Name: Eduardo Gonzalez
Job: Student
Way forward: Involve youth in the political reconciliation process - we "deserve a say" in Venezuela's future
Eduardo Gonzalez says Venezuelan streets will only calm down when "the government sincerely engages with students and the half of the country that voted against" the current administration of President Nicolás Maduro. The young man with long black hair shrugs off the potential of ongoing peace talks to solve the political crisis, calling them "a show for the media."
There are ample reasons to protest, says Mr. Gonzalez, pointing to spiraling inflation and crime. "You [as a student] see your future quickly sinking with your country and the government is doing nothing to change that," he says.
Over the past year, Gonzalez has been jailed twice. First during the nationwide protests that followed President Maduro's hotly contested election victory, and then again last month when he was among the hundreds of youth activists rounded up in Caracas when security forces raided protest camps across the city.
"We [were] awoken in the middle of the night by over 300 national guardsmen firing tear gas," he says. Security forces "grabbed those fleeing, hitting us."
Rather than flexing its muscles, the government now needs to engage with student leaders and activists who have thus far been forced to stay on the sidelines, Gonzalez says. He suggests organizing a conference that includes youth leaders, but warns location is key: Trying to work through these challenges at the Miraflores presidential palace means Maduro automatically has the upper hand, he says.
