Pokemon Go used as a protesting tool in violent Venezuela
When Cristian Fragoza takes to the streets of Caracas hunting the virtual monsters of Pokemon Go, he knows he's risking his cell phone ... and maybe even his life.
But the 18-year-old philosophy student says playing the augmented reality game is a form of protest against the violent crime that has made Venezuela one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
“We’re the resistance against the criminals,” said Fragoza, who’s gotten hooked on the wildly popular game since it arrived in Venezuela on August 3.
He proudly shows off one of his favorite Pokemon catches: a Bulbasaur, which he captured at the edge of a neighborhood called 23 de Enero, considered one of the most dangerous in the Venezuelan capital.
With a homicide rate of 62 per 100,000 inhabitants, Venezuela is the third-most murderous country in the world.
Fragoza said he hunts his Pokemon cautiously.
“Not everyone dares to take out their cell phone in public to play,” said 22-year-old Alejandra Salazar.
Around 500 people in Venezuela were killed between October 2015 and March 2016 for refusing to hand over their cell phones during a robbery, according to watchdog group Alto al Crimen (Stop Crime).
The violence is being fueled by a brutal economic crisis that is causing severe shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.
Amid the crisis, Pokemon Go online communities have emerged, urging players to “catch them safely.”
“Your phone, and especially your life, are worth more than a Pokemon,” says one message.
“Our primary mission was to launch a safety campaign,” said Luis Vargas, a 30-year-old salesman and owner of the Twitter account @PokemonGo_Vzla.
To reduce the risk, players play in groups, in high-traffic areas or ones with a police presence, he Vargas said.
But the Pokemon monsters are unwelcome guests as far as one important Venezuelan is concerned: embattled President Nicolas Maduro, who has blamed the game for causing a “culture of violence.”
“It creates virtual realities, all related to arms, to violence, to death,” he said.
The politics of Pokemon got even messier when a lawmaker from the opposition, which is trying to force Maduro from power, posted a picture on Twitter of a Pokemon he captured in the legislature while waiting for a session to start.
“Some people are catching these creatures not just in the street but at their workplaces, and are shameless enough to say so,” said Maduro’s right-hand man, Diosdado Cabello.
“That’s why they’ll never return to power.”
He and Maduro are likely not thrilled that the game has reached the final resting place of their late mentor, the leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez.
According to Fragoza, there are three PokeStops near the former president’s tomb.