While
Venezuela’s government and the Chavista movement proclaimed victory
over the worst blackouts to plague the country, Washington’s coup
masters have promised more darkness until their goals are complete.
by
Misión Verdad
Part
5 - Life during the blackout
The
blackout coincided with the end of workday for the majority of the
population. Traffic was interrupted by the non operational lights. In
cities with underground public transportation, such as Caracas, Los
Teques, Valencia and Maracaibo, overground traffic was overloaded
with the population that could not use the tunnels. Similarly, the
collapse of the rail system that connected Valles del Tuy with
Caracas made the transportation situation even more difficult.The
telephone communication system was affected and only those who were
within reach of radio repeaters with an alternative source of power
could communicate by cell phone. Thanks to radio broadcasts, many
knew that the blackout was nationwide. Those who owned cars used them
as a source of power to recharge phones and listen to the radio.For
many people, the first night consisted of staying home and waiting
for news. Friday the 8th brought official confirmation that the
blackout had done deep damage across the country. School and work
activities were suspended, but news of a gradual and progressive
recovery of the electric service soon arrived, starting with the
eastern states of the country, communicated through official and
extra-official means.Still
for many, there was a second night with absolutely no power.On
Saturday morning, after a significant recovery of the service,
another widespread blackout hit the country. On top of the lack of
electricity, there was the challenge to get basic goods like
gasoline, food and drinking water.Getting
gasoline was possible only if a station had its own generator. The
banking system did not work or was working intermittently, affecting
all commercial activities. In Caracas, businesses lacked staff and
last but not least, the supply of potable water to most areas of the
country was limited because its pumping system relied on electricity.
Only those communities with water supply sources at above ground
level could access the service.Instead
of assuming a collaborative attitude and support to the community to
overcome the crisis, the Venezuelan opposition led by Guaidó
attempted to magnify the anxiety and anguish by attempting to ignite
chaos in the streets and encouraging violent looting.The
cyber attack against Corpoelec’s computerized system at the Guri
hydroelectric plant and against the main operational ’brain’ in
Caracas, was followed by attacks explained by President Maduro as
electromagnetic operations and, simultaneously, a sabotage to other
infrastructure which halted and reversed the recovery process, with
the apparent intention to make a total collapse irreversible.President
Nicolás Maduro placed special emphasis on one of the sabotages of
this operation: the explosion of the electrical substations in Baruta
and El Hatillo, which caused fires in the early hours of Monday
morning. Much of Caracas suffered a power outage again.The
Communications Minister, Rodríguez, added that the Tacoa
thermoelectric plant in Vargas had been sabotaged as well. He said
that the gas that supplied the station had been cut off, causing an
explosion and depriving the capital, Caracas, of a backup supply of
energy.It’s
important to note that Venezuela has a mixed energy generation
system. First, there is the hydroelectric power plant at Guri that
supplies the majority of the country, and then there is a
thermoelectric power plant at Tacoa. The capital, with the largest
concentration of the population, feeds from both sources. Rodriguez
explained that if the blackout happened under normal circumstances,
“Greater
Caracas could have easily been supplied on the Tacoa system.”Other
explosions of transformers were reported in the interior of the
country, affecting mainly the western region. In Zulia, the explosion
was reported on Tuesday 12th in the afternoon, in the Las Cabillas
sector of the Cabimas municipality. This state has also suffered from
violent and irregular actions that have affected several businesses.
Also in the Larense municipality of Cabudare, the explosion of
another substation occurred on Monday 11th, causing greater delays in
the restitution of energy in the area.
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