Masses of people gathered on opposite sides of Caracas on Saturday, Feb. 22 to show their opposition to or their support for the government of President Nicolas Maduro. According to reports, the protests gathered thousands and ended when opposition protesters clashed with police. The last few weeks have not been easy for opposition protesters. Security forces and colectivos, which roam neighborhoods on motorcycles, have already killed ten student protesters.

Hearing from these students and the others protesting has been hard, as Venezuelan media outlets refuse to broadcast what is happening on the streets of their country. Reports claim foreign media outlets like CNN have been blocked or threatened. Yet information continues to stream throughout the country as well as in and out of it thanks to social media and the internet. The voices of protesters on the streets can still flow through.

The surge in protests began on Feb. 12 when students gathered in the streets of Caracas to show their discontent with the current administration of President Maduro. After the death of long-serving President Hugo Chávez early last year, Vice President Maduro narrowly beat opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in a special election on April 14, with a final count of 50.6 percent to 49.1 percent. Since then, protesters say Maduro has not managed the country well, leading to unrest and disenchantment with the government.

"The principal reason is that we, the students, are tired," explains Albany Alvarado, a student at the Universidad Santa Maria in Caracas, to Latin Post. "We are tired of the government trampling and repressing our own future. There is a shortage of products like flour, chicken, milk, and sugar. Even today the supermarket remains empty."

According to the Washington Post, Venezuelan supermarkets have been empty for weeks. People queue for hours to buy whatever items are available as soon as they hit the shelves. Economists say Venezuela's problem lies in the shortage of U.S. dollars, which prevents the government and retailers from buying items. Though the government has fixed the currency exchange rate at 6.3 bolivars to the dollar, inflation remains rampant and the exchange rate on the streets is actually ten times higher.

Yet, the monetary issue is much more complex. Edgar Higuerey, a 22 year-old student and reporter for the newspaper El Tiempo, explains how the Commission for the Administration of the Currency Exchange (Cadivi) was abolished and replaced with the Ancillary Foreign Currency Administration System (Sicad), reshaping the currency management system the government imposed on the country for ten years.

"This year the system was changed, since the executive believes Venezuelans were given more dollars than estimated last year," Higuerey told Latin Post. "Basically, the problem is that the government does not have the monetary liquidity it had last year, because of their bad management, fiscal spending and the handling of exorbitant payrolls."

He adds that they do not have the money they previously had to back their expenses. The Sicad, he explains, was intended to run in an auction-based system but it does not; "it is a lottery, those [who] are called to receive dollars must guess the exchange between the bolivar to the dollar."

Because of this, prices have soared, prompting people to take to the streets and make their displeasure known. El Universal reports that food prices rose 2.5 per cent in the past month, according to the Central Bank of Venezuela. Students like Alvarado are also protesting the government's lack of action concerning low medical supplies and crime.

"Medicines are not getting through to those who need it and they need them for life-long treatments," explains Alvarado. "Insulin injections, chemotherapy medications, and medicine for children with Down syndrome are all being held back by customs 'supposedly' and they're not letting it into the country." Aside from the lack of medicine, she also highlighted the dangerous rise in crime, pointing out that people feel "insecure, afraid they'll robbed or killed; we are afraid to go on the streets."

On Feb. 12, the first death came at the hands of what protesters call government snipers. Bassil Da Costa, a 24-year-old marketing student, was shot in the head as he and about 100 other protesters ran from rapid gunfire in Caracas. "This is the video I mentioned to you. Bassil was the first killed during the protests that began on February 12, Youth Day," said Higuerey, in an email in Spanish.

WARNING: The video below contains some graphic images of violence.

But amid the bullets and tear gas, they march day after day, chanting their opposition to the Maduro government. Over the past week the death toll has continued to increase.

"The protests really are just walking to the designated spot with our placards in a peaceful manner," explains Alvarado. "If we have blocked streets with the famous guarimbas, tires, tree trunks and fires [it] is so that Venezuela wakes up and stop being indifferent to so much injustice."

During Saturday's protests many students marched as they had before in various cities, but violence erupted around the country. According to Higuerey, there were crackdowns in cities like Tachira, Caracas, Valencia, Maracay and Puerto Ordaz. He said the National Guard and regional police committed most of the violence, but he added that the colectivos come out at night.

Students and activists say violence has been rampant against opposition protesters without much action by the government. The colectivos are "committing crimes and are not singled out nor arrested by the security forces," said Higuerey. He also explains that the police only intervene in protests when they are violent but "the detail is that the opposition or the general population know the parameters used by Nicolas Maduro to determine which protests are peaceful and which aren't."

Despite the insecurity, the students continue to march in the streets. "They will continue protesting until all the political prisoners are freed, including Leopoldo López," said Higuerey. The events in Ukraine have cast a shadow on Venezuela's protests and the international community has not paid close attention. "But Venezuela doesn't expect anything from the international community," explains Higuerey. "Because for years they've been silent where it concerns the repressions and the limitations of liberty. Nothing has to change now."

Venezuela's future remains uncertain with constant street clashes between the opposition and the government. The students face a challenge with the upcoming Carnival in Venezuela, threatening days of protests. However, Higuerey has told Latin Post new protests are scheduled for Feb. 27. Since the day has been decreed a holiday, protesters from both sides will hit the streets. Hopefully there will be less violence, though it seems unlikely.