Minneapolis, MN – On the night of November 1, Minnesotans gathered at an event hosted by the Anti-War Committee to hear a rare first-hand report from an advisor to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Dozthor Zurlent.

Zurlent, the author of Globalization of the Capitalist Crisis, Understanding Development, and Supra-State vs Communal State, spoke about the successes and hurdles faced by the revolutionary Bolivarian process, new diplomatic opportunities in today’s Latin America, and the imprisoned diplomat Alex Saab.

Beginning with a chant of international solidarity, Zurlent spoke about visiting George Floyd Square, the memorial at the location of George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department: “It doesn’t matter the distance, it doesn’t matter the borders, we are the same people. And George Floyd, the same as many others, [was] murdered by this criminal system that oppresses people not only here in the United States but all over the world. It really is a system that is trying to put people against the wall, a system that is all the time trying to put people down, and it’s a system that is looking to increase profits, increase their wealth at the expense of people.”

Zurlent explained that the revolutionary Bolivarian process in Venezuela is “creating a system built from the ground up and we call it the inversion of the pyramid where the base of the pyramid is at the top and the apex is at the bottom. Meaning, people at the top and the wealthy people at the bottom, with the head down of course.”

An example of this orientation is the government’s mission to provide housing to poor Venezuelans, with 4.2 million housing units built so far, providing housing for as much as half of the Venezuelan population.

Zurlent stated, “We as Venezuelans don’t have to pay taxes on the property of our houses. No one can take your house away from you. Housing is a human right in Venezuela. Even if you for some reason cannot pay a loan, no one can take your house as a collateral and no one can take your house away from you.”

Zurlent also spoke about the campaign to free Alex Saab, a Colombian-born Venezuelan diplomat who was involved in efforts to bring food, medicine and gasoline to Venezuela: “He was kidnapped in Cape Verde under direct U.S. orders. He was kept in captivity for over a year, and then he was transferred to the United States and he is still kidnapped in a United States jail in Miami. No real charges have been presented against him. And as a diplomat he has immunity, and still the U.S. didn’t respect that and they are still holding him illegally in a U.S. jail. So today we are asking for his liberation and demanding President Biden to immediately release Alex Saab from his illegal detention and to stop the blockade and the sanctions against Venezuela.”

Dozthor ended his report by saying, “If we want revolution, then we are revolutionaries. And that’s my proposal. Let’s call ourselves revolutionaries, and let’s create revolution, let’s change the structures of society, let’s create a real different world for all of us, for our children, for our future. And let’s create it together. Let’s work together. The Venezuelan people, the U.S. people, we are probably two countries formally, but we are one struggle. Thank you very much.”

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