Bristol's Professional Protest Circuit Hits Cascade Steps: 80 People, Venezuelan Flags, Same Script.
When activists protested Maduro's removal Monday night, Venezuelans worldwide danced in streets. What 80 Bristolians in sub-zero temperatures revealed about performative activism.
(Image: Bristol Live - Paul Gillis)
Monday night, January 6th, 80 people gathered at Cascade Steps in central Bristol. Sub-zero temperatures. Frozen fountain. Children playing on cracked ice while their parents protested America’s weekend military operation in Venezuela.
Notice something? While Bristol’s activists defended Maduro’s Venezuela in the cold, Venezuelans in Santiago, Madrid, Lima, Buenos Aires, and Miami literally danced in streets celebrating his removal.
That gap between activism and reality? That’s what Monday revealed.
Bristol Stop the War Coalition organized it. Green councillor Lorraine Francis, academics, Your Party representatives, and Bristol’s Palestinian Solidarity campaign spoke. Venezuelan flags alongside Palestinian ones. Socialist Worker placards distributed. Five police officers monitored. Activists ran bake sales for “the Venezuelan cause.”
The Bristol Post documented everything—names, quotes, attendance figures.
Yet watching this unfold: has anyone asked the Venezuelans what they think?
The people they claim to help wanted Maduro gone.
The Template Reveals Itself.
Thomas Whittaker called Trump’s actions “one of the most brazen acts of naked, brutal imperialism in our lifetime.” Lauren Simmonds identified “enemies” as “the British ruling class.” Lorraine Francis asked: “Where are my fellow councillors?”
You see the pattern? America bad. Western governments complicit. Imperialism obvious. Resistance mandatory.
Nobody mentioned whether Venezuelans wanted this outcome.
The template requires:
America involved (as aggressor) ✓
Socialist government ✓
Clear villain to oppose ✓
Simple narrative ✓
Tick those boxes, you get protests. Miss them? You’re Yemen. Burma. Uyghurs. Ignored, forgotten, nobody showing up.
Notice how the cause rotates but the template stays identical?
The Flag Mathematics.
“Venezuelan flags were raised alongside Palestinian ones, representing the anti-imperialist mission.”
Alongside. Not instead of.
You realize what that means? This isn’t about Venezuela. It’s maintaining the circuit. Same structure, different country, same certainty.
Someone coordinated this. Ordered Venezuelan flags specifically. Printed placards. This isn’t spontaneous activism. This is event management.
Ukraine dominated 2022-2023. Palestine took 2023-2024. Venezuela gets January 2026. When activists pivot from Ukraine expert to Palestine expert to Venezuela expert in 18 months, you’re watching people who memorized which flag waves this season.
The Bristol Stop the War Coalition didn’t develop Venezuelan expertise over the weekend. They activated the template.
What Lorraine Francis Didn’t Mention.
Maybe her fellow councillors weren’t freezing their arses off because they’d noticed something—actual Venezuelans were celebrating.
Karina Velasquez left Venezuela three decades ago. When Maduro was captured: “I was very happy. I really appreciate that someone took action over the injustice happening in Venezuela. I want to go back to my country and live the life I deserve.”
Venezuelan voice expressing gratitude.
The Bristol Post mentions “Bristol’s Venezuelan community” spoke. But do those speakers represent the eight million Venezuelans who fled Maduro? Or the political faction aligning with Bristol Stop the War Coalition’s position?
Selecting Venezuelan speakers who agree with you while ignoring millions celebrating isn’t practicing solidarity. You’re performing it.
This pattern appears across Bristol’s Green Party governance—gaps between what councillors claim and what evidence reveals.
The Bake Sale Problem.
Activists sought donations “for the Venezuelan cause.”
Which cause? Venezuelans celebrating Maduro’s removal? Or keeping him in power?
Opposing causes. I’m guessing the bake sale wasn’t raising money for plane tickets so exiled Venezuelans could return home.
Performative activism’s central problem: it’s not about people it claims to help.
If Monday genuinely centered Venezuelan welfare, it would’ve started by asking Venezuelans what they wanted. Instead, it decided America was wrong, therefore whatever America opposed must be defended.
That’s not solidarity. That’s ideology with foreign policy wrapping.
The Maduro Record.
Maduro’s government transformed Venezuela from South America’s wealthiest country into humanitarian crisis driving eight million to flee. Not American propaganda. Venezuelans.
Under Maduro:
Hyperinflation: 130,060% (2018)
GDP contracted 65% (2013-2020)
96% fell into poverty
Average Venezuelan lost 24 pounds (”Maduro diet”)
Healthcare collapsed
When opposition leader María Corina Machado won 92% of primary votes (2023), Maduro banned her. When Edmundo González won the 2024 election per opposition tallies, Maduro claimed victory, had protesters killed.
This is who Bristol’s activists defended.
The outrage isn’t about intervention. It’s about who’s intervening. If China did this, no demonstration. If Russia, no placards. That’s not principle—that’s tribal positioning.
What Monday Accomplished.
Eighty people stood in sub-zero temperatures. Speeches delivered. Flags waved. Bake sales raised money.
What changed? Nothing. Maduro’s in American custody. Trump claims he’ll “run” Venezuela. Venezuelan diaspora celebrates.
But Bristol’s activists got what they came for: psychological reward of performative activism. Demonstrated anti-imperialist credentials, photographed holding correct flags, told themselves they stood up to power.
Not helping Venezuelans. Helping themselves feel righteous.
If they wanted to help Venezuelans, they’d have asked what Venezuelans wanted. Answer—uncomfortable for Bristol Stop the War Coalition—millions wanted Maduro gone.
You can oppose American intervention and acknowledge Maduro was disastrous. Question Trump’s motives and recognize refugees’ grievances. Criticize operation’s legality and understand why people dance in streets.
But that requires complexity. Uncomfortable contradictions. Listening to people you disagree with.
Easier to wave flags while children play on frozen fountains.
The Circuit Rolls On.
Few weeks: different demonstration. Different cause. Same organizers, speakers, placards, certainty.
Venezuelan flags return to storage. Maybe traded for Colombian flags if Trump moves on Petro. Cause doesn’t matter. Circuit does.
Nobody asks: who is this for?
Not Venezuelans celebrating in Santiago. Not refugees who fled. Not the 80% in poverty wanting change.
It’s for activists. The circuit. Identity provided. Moral certainty. In-group belonging. Cost-free righteousness from opposing America without living with consequences.
Maybe Francis’s fellow councillors are tired of watching the same performance with different flags.
The template works until people notice it’s a template.
Monday at Cascade Steps? Template fully visible. Eighty people. Sub-zero. Frozen fountain. Venezuelan flags alongside Palestinian. Bake sales. Imperialism speeches.
Meanwhile, in Santiago, Madrid, Lima, Buenos Aires, Doral—Venezuelans danced.
That’s the gap between activism and reality.
Picking positions based on opposing America rather than listening to people you claim helping.
Same circuit. Different flags. Same performance.
Venezuelans celebrating their freedom? Still not invited to speak.
RELATED: Bristol’s Circus of ‘Liveable Neighbourhoods’: Why Residents Don’t Trust the Clowns | Bristol’s Green Experiment: Killing the Golden Goose While Claiming It’s Thriving | Bristol Green Party Failures: Why Bristol City Council Is Failing Residents
IMAGE: bristol-cascade-steps-venezuela-protest-january-2026.jpg - Bristol Live/Paul Gillis.
The Almighty Gob (John Langley) operates thealmightygob.com, specialising in Bristol City Council accountability and institutional dysfunction analysis. Using FOI requests and policy analysis to document gaps between political rhetoric and measurable outcomes, his work combines fact-checking with satirical commentary applying the framework: “Is it practical? Is it logical? What’s the likely outcome?” Support independent Bristol reporting, and subscribe below.