A smiling Vladimir Putin next to Hugo Chávez and, on the corner, the “Z” for “victory”: left-wing groups erected a mural in a Caracas neighborhood in support of Russia, strongly questioned by the incursion into Ukraine.
“We want to thank Russia and its president Vladimir Putin for all the support they have given us,” he told the AFP Francisco Moreno, a member of the leftist Zapatista group, who along with his colleagues from La Piedrita painted the graffiti at the entrance to a futsal field in Catia.
“It is a message of solidarity with the Russian government that has always supported us: the first vaccine we had was the Russian one, in fact my mother was vaccinated with Sputnik.”
Maduro has expressed his support for Putin
Moscow has been a key ally of Venezuela since the time of Chávez and continued with Nicolás Maduro who, shielded by this relationship, has been able to avoid international sanctions against him.
And Maduro has expressed his support for Russia during a conflict that has earned Putin widespread international rejection.
In the painting, along with the word “We will win”, a Sukhoi fighter plane is also illustrated, representing one of the military equipment agreements signed between the two countries, which included Russian-made aerial systems and weapons.
And the «Z», which has become a symbol of support for the invasion of Ukraine.
It represents “the Russian victory,” says Moreno. “They want to sell Russia as a monster, just as they want to sell Venezuela as a dictatorship.”
In one corner of the field, freshly painted, the flags of Russia and Venezuela also wave.
The inauguration, over the weekend, was attended by the Russian ambassador to Venezuela, Sergei Melik-Bagdasarov.
“Thanks to the Venezuelan government and people for their solidarity!” he wrote on Twitter.
“We thanked the ambassador for the support we have received in the pandemic and in the US blockade,” said Moreno, a fervent supporter of Chavismo, who also condemns “the boycott of Russian athletes.”
For Sayid Catanaima, a 47-year-old resident of Catia, “the mural represents the union of two sister peoples that have been whipped, we see how the Russian government defends its spaces as any country in the world would.”
There is also a mural on the court in honor of Argentine star Diego Armando Maradona, who was very close to Chavismo. “We will be stronger when we are more united. Bolívar », reads next to the image of the deceased footballer.