Electricity crisis in Venezuela: Protests in Lara demand urgent solutions
Social tension in Venezuela has reached critical levels in Lara state, where hundreds of citizens took to the streets this Friday to express their deep discontent over the severe electrical rationing affecting the region. The protesters, gathered in the La Fuente sector of Carora, denounced that the instability of the electrical service has paralyzed their daily lives, aggravated by constant deficiencies in the supply of drinking water.
Ángel Pérez, a community leader in the area, emphasized that the protest took place peacefully, seeking to make an unsustainable reality visible. According to reports from those affected, power outages have escalated alarmingly, with blackouts of up to six hours recorded multiple times during the same day, including in the early morning, which makes rest and basic activities impossible for the population.
Rationing has been increasing. In the morning a 6-hour power outage, in the afternoon another 6-hour power outage, but that is not enough, it has been increasing very progressively in the early morning. So, in the early morning there is another outage that carries over to the next day.
Ángel Pérez, community leader.
Energy crisis context
While the Venezuelan government attributes the failures of the electrical system to external factors, sanctions, and alleged sabotage, various sectors of civil society and experts point out that the crisis is the direct result of years of lack of maintenance and investment in the national infrastructure. Given this situation, the authorities have requested that citizens implement energy-saving measures, claiming an increase in demand that had not been recorded since 2017.
Venezuela’s position on the Esequibo dispute
In another turn of events, the Government of Venezuela has ratified its firm refusal to recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of the territorial controversy over the Guayana Esequiba. Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia reiterated that Caracas will not abide by any decision issued by this international court, maintaining that the only legitimate way to resolve the dispute is through direct bilateral negotiation.
This statement arises in response to the recent exhortations of the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, who during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly urged Venezuela to respect the upcoming ICJ ruling. Despite the Guyanese leader’s calls for a new stage of neighborly relations, Venezuela remains immovable in its historical position of rejecting the intervention of external bodies in this border conflict.
