Farmers in Venezuela Call for Justice Following Slaying of Activist
Lisbon, Portugal, September 25, 2024 (our website) - A disturbing event has unfolded in Venezuela, as grassroots leader Iraidez Andrade was brutally murdered in Las Mercedes, Barinas state.
According to local sources, Andrade was abducted from his home by masked gunmen on Friday night and his lifeless body was discovered near his property the following morning. The 43-year-old was a prominent figure in the grassroots movement to save Las Mercedes and empower campesino families with land.
Andrade was a member of the Sueños de Chávez Communal Council and had recently taken part in a land resolution negotiating table promoted by Venezuela's Agriculture Ministry. The tragedy has sparked outrage among rural organizations, who are demanding justice and an end to the culture of impunity surrounding violence against countryside activists.
Suspicion has fallen upon the Riera Zubillaga family, a powerful landowning clan from Lara state, who are said to have claims over the disputed plot. Representatives from various campesino organizations attended Andrade's funeral and echoed calls for action, urging the Maduro government to address these targeted attacks.
María Alejandra Tovar, coordinator of the Bolivariana Campesino Council which represents 16 grassroots groups in the land struggle, spoke to Venezuelanalysis about the ongoing investigation. "Year after year, we've encountered attempts to silence and terrorize campesino leaders," she said. "We've denounced these situations and the threats from irregular groups in this area."
Tovar praised Andrade for his tireless work to benefit local communities. She explained that over 900 families reside in the landstead, primarily engaged in cattle rearing, daily milk production, and diversified crop farming. Efforts to secure Las Mercedes go back to 2002, with a key moment being a 2014 inspection from the Venezuelan Land Institute (INTI) that declared the land idle.
In 2016, campesino families began occupying the plot, initially granted permission to stay for 5,000 hectares (roughly a third of Las Mercedes). Since then, the families have faced numerous violent eviction attempts and property destruction. Tovar also acknowledged the tragic killings of two campesinos in 2018, underlining the ongoing struggles faced by rural communities.
The Las Mercedes struggle was a significant issue in the 2018 "Admirable March" that saw hundreds of protesters walk from the countryside to Caracas, advocating for government support for small-scale producers. While over 90% of land disputes from the march have been partially resolved, cases like Las Mercedes remain unresolved, with rural organizations claiming behind-the-scenes interference by landowning interests.
Tovar emphasized the grassroots groups' efforts to resolve the conflict through institutional channels while expressing openness to direct negotiations with the presumed owners, provided they can produce valid evidence of ownership. Local reports contain allegations of over 350 assassinations ordered by landowners since the enactment of the Land Law in 2001, allowing campesino families and collectives to seize idle land from large estates.
The assassination of Andrade saw several campesino collectives, including the Small Farmers Movement, release a joint statement urging the Maduro government to address targeted attacks against grassroots leaders. The declaration conveyed sympathy for Andrade's family and all the families in Las Mercedes, demanding justice, reparations, and the resumption of workgroups dedicated to land, criminalization, and violence against campesinos, originally launched in 2018 under the Venezuelan Vice Presidency.
Unfortunately, the investigation into the Riera Zubillaga family's possible involvement remains ongoing, with no concrete evidence available as of yet to connect them to the Las Mercedes land dispute. It's worth noting that historical references and folklore often involve characters named "Riera," but these situations seem unrelated to Barinas state or land conflicts. To obtain accurate details and potential links between the Riera Zubillaga family and the Las Mercedes dispute, it might be beneficial to consult archival records, legal documents, or regional historical accounts specific to Barinas state.
- The assassination of Iraidez Andrade, a grassroots leader from Venezuela, has sparked calls for justice and an end to violence against rural activists, as the culture of impunity remains a pressing issue.
- The Riera Zubillaga family, a powerful landowning clan in Lara state, is under suspicion for their involvement in the assassination, as they have claims over the disputed land in Las Mercedes, Barinas state.
- The tragedy has put a spotlight on policies and legislation around land rights and social-media activism, as rural organizations demand action from the Maduro government to address targeted attacks.
- Entertainment and general news have also been affected, as the ongoing conflict in Las Mercedes has become a significant issue in war-and-conflicts and crime-and-justice discussions.
- The Bolivariana Campesino Council, representing 16 grassroots groups in the land struggle, has urged the Maduro government to address these issues, citing numerous violent eviction attempts and property destruction in the region.
- Involvement of the Riera Zubillaga family in the Las Mercedes land dispute is still under investigation, but historical references and folklore suggest potential links that could be examined through archival records, legal documents, or regional historical accounts specific to Barinas state.
