On Sunday, the Venezuelan government decreed the reduction of working hours and the suspension of classes due to the worsening of the blackouts in the oil producing country since March 7th.
To achieve consistency in the provision of electric service, the Bolivarian government decides to keep school activities suspended and establishes daily work hours until two in the afternoon in public and private institutions,”
Communication Minister Jorge Rodríguez said in a statement.
Several demonstrations took place this Sunday in Caracas due to the recurrent power cuts that have been affecting the country, especially the regions of the interior.
Armed Chávez groups repressed some of the protests, protesters and human rights NGOs denounced.
President Nicolás Maduro, who usually blames the blackouts for sabotage, gave the green light to the civilian groups that support him to contain the protests he calls “violent guarimbas” to overthrow him.
Joaquín Rodríguez, a 54-year-old lawyer, was protesting in Los Palos Grandes, once a well-to-do area of Caracas that suffers from the rigors of power failure for a decade.
Once again a national blackout is affecting our quality of life, we do not have water, we do not have electricity, we do not have internet, we do not have telephones, we are isolated, we have reached the worst we could imagine,”
he told AFP.
The socialist government reiterated that “terrorist” attacks have damaged the Guri hydroelectric plant, which generates 80% of electric power in Venezuela.