The Empty Rebellion in Venezuela

Nicholas Casey at The New York Times had been talking to Óscar Pérez, rogue police officer who was just killed by the Venezuelan government. If you are looking for incipient rebellion, you will not find optimism. For example:

“We wanted there to be a call to the streets that day, there to be big displays, that the people realized there a movement had started,” he said in one of his messages. “But unfortunately, there wasn’t one.”

It was all symbolism and no substance, meaning there is no movement behind his personal rebellion. He just hoped one would materialize. He captured the imagination of Venezuelans (he was, after all, an actor of action movies) and scared the government, but he had no plans for anything to come after. So he's both a symbol of resistance and of the disorganization that has permanently plagued those who oppose the government.