If anyone has been humiliated, abused and cheated by the Chavez Government, it has been Franklin Brito. But at the same time, Mr. Brito has responded with amazing strength and dignity, going on hunger strikes in front of the Supreme Court and the OAS, asking for something very simple: Justice.
Mr. Brito first incited the wrath of the Mayor of his municipality in Bolivar State, where he was a teacher and a farmer, when he suggested that rather than using pesticides, they could simply change the strain of “ñame” (yam) they were growing. Mr. Brito was fired, together with is wife (They are still owed salary and severance from their teaching jobs) and his farm was taken over.
Mr. Brito went on a hunger strike and the Government relented, his salary would be paid and his land returned…
It was never done.
Then Mr. Brito went on another hunger strike. The Land Institute signed an eleven point agreement with him….
It was never complied with.
Then Mr. Brito went on a 150 day hunger strike in fron of the OAS that left him in really bad shape and ended with the Government agreeing to return his land. Mr. Brito gave up his hunger strike, spent a few days in intensive care, but..
the agreement was not complied with and two days ago, Mr. Brito went back on his hunger strike at the OAS.
Then, last night at 1:30 AM, Mr. Brito was kidnapped by the Metropolitan Police and the Fire Department and was taken while he refused to go to the Military Hospital, where he is now being held against his will according to his lawyer. The Government claims they are protecting Mr. Brito’s life, but the truth is he has been officially kidnapped by the Government in an attempt to block his right to protest and denounce the abuses of his rights and the lies by the Chavez Government.
Mr. Brito’s protest was getting too inconvenient and visible.
His wife has now gone on a hunger strike at the OAS, but Mr.Brito remains held against his will at this time.
Such is the state of Injustice and abuse of power under Hugo Chavez, you can be held against your will, in violation of the laws of the Land and the Constitution.
The Devil's Excrement 
September 5, 2010 at 9:13 am
[…] fought for his right to be a farmer. Miguel Octavio, from Devilsexcrement, explains the background story well: Mr. Brito first incited the wrath of the Mayor of his municipality in Bolivar State, where he […]
August 31, 2010 at 12:32 pm
[…] […]
August 30, 2010 at 10:06 pm
[…] Brito dies August 30, 2010 Franklin Brito, who went on a hunger strike to defend his property, was later kidnapped by the Government to hide his truth and never received an answer, died today […]
December 15, 2009 at 1:05 pm
[…] […]
December 15, 2009 at 9:32 am
Power has always been idealized in Venezuela and many a cruel act done under its persuasion and many a coward who allows it to go uncontested.
I remember a case years ago where an educated and brilliant man( whose brothers later became powerful promoters of Chavez).This man bought a Finca in San Casimiro from a poor literate dirt farmer.He told the man it was worth much much less than it actually was and then bought it from him at a literal steal.
The man later found out through friends that he had been jipped so he promptly complained to the buyer.Of course this angered the rich buyer so he had him put in jail.Everybody agreed it was horrible to that but nobody but me( and I had no power) complained.The rest were too complacent to bother.
You would not believe how rich this thief family is now…..under Chavez
One of the cultural idiosyncrasies I observed in Venezuela is the unfortunate tendency to call this kind of act ‘Vivo’ or ‘inteligente’.When we don’t call a spade a spade it messes up our thinking.
This act could never be intelligent.It is sociopathic, evil, cruel, and stupid.Yes, stupid because anyone who commits this type of act is not able to see the long term consequences for either himself or others.
December 15, 2009 at 5:32 am
GB, you are correct.
They will never back down to Brito. A sad case.
Like all things Venezuelan they will tell you what they think you want to hear to make the problem go away for another day.
December 14, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I was on a short rural Venezuelan road trip this weekend. As we drove passed cattle farms and ranches, I thought about this case and wondered if the government was really going to cave in to this guy because if it did, it was make all the other farm/ranch confiscations null and void…and they couldn’t have that could they?
December 14, 2009 at 7:01 am
A true hunger strike, not one of these school plays mimicking one. And it’s rattling the power that be. Wonder what would happen if any of these other, better-attended, few-day faux-diets were ACTUALLY hunger strikes?