About 40 people gathered Friday with a simple message: "No more Chávez."
Protesters spoke out against the Venezuelan president and chanted, "We want peace" and "No more oppression" in heat nearing 90 degrees at West University Avenue and Southwest 13th Street.
What started with two students and a lone sign that read "No + Chavez" slowly became a full-blown protest demonstrating against Hugo Chávez's rule over Venezuela.
Though it was scheduled for 5 p.m., the protest took full force around 5:45 p.m. as demonstrators, mostly students, trickled to the corner.
"We're Venezuelan - we're always a little late," joked Esther Benchimol, a fifth-year industrial and systems engineering student.
Word of the protest was spread via Facebook, text messages and Blackberry messages.
Francia Salazar, a sophomore and one of the first to arrive, heard of the demonstration in a text from a friend.
"I felt it was important to come because it's necessary for the whole world to know that there are many Venezuelans who are against Chávez," Salazar said.
Not only Venezuelans attended the protest. About 10 Honduran students held signs and chanted in favor of democracy.
Kenya Perez, a Honduran junior at Santa Fe College, said she felt inclined to protest because she is against communism in Latin America.
"We want peace," Perez said. "And we hate Chávez."
Despite the serious message behind the gathering, the protesters seemed to enjoy the get together. Little to no English was spoken among the participants, and breaks for cigarettes, group photos and trips to the nearby Kangaroo gas station were frequent.
Andres Carvallo, UF alumni and co-organizer of the event, said he felt the protest achieved the desired goal.
"We wanted to make Americans here in Gainesville aware of what's going on in Venezuela and how Chávez is trying to oppress the people," he said. "This is just our way to help out and show support for our family down there in Venezuela."
