Venezuelans began a week-long national holiday on Thursday as some protests still simmer, but President Nicolas Maduro’s government is hoping the break will take the heat out of the nation’s worst unrest in a decade.
The 51-year-old successor to Hugo Chavez brought forward by two days a long weekend national holiday for Carnival when Venezuelans traditionally abandon cities and head for Caribbean coast beaches to relax and party.
There will be another day off for the March 5 anniversary of Chavez’s death from cancer, meaning a week-long break that officials hope will dampen student-led street protests against the government.
In the capital, Caracas, which has seen most of the at least 13 fatalities from this month’s unrest, opposition supporters gathered in wealthy eastern neighborhoods.
In familiar scenes from the last two weeks, when one group of demonstrators tried to block a six-lane highway that runs nearby, security forces fired teargas to disperse them.
“How can you enjoy carnival when people are dying?” read one banner waved by students at drivers in eastern Caracas as many people began to hit the highways for the coast.
In the city center, red-clad Maduro supporters rallied in remembrance of deadly price riots 25 years ago, which the president says helped propel Chavez to power a decade later.
The students want Maduro to quit over grievances ranging from high inflation and shocking crime rates to shortages of basic food and alleged repression of political rivals.
Though they have presented the biggest challenge to his 10-month-old administration and the worst unrest since street rallies against Chavez a decade ago, there is no sign Maduro could be ousted.
On the contrary, he seems to be regaining the initiative by offering dialog with foes and consolidating his leadership of the Socialist Party by uniting factions against a common enemy.
About 150 people have been injured during the two-week crisis, and more than 500 people arrested, authorities say.
