Caracas, Venezuela – In a meeting chaired by Francisco Torrealba, past president of the Venezuela Transport Workers Union, and current deputy of the National Assembly, international trade unionists heard updates from Venezuelan leaders.

Longtime Bolivarian Revolution leader Eduardo Piñate shared an assessment of the situation in Venezuela post-January 3 with the group during a meeting in early March. As he mentioned the many fronts that U.S. imperialism is intervening in, including China, the Middle East, Russia/Ukraine, and Latin America and the Caribbean, Piñate then spoke to Venezuela’s place in the international scene. Piñate stated, “With the world’s largest oil reserves, the top ten largest reserves of natural gas, rare earth minerals, biodiversity, and fresh water, we have resources for trade and development. But since we are pursuing an alternative model, one with a revolutionary direction, we are a threat to the United States’ system of capitalism. This is why they attacked us on January 3.”

Piñate continued “But I want to make clear a number of political victories. One: President Maduro and Cilia Flores are alive; two, the U.S. could not occupy our national territory; three, there are no internal forces, no base for fascist reactionaries and no rallies anywhere in the country celebrated the bombing, in fact the people been in the streets constantly since the attack; four, we had a successful constitution transition to an acting president and swore in a new National Assembly as our laws dictate. All of this has allowed us to maintain our political direction. We had tactical flexibility in the moment that meant we did not lose power despite our leader being kidnapped.” He added, “I have trust and confidence in the revolutionary direction we have, of Chavez, of Maduro, of heroic resistance of the last ten plus years, we are not a colony of the gringos.”

After two years as minister of People’s Power in the Social Process of Labor, Piñate will continue in his other role as part of the executive secretariat of the president of United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Appointed as new minister is Carlos Alexis Castillo who brings years of legal and judicial experience in labor law.

During the subsequent meeting on March 20, PSUV Vice President of Foreign Relations Tania Dias laid bare the harsh reality of the early hours of January 3. With over 15,000 military personnel and scores of naval and aircraft on their shores, the plan to actualize the threat took place. “The cruel, barbarous regime of Donald Trump told us to negotiate or they’ll bomb the entire city in ten minutes,” she said. “One does not negotiate with kidnappers like this,” Diaz added. “While they kidnapped my close, personal friends, we are in strong, capable hands with Delcy as acting president.”

Diaz continued with an assessment of the current political situation and the failure of the U.S. to create regime change: “The power isn't just with the executive, nor the National Assembly; real democratic power is with the people. We have thousands of comunas, PSUV elected committees in nearly all the streets of the country. Popular militias coordinated with our army, the union. This is the vision of Comandante Chavez, carried further by President Maduro, and deepening the revolution.”

“This is why all the attempts at psychological warfare like false media narratives, misinformation aimed at sowing division and undermining our confidence have failed: the people have political power here,” Diaz emphasized.

#CaracasVZ #VZ #International #Venezuela #PSUV #Labor #Maudro

Caracas, Venezuela – Over the last few months United States President Donald Trump has been heightening the pressure on Venezuela with bombings, military installations and abuse of Venezuelan immigrants. Most recently, on November 29, Trump declared a no-fly zone over Venezuela.

The Trump administration wants access to Venezuelan oil and resources.

In response, the Simón Bolivar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples has convened the International Peoples' Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace to gather organizers from across the world for peace. The assembly is meant to bring people together from across the globe to build relationships of solidarity and strengthen the fight against war in Venezuela.

Hundreds of organizers from across the U.S. were invited to the Peoples’ Assembly, but due to Trump's war posturing only a fraction of these organizers were able to arrive in Venezuela. Flights to and from Venezuela were canceled, making it difficult to physically attend the conference. Despite these obstacles, many organizers from the U.S. arrived in Venezuela on December 9 to participate in the conference.

Solidarity activists were unfazed by these obstacles. If anything, the difficulty has made them more excited to participate.

“Flying to Venezuela is just the first of many acts of solidarity we will participate in this week to show that we are proud to stand with the Bolivarian government of Nicolás Maduro,” says Jessica Plichta of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Ebtesham Ahmed of Students for a Democratic Society emphasized that the fight for a free Palestine has only strengthened their resolve to fight against war with Venezuela, stating, “During the Palestine encampments, students learned how to be bold for the anti-war movement. We are not afraid to be bold now and break the no-fly zone!”

Organizers will remain in Caracas for several days to take part in the assembly, where they will focus on building solidarity and learning from people from across the world. Reporters from Fight Back! will cover the event extensively.

#CaracasVZ #Venezuela #International #AntiWarMovement #Feature

Caracas, Venezuela – “A PSUV victory is the most important present for Commander Hugo Chavez. Today, July 28, is the anniversary of his birthday, the same day as the popular triumph of the people,” says international observer Diakaridia Diakita, the president of the youth of the Yelema party in the Republic of Mali. PSUV stands for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Over 800 international observers from around the world are in Venezuela to observe the historic elections between the Chavista PSUV leader Nicolás Maduro and the opposition pro-imperialism parties.

The main opposition candidate is Edmundo Gonzalez, who supports the privatization of the oil companies, schools, healthcare, and the removal of social programs that former President Chavez started.

These international observers come from unions, left parties, newspapers, and organizations from around the world. The grandson of Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile, is also observing this important election. Observers talk about the importance of this election for Venezuela, Latin America and the world.

Observers from Africa, Latin America, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, and all over the world will be monitoring today’s election.

“Venezuela has been strangled by sanctions for over a decade. This election will show us if Maduro has been able to lead his country to persevere, or if smear campaigns and national betrayal of the opposition will bring the country back down into vassal status. The fate of Venezuela rests on July 28,” says Ahmed Eltouny, the former cochair of the Green Party in the U.S.

Booker Omole, the vice president of the Communist Party of Kenya, says, “I am here in Caracas to attend this very important event of the revolutionary history of Venezuela. Particularly, the Communist Party of Kenya is an internationalist organization, and we support the Bolivarian Revolution. Also, there are certain commonalities between the Venezuelan revolution and the ongoing processes in Kenya, which is still a neocolonial entity.”

Omole continued, “In 1989, in Caracas and major cities in Venezuela, there was a social explosion in the streets, where the IMF and World Bank had imposed austerity measures, the anti-people policies. In Kenya today, the masses and the working class are also resisting. We have seen millions of people pouring into the streets to resist the puppet regime that is sponsored by the USA imperialism. This reminds of similarities where the IMF has designed policies, particularly here in Venezuela, that took ten years after the social explosion for the Bolivarian revolution to materialize. Hugo Chavez still lives among us, not only here in Caracas, but also in Kenya.”

#CaracasVZ #Venezuela #Caracas #Venezuela #Maduro #NicolasMaduro #Elections #VZElection #HugoChavez #PSUV #Chavista #EdmundoGonzalez #Mali #DiakaridiaDiakita #GreenParty #Kenya #IMF #WorldBank #Kenya #BookerOmole #HastaLaVictoriaSiempre

Caracas, Venezuela – “Hasta la victoria! El pueblo unido jamás se ha vencido!” tens of thousands chanted, filling the streets, in the rally for President Nicolás Maduro on July 26.

The presidential elections of Venezuela are July 28. These historic elections are crucial in continuing the PSUV-led Bolivarian revolution of former President Chavez and the current President Maduro.

Under Chavez and now Maduro’s leadership, widespread social programs such as free schools, literacy centers, free universal healthcare and free universities have been established. Due to these widespread literacy centers and free education, UNESCO declared Venezuela free of illiteracy. The PSUV also launched a program called, “La Gran Misión Vivienda Venezuela” (Great Mission Housing Venezuela) and built over 5 million units of free housing for Venezuelans. You can see these buildings all over Venezuela, with Chavez’ signature in big letters on the outside of the buildings.

Under Maduro’s leadership, the government launched the People’s Assembly, made up of leaders from Las Comunas, the neighborhood organizations. The democratic People’s Assembly has real power and can pass laws and establish new programs that serve the Venezuelan people.

They have also nationalized the oil companies to bring more profit into Venezuela, instead of having the profits go to other imperialist countries like the USA. Before Chavez, five-sixths of the profit from petroleum went out of the country. Now, most of the profits stay in the country to support social programs. 

In Venezuela, the pro-imperialist opposition parties want to take control away from the people and remove social programs. The main opposition candidate is Edmundo Gonzalez. His neoliberal program, called the “Land of the Grace,” states that his first measure will be to privatize the oil and gas industry. The opposition wants to privatize schools, so they will no longer be free; privatize companies; amend the Organic Law on Labor to remove the restrictions on labor rights; remove pensions so workers will pay their own retirement in private banks.

The opposition party has close relations with the United States government. The U.S. government has major interest in these elections due to the profit they would make from the opposition’s right-wing program and to crush the Chavista national democratic movement. 

Venezuela is an inspiration to workers all around the world that another world is possible, a world where the power is in the hands of the “pueblo” (the people).

#CaracasVZ #Venezuela #Caracas #Venezuela #Maduro #NicolasMaduro #Elections #VZElection #HugoChavez #PSUV #Chavista #EdmundoGonzalez #HastaLaVictoriaSiempre