Gustavo Dudamel raises his voice against Venezuelan government: 'Enough is enough'

Renowned Venezuelan musician, Gustavo Dudamel, who has largely remained silent over the unrest that has engulfed the country, has now opened up against the government's violent repression and said "enough is enough".

Dudamel has also urged President Nicolas Maduro to "listen to the voice of the Venezuelan people", and make a system "where we can walk freely in dissent, in respect, in tolerance, in dialogue".

The comments of the star conductor came after an 18-year-old musician was killed at a rally in Caracas on 3 May. The teen was a member of El Sistema, Venezuela's famous musical education programme, of which Dudamel is a star, the BBC reported.

He shared his views on a Facebook post under the headline "I raise my voice" and said, "Nothing can justify the bloodshed."

He added: "We must stop ignoring the just cry of the people suffocated by an intolerable crisis. No ideology can go beyond the common good" and "politics must be exercised from conscience and in the utmost respect of the Constitution."

The 36-year-old music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra has until now avoided talking about the economic, social and political crisis that has hit his homeland for months.

While Maduro's critics blame him for the crisis, the president has alleged that the opposition and the business community are responsible for the shortage in essential supplies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has even predicted that inflation will rise to 720% in 2017 and to over 2,000% in 2018.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles had earlier termed the situation in the South American country as the worst so far and said 80% of Venezuelans wanted change.

Anti-government demonstrations started after Supreme Court magistrates on 29 March issued a ruling removing the last vestiges of power from the opposition-controlled congress. Although the court retracted the ruling three days later, there is still widespread anger against Maduro's government.

More than 30 people have died and around 300 injured in numerous rallies taking place in multiple cities over the past month.

Maduro succeeded Hugo Chavez, a popular politician who had introduced wide-ranging social welfare programmes in the country, after narrowly defeating Capriles. However, Maduro has failed to gain the same popularity as Chavez.

Presidential elections are scheduled for late 2018, but the opposition is calling for early polls.