I had commented to @aurodivys minutes before the march started that I was going to the demonstration fully aware that maybe we were just attending the funeral of our university (based on the recent sparse turnouts). To my surprise, there were more people than I imagined. Most of them were retired professors. People who gave their entire lives to the Universidad de Oriente and whose families own all their personal and professional achievements (attending graduate school, developing research, publishing books, buying houses/apartments/cars, sending kids to college, etc) to the university, at a time it was profitable and a source of respect and prestige.

We marched under scorching sun, but seeing these men and women in their 70s and 80s raising their voices because they don't want to die seeing the university in ruins, because they want to see justice done, changes made, a return to the work-in-progress we had that promised improvements and prosperity, was inspiring. So, we marched all the way to the Ombudsman's Office to deliver a document that summarized all our objections to the miserable salary we are getting and the destruction of our institutions and way of life.

Hopefully, this will be the beginning of another wave of protest that, along with international pressure, can bring this regime finally down. This, by the way is the only solution to the problems. Some union leaders are still insisting in negotiating better salaries. That will not solve any problem (inflation will eat it up, working conditions will worsen, and political violence will continue). Venezuela can't stand one more year of Maduro and its shameless gang. There are still people willing to make a last stand.