* El Libertario, the voice of the Comision de Relaciones Anarquistas of Venezuela, analyzes the how and the why of the increasing state repression against the growing social discontent that belies the pseudo-revolutionary discourse of the Chavez regime.

From July 1 to November 30 there were 26 demonstrations repressed, impeded or otherwise hampered by the state’s security organs; a greater number than the 18 cases accounted for in the report by the NGO Provea for the whole of 2005 (www.derechos.org.ve). This study likewise shows an increase in the number of violations to the right of physical integrity denouncing at least 71 injuries by bullets, bb’s, blows, choking and other mistreatment, compared to 49 cases in 2005. In the same vein, cases of violations of the right to personal liberty show an increase of 60% with 130 arbitrary detentions versus 81 for the 12 months of 2005. In 55% of the cases, the repression was at the hands of regional police while 45% were committed by the National Guard (NG). Only 6 cases, 23% of the total, took place in the city of Caracas.

The latest Annual Report on the human rights situation in Venezuela also made by Provea estimates that between October 2005 and September 2006 58 demonstrations were repressed in the country. If we add to this the 16 protests violently dissolved between October and November, the number climbs to 74 cases. Two students, Jose Gonzalez (Cumana) and Dave Parker (Trujillo) died this year as a result of the police’s repressive actions. These numbers are in contrast to the official declarations that affirm that the repression of protests is a thing of the past. “This is not a government that tramples, that assassinates, tortures or represses anyone. That happened during the Fourth Republic, President Chavez’s government does not have its hands stained with Venezuelan blood