The wedding of this weekend of the founder of Multimiliardar Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and Lauren Sanchez, who will take place in Venice, surrounded by celebrities, joined the groups of activists protesting against it, considering it a sign of the greater disappearance between the rich and the poor, even though Bezos made an important donation to some of them.
The activists protest against Jeff Bezos’s wedding in Venice. Photo apnews
About a dozen Venetian organizations joined to protest against the event for several days under the slogan “Without space for bezos ”a game of words that refers to the recent spatial flight of the bride, writes apnews
They organized small-scale protests, carrying out anti-bezos banners in iconic places in Venice. This week they were joined by Greenpeace and the British group “Everyone hates Elon”, Which destroyed Tesla cars in protest against Elon Musk, carrying out a gigantic banner in San Marco Square, protesting against alleged tax reductions for billionaires.
“If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more taxes”, Wrote on the banner, who had a huge image of Bezos. The police raised it quickly.
Bezos’s representatives did not comment on protests.
“It will be a strong, decisive, but peaceful protest”
Local activists had planned a more organized protest for Saturday, in order to block access to channels with boats to prevent guests from reaching the wedding. Then, after claiming a victory, they changed the protest in a range from the train station, claiming that the pressure exerted for forced the organizers to change the location at Arsenals, a place easier to secure beyond the crowded center of Venice.
“Will be a strong, decisive but peaceful protest“Said Federica Toninello, activist in the Social Housing Assembly network.”We want to be like a party with music, to show clearly how we want to look our Venice. ”
Invites notes
Among the 200 guests confirmed that they will attend the wedding are Mick Jagger, Ivanka Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Venice, famous for its romantic views over the channels, houses hundreds of weddings every year, not infrequently of rich and famous people. Previous weddings of celebrities, such as George Clooney with a human rights lawyer in 2014, were greeted by the public. Hundreds of people came to the town hall to hate the couple all the best.
Bezos is not a Hollywood actor, he stayed next to Trump
Bezos has a different political and business profile, said Tommaso Cacciari, a prominent figure in the movement that has successfully promoted the prohibition of over 25,000 tonnes that travel through the Giudecca channel in the center of Venice.
“Bezos is not a Hollywood actor”Cacciuri said. “E.He was an ultramiliardar who stayed near Donald Trump during the inauguration, who contributed to his re-election and contributes in a direct and powerful way to this new global obscurantism. ”
Critics also cites Amazon work practices, tax disputes in progress with European governments and Bezos’s political associations as additional concerns.
Activists also argue that Bezos’s wedding exemplifies larger failures in municipal government, especially prioritizing tourism to the needs of inhabitants. They cite measures such as the fee on one -day hikers – which critics claim to strengthen the image of Venice as a thematic park – as inefficient. Their main concerns include the lack of investments in accessible homes and essential services.
“Important donation” for some protesters
The city officials defended the wedding. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the event an honor for Venice, and the city denied that the wedding could cause disturbance.
“Venice is once again proven to be a global scene ”Brugnaro told Associated Press, adding that he hopes to meet Bezos while he is in the city.
Meanwhile, a Venetian environmental research association, Corila, issued a statement stating that Bezos’s fund supports his activity with a “Important donation”.
Corila, who brings together university researchers and the main national research council in Italy in researching Venetian protection strategies, did not specify how much he donated Bezos, but said that the contact began in April, long before the protests began.
