on Monday.
Also on Monday, the government announced that it would ask Venezuela's supreme court to investigate the mental health of public prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, after she distanced herself from the regime and declared her opposition to the proposed constitutional changes.
Protests paralyze Venezuela's society
DW talked to Venezuelan journalist and photographer Ivan Reyes whose images highlight the stories of the people marching against the government.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Journalism born of need
"I’d been working as a journalist for a year when the protests started in 2014. Many independent media have come into existence in the last two years due to the government censorship, and that's how I became a reporter," Ivan Reyes told DW. He started capturing the new wave of riots on a daily basis at the end of March.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Welcome to the stone age
The ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which took away immunity from opposition parliamentarians, set off a surge of protests paralyzing the country. Although the protests were peaceful at first, government forces soon started throwing stones into the crowds. "Seriously, the police were given stones! This man, Lino Rivera, was hit by one on April 4," Reyes said.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Highway to hell
The marches take place all over Caracas every day, but they usually end on the city highways. This photo shows two officers of the national guard shooting tear gas grenades into the lines of protesters. "The projectiles should be shot above people’s heads - so the international laws says," says Reyes. "But the armed forces shoot straight into the demonstrators."
Image: Ivan Reyes
"We are all Juan"
Juan Pablo Pernalete, 20, died after being hit by a projectile on April 26. The death of the student of Universidad Metropolitana triggered angry protests in the following days. "People were chanting 'Todos somos Juan! Todos somos Juan!'" ("We are all Juan") Reyes told DW. Congressmen Miguel Pizarro and Carlos Paparoni and the Governor of Miranda Henrique Capriles all came to pay tribute.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Evasive action
Defense has become the key element for survival. "The people seem to be organized better every day," says Reyes. Against the wishes of the protest leaders, several groups have started using DIY weapons and even Molotov cocktails against the government forces, as seen in this photo. "It’s a battle they can’t win," says Reyes.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Heros of the day
"Jesús was one of those injured in the demonstrations on May 4. He was gasping and stuttering after he got hit in the head. People in the crowd spotted him and carried him to one side where paramedics gave him first aid. The members of Primeros Auxilios UCV are the real heroes of history," Reyes said of the group of doctors who go to the protests every day to help the injured.
Image: Ivan Reyes
The wrath of the women scorned
On May 6, a women’s protest against the regime was organized by Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, Venezuela's opposition party. The march wasn’t allowed to reach its destination, the Ministry of Justice, as they were halted by female officers of the national police. Former politician María Corina Machado and the student president of Universidad Central de Venezuela were among the protesters.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Ode to Venezuela
This image shot by Reyes went viral right after it was published by the author on May 8. The picture is one of the strongest snapshots from the Venezuelan protests, showing a young man walking down a road playing the Venezuelan anthem. "I don’t see the protests ending soon," said Reyes. "Let’s see which side gets tired first."
