Venezuela: Protests over services and manifesto for free speech

The Venezuelan Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS) documented 11 protests across eight states on Monday. Demonstrators in regions including Anzoátegui, Aragua, Distrito Capital, Falcón, Lara, Vargas, Sucre, and Zulia cited the deterioration of public services, specifically access to water and food, as primary grievances. Other demands included housing, healthcare, and labor rights.

In Sucre, state employees protested against the government for unpaid wages and the fractional payment of holiday bonuses. Workers have called for meetings with Governor Jhoanna Carrillo to demand the recalculation of social benefits pending since 2012.

Simultaneously, a coalition of 38 media outlets, 63 organizations, and 164 individuals released the ‘Manifiesto por la Libertad de Expresión en Venezuela’. The manifesto calls for the dismantling of legal frameworks used to restrict dissent, such as the ‘Ley contra el Odio’ and the ‘Ley Resorte’. The group also demands structural reforms to the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) to ensure it functions as an autonomous and transparent technical body rather than an instrument of censorship.