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

Caracas, Venezuela – Friday, March 3 was the first day of an international anti-imperialist conference in Venezuela held to commemorate the legacy and continuing struggle of the late Venezuelan President and leader of the Bolivarian Revolution Hugo Chavez. A delegation of Chicano and Latino members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), led by long time Chicano activist Carlos Montes, were invited to attend by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Chavez is not dead

The theme of the conference was carrying on the legacy of Hugo Chavez. The mood in the room was lively, with every seat in the large auditorium filled and two rows of standing room only in the back. In between speeches, local delegates from Venezuela led the room in popular Chavista chants. One common chant was “Chavez no murio, se multiplio,” meaning “Chavez is not dead, he multiplies.”

Local delegates representing different sections of Venezuelan society – such as the youth, fishermen, cafeteria workers and more – were in attendance at the conference as well as international delegates. One member of the PSUV told the FRSO delegation, “In every province, in every community, in every street in Venezuela – the PSUV is there organizing the people.”

Popular democracy

Though the U.S. media portrays Venezuela as a dictatorship, the reality is much different. Hector Rodriguez of the PSUV stated, “In the U.S. they have democracy, but it’s only democracy for capital. In Venezuela we have a true, representative, popular democracy.” He invited international delegates to talk with the Venezuelan people about their participatory government and to question the narrative put forth by the U.S. media.

Anacaona Marin, an indigenous leader of the commune movement and councils, spoke about building revolutionary communes and local people taking their own action to solve problems. She said that for the government to meet the people's needs, the people have to “hacer gobierno” or “make government” themselves, by studying, learning and debating.

Multicolor revolution

One aspect that the PSUV emphasized was the diversity of the Bolivarian Revolution and the participation of indigenous and Afro-Venezuelans in the people’s movement. “I was inspired to see the leadership of women in the conference and the government,” said FRSO member Enya Silva, “the people cheering and chanting the loudest were always women.”

This was also evident in the international delegations, as the conference placed special emphasis on elevating Caribbean, African, and other Latin American countries.

Free Alex Saab

A highlight of the first day was a panel discussing the U.S.’s unjust detention of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, who has been held for over 1000 days by the U.S. government for negotiating food and medical aid for Venezuela. Camila Fabri Saab, his wife, spoke about his case. “What the U.S. media doesn’t talk about is how his detention affects our family,” said Fabri Saab. “His oldest child misses him dearly and his youngest child is growing up without him.”

Carlos Montes spoke from the floor of the wide support and work of FRSO in the campaign to demand freedom for Alex Saab. Camila Fabri Saab smiled and expressed gratitude, telling the FRSO delegation that the work we do is important not just for Saab’s family, but to fight U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.

Fighting imperialism

The day ended with a speech from Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. She spoke on the importance of uniting with other nations to combat U.S. imperialism. “The world will be multipolar, but do we multiply capitalist poles? Poles that will put us in the same position as they have in the past? The world needs diverse poles, a pluripolar world.” Rodriguez used the example of China to show how a country can surpass the economy of the U.S. without resorting to the exploitative methods of imperialism.

#CaracasVenezuela #Caracas #AntiwarMovement #Venezuela #HugoChavez #antiimperialism #Americas

Milwaukee, WI – Dozthor Zurlent, a lifelong political activist and one-time advisor to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has been touring the U.S. since mid-October talking about the achievements and the struggles of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. His trip has also raised the call to free Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat being held as a political prisoner in the U.S. After beginning his travels in Florida and then moving on to Michigan, Zurlent made three separate stops across the state of Wisconsin, engaging enthusiastic activists in each place.

He made his first stop in Wisconsin on October 29, visiting the campus at Lawrence University in Appleton. After a three-day stint that saw him travel to both Chicago and Minneapolis, Zurlent returned to Wisconsin for a presentation in Madison on November 2 and finally a talk in Milwaukee on November 3. These events were all hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) with co-hosts from the Appleton and Milwaukee branches of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in their respective cities.

Zurlent’s presentations focused primarily on a few specific examples of the gains made by the working and oppressed peoples of Venezuela as a result of the process that continues through the Bolivarian Revolution.

“What’s happening now in Venezuela, any student, any graduated student from high school, has the opportunity, not only to go to higher education, but those who didn’t have access to education before, now have special plans, and they can go to university now. Those who were working in menial jobs and stuff, now they have university degrees, they have masters, they have doctorates,” said Zurlent of the construction of new universities that led to more than 200,000 new college students and the elimination of illiteracy in the country.

Zurlent continued, “That’s what you get when you have a government that is really concerned with the well-being of the people. That’s what you get when you have a government that really works hard to provide for people, and to make people involved in the resolution of problems.”

Since 2012, when then-president Hugo Chavez launched the Great Mission Housing Venezuela, millions of homes have been built for the most impoverished in the country.

“Two days ago, we reached 4.2 million houses built. And it is the house for the family that was very poor, and they get it for free. 4.2 million free housing units for people in the country. If you multiply that by four, the average family in Venezuela, you have 16 million people who have benefited from the housing,” Zurlent explained.

“And they don’t have to pay taxes on those houses – we think that mortgage and taxes are a second form of slavery. Because you are now paying off your mortgage for your whole life, to a wealthy bank owner, and if some reason, you get sick or you get an emergency and you can’t continue paying, they take your house away, you lose everything. And on top of that, let’s say that you pay off the mortgage and everything, you still have to pay taxes every year,” Zurlent continued. “In Venezuela, you don’t have to pay taxes on your house. And if someone, let’s say for some reason you ask for a loan, and you lost your job or something happens and you can’t pay the loan, the bank can’t take your house. It’s your house! [If] it's your primary house, no one can take it away from you. It’s a right. Your house is a right.”

Other points Zurlent highlighted include the overwhelming leadership of women in the development and carrying out of the revolutionary policies, particularly regarding the local control over production and resolving issues at the grassroots level. He spoke in some detail about this local structure, discussing the different units of organization from the “street council” to the “commune” to the “communal city”, and how the people in the communities have a direct say over what is produced and why.

Similarly, Zurlent spoke about the evolution of law enforcement and policing in Venezuela since the start of the Bolivarian Revolution. Revolutionary education and training of the police has transformed them from an institution that existed previously to uphold the interests of the rich and powerful into a body that protects the people’s interests and the laws that benefit the majority. Most police, especially at the local level, do not even carry weapons let alone guns. Zurlent shared an experience about when he got lunch in Milwaukee and was shocked when an officer sat nearby with an assortment of weapons on his person.

He also explained the different approach to simple criminal charges, using the anecdotal example of a person who broke into a home and stole some electronics. “In Venezuela, instead of being taken to jail, this person is brought before a local assembly and asked about why they did what they did,” Zurlent said. This practice is in sharp contrast to the way alleged crimes are handled in the U.S. with many people who are accused of violations serving time in jails and prisons when in fact they’re innocent.

Zurlent closed his presentations at each of his stops with a reminder about the resiliency of the Venezuelan people. He called for strengthening international solidarity between Venezuelans and the people of the U.S., and for advancing the struggle to take down imperialism once and for all.

“In spite of all the attempts of U.S. imperialism, but also from Europe, to subjugate and dominate and to overthrow our government, and to destroy our revolution, we are able to unite our struggle and fight back and defeat all their attempts, and not only defeat their attempts, but in resilience, and in resisting and advancing, we were able to keep some of our most wonderful programs working,” he said. “We kept building new houses. We kept providing people with free healthcare, with access to university. With all the limitations that the sanctions and blockades and COVID brought upon us, we didn’t give up.”

Zurlent continued, “And history has told us that the Venezuelan people are people who are willing to struggle. It was Venezuelan people who went to Colombia and liberated Colombia and Panama. It was the Venezuelan people who went to Ecuador and liberated Ecuador. It was the Venezuelan people who went to Peru to free Peru and Bolivia. And it is the Venezuelan people who are, right now, trying to open a new path for the rest of the people of the world, to tell them to count on us, we are there to struggle with you. It is only one struggle, and we can be a certain distance [apart], but distance doesn't matter if we are united, if we are willing to fight together, and if we are willing to build a new future.”

#MilwaukeeWI #HugoChavez #Venezuela #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas

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.”

#MinneapolisMN #HugoChavez #Venezuela #BolivarianRepublicOfVenezuela #Americas

The focus of the talk was the anti-imperialist policies of the Venezuelan government, and some of its progressive social reforms. He emphasized how the Bolivarian Revolution brought free education and free health care to Venezuela, and how this drastically improved the lives of millions of the poorest people in the country. He also emphasized the difficulties that the Venezuelan people faced as a result of U.S. imperialism and its hostility towards the Venezuelan government. There were a lot of students at the talk who were deeply inspired by the life of Hugo Chavez.

One student said, “I was so inspired by Hugo Chavez's devotion to providing free education for his people. As a student, I have a lot of debt as a result of high tuition costs. I would like to live in a society like Venezuela where the government provides free college education to its people.”

Another student said, “The U.S. corporate media has given a totally incorrect representation of Venezuela under Chavez. It is clear from this presentation that Hugo Chavez was a great leader who loved the Venezuelan people and devoted his life to their material well-being.”

Ian Cox, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “The Venezuelan government has strong anti-imperialist policies that should be supported by leftists. These policies, such as the opposition to U.S. imperialism, the support of the Venezuelan government for the FARC-EP in Colombia, and the mobilization of the poor, are an important base of resistance to imperialism, and this is in the interests of all working people worldwide.”

#HoustonTX #HugoChavez #Venezuela #Americas

See a photo essay from the May 1 march in Havana here.

Havana, Cuba – The skies were still dark in the early morning of May 1 as crowds of Cuban workers began gathering in the Plaza of the Revolution to march on International Workers Day. Before long, throngs of workers carrying flags and signs with revolutionary slogans stretched as far as the eye could see. A leader of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), which organized the event, said 600,000 people marched in Havana, with other large marches in cities around Cuba as well.

The signs carried by marchers varied from large banners to small hand-written signs. Cuban flags were everywhere. Some sections of the crowd carried signs representing their industries, unions and other organizations saying “Viva el 1 de mayo” (Long live May 1st). Many carried signs of support for deepening the Cuban revolution and socialism.

One main theme of the march was “for a prosperous and sustainable socialism.” Another important theme was celebrating the upcoming 20th congress of the Cuban Workers Federation. However Cuba wasn't the sole focus. A central theme of the march was also celebrating the life and legacy of Venezuelan revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez.

International solidarity was also on display with the presence of delegations of unions and socialist forces from 73 countries, including most of the Americas as well as many countries from Europe, Africa and Asia. Despite the U.S. government's efforts to impede travel to Cuba, workers from various unions in the U.S. were present as well. These trade unionists are in Cuba as part of the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange, which has organized worker-to-worker solidarity with Cuba for over 20 years.

#HavanaCuba #HugoChavez #Cuba #Socialism #internationalWorkersDay #May1 #Americas

Maduro was Vice President under Chavez. He took over Presidential duties after December 8, 2012, when Chavez was hospitalized in Cuba for cancer treatment. Since Chavez was never sworn in after defeating Capriles in the October 2012 Presidential election, the Venezuelan constitution mandates that the country hold another election.

The new election presents an opportunity for the people of Venezuela to re-affirm their commitment to the national democratic Bolivarian Revolution through the ballot box. Until his death, Chavez was the most vocal and visible voice in Venezuela. Acting President Maduro is expected by most observers to win. By electing Chavez's endorsed successor, the Venezuelan people will voice their continued support for the anti-imperialist, pro-socialist path of their country.

Since he won the Presidency in 1999, Chavez and his party ran in 16 elections, 15 of which they won handily. During Chavez's Presidency, Venezuela reduced unemployment by more than 50%, cut poverty from 42.8% to 26.5% between 1999 and 2011, and completely eliminated illiteracy. Chavez oversaw the passing of pro-worker laws in 2012 that reduced the workday, increased maternity leave for women, and banned many exploitative labor practices. The Venezuelan government also made public education available to all citizens and increased social programs for the poor. Maduro hopes to continue and deepen these progressive policies.

For many years Maduro was a bus driver for the Caracas Metro system and a trade union organizer. In the 1980s, he helped organize the bus drivers in the capital despite a company-wide ban on unions. As a member of the Socialist League and a founding member of the Fifth Republic Movement – the predecessor to the PSUV – he worked closely with Chavez since his election in 1999.

For seven years, Maduro was Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs and well experienced to lead Venezuela. He is critical of US domination and exploitation of Latin America, and strongly supports the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA), which Chavez founded as a counter-weight to the US-controlled Organization of American States (OAS). Maduro worked with Argentina to resolve a 2010 border conflict between Venezuela and Colombia. Additionally, he followed in Chavez's tradition of international solidarity with his vocal support for the sovereign government of Libya during the US/NATO bombing war of 2011.

Chavez endorsed Maduro as his successor because of his working class roots and his dedication to the Bolivarian Revolution. Speaking to Maduro's succession on December 9, 2012, Chavez said, “My firm opinion, as clear as the full moon — irrevocable, absolute, total — is...that you elect Nicolas Maduro as president.” Chavez continued, “He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot.”

Both candidates are now campaigning for the election next month.

#Venezuela #HugoChavez #UnitedSocialistPartyOfVenezuela #NicholasMaduro #VenezuelanElections #HenriqueCapriles #Americas

To: The government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

From: Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Dear Compañeros and Compañeras,

It fills us with real sadness to hear of the death of President Hugo Chavez. The leadership and members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization send out deepest condolences to the government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

President Hugo Chavez was a hero in every sense of the word. He stood up to the U.S. empire. His vision of a world without imperialism and poverty will continue to inspire the peoples of the Americas, and indeed the entire world. Under the leadership of President Chavez, Venezuela sent aid to impoverished communities across the U.S. We will never forget this real, meaningful and concrete solidarity.

Nor will we forget the courage that President Chavez demonstrated in the face of the U.S.-backed coup, or when he came to the United Nations in New York City and rightfully compared George Bush to the devil.

President Hugo Chavez will be missed by all revolutionary and progressive people. His legacy of struggle, sacrifice and determination in the face of adversity will live forever.

We send our solidarity and profound sympathy to the government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at this difficult moment.

Fraternally,

Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#UnitedStates #Venezuela #HugoChavez #Remembrances #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Americas

The statement, entitled “ Why no ‘no fly zone’ over Gaza? National Democratic Front of the Philippines condemns imperialist war of aggression against Libya and the Libyan people” rejects the military moves made by the U.S., UK, France and their cohorts.

The statement notes, “Under the pretense of protecting the lives of Libyan civilians, these imperialist powers are violating the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya and are in the process of destroying the lives and property of the Libyan people. Deceptively declaring that they are undertaking a so-called humanitarian intervention, they repeat the imperialist wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“They aim to set up a puppet government and take over control of Libya's rich oil, gas and other natural resources. For this purpose, they are coddling and supporting a traitorous and retrogressive opposition group that brandishes the flag of the former King Idris.”

The statement contrasts the western powers treatment of Israel with that of Libya, noting “The imperialist powers collaborate with the Zionists in flouting UN resolutions. They refuse to lift a finger to save the lives of Palestinian civilians: the mothers, children, elderly who have been subjected to brutal and massive invasion and massacre by the Israeli armed forces in December 2008, January 2009 and to the present day. ..Why is there no ‘no-fly-zone’ over Gaza to protect the Palestinian victims of Israeli aggression?”

The statement also points out that the western powers have rejected a number of peace initiatives stating, “Instead of the ‘no-fly-zone’ which has opened the way for the current imperialist military intervention, the peace plan offered by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and supported by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and four other Presidents of Latin America, which Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi has accepted, ought to be carried out. This peace plan has suggested former US President Jimmy Carter to lead the peace delegation. There is also the appeal of Qaddafi to the UN Security Council for an emergency session and for the UN to send a fact-finding mission to Libya.”

#Philippines #HugoChavez #MiddleEast #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippines #Libya #LibyaWar #noflyZone #ndfp #Africa

Editor’s note: In January, Kati Ketz traveled to Venezuela on a delegation of youth to show solidarity with and learn about the revolutionary process underway there.

Caracas, Venezuela – A new Venezuela is being born. With the 1998 election of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela began a revolutionary process that brought hope to working people. Over 70% of the population was living in poverty under the old government. To combat this, Chavez launched a host of programs or “missions” to directly help the working class.

The people of Venezuela have always resisted poverty and exploitation. The Chavez-led Bolivarian revolution is using oil revenues to serve the people.

Bread, Land and Freedom

The first youth solidarity delegation to Venezuela, which happened in January, was able to witness these results first hand. While in the Lara State, we stayed in communities and visited different missions – government programs to help the lives of the people in these communities.

One of the first missions we saw was a specific kind of grocery store, called a Mercal. The purpose of Misíon Mercal is to end hunger and educate about nutrition. Mission Mercal provides government-subsidized food and has shops located in communities whose needs cannot be met by the private sector. Unlike the government food program in the United States, you do not need to have a pass or food stamps to shop at the Mercals. Anyone can shop there. With this new system, everybody is guaranteed enough food so they do not go hungry. I spoke with Corine Delaudier, a woman who runs a Mercal in a community in Barquisimeto. She said, “I believe that this mission is the most important one in Venezuela right now. Everybody needs to eat, and this promotes proper nutrition, education and helps so that the health clinics are not overflowing with patients.”

Local struggles, many of which began before the election of Chavez, and are being pushed forward by the Bolivarian Revolution. Bario La Antena, a poor community in Venezuela where we stayed, has a rich history of revolutionary action. The neighborhood’s land was originally owned by a bank, but not being used. Local people started to live and farm there. When the bank found out that people were living on the land, they came to try and forcibly remove them. The people fought back in an armed struggle and drove the owners of the bank back, claiming the land as their own. Soon thereafter, they started building a true community. They turned the main building where the bank is located into a community center. The community radio station and local Missions have offices there. Kids from the neighborhood run in and out, grabbing water or saying hi to people working in the center before going back outside to play soccer. This community center existed before Chavez, but now it receives funds and other resources from the state and federal government, doing even more to help the people of the community.

Medicine for the People

Misíon Bario Adentro – ‘inside the neighborhood’ – is a mission to address local healthcare concerns. Although healthcare in Venezuela was free for decades, hospitals and clinics were only found in a few locations. It was impossible for workers in the barrios to obtain regular healthcare. In Bario La Antena, we saw two healthcare clinics set up specifically for the people of that neighborhood – complete with both Cuban and Venezuelan doctors and nurses.

This new medical mission employs over 1000 Cuban doctors to help set up community health clinics in neighborhoods. Cuban doctors are helping in these clinics because many Venezuelan doctors will not work in these barrios. Eventually, the Cuban doctors will be replaced with Venezuelan doctors who they are now training. To date, this mission has helped over three million Venezuelans. Without the revolutionary government these working people would still be isolated from any form of healthcare.

Study and Struggle

Illiteracy is on a rapid decline in Venezuela. This is due in part to three missions dedicated to education – Misíon Robinson, Ribas and Sucre. Misíon Robinson is dedicated to fighting illiteracy at the primary education level. Hundreds of Cuban literacy experts came to Venezuela in 2003 to train teachers. Using a reading system based on numbers, children are taught how to read and write. Each family is given a free ‘library’ of a dozen books to practice their reading skills.

Misíon Ribas is a high-school program for people who have dropped out of high school. Mission Ribas offers night courses and intensive help so that people can complete this program and get their degree within two years.

Our delegation visited one of these schools. A 45-year old student attending one of these night classes through Mission Ribas said she has been trying to complete her high school degree for over 20 years. She told me, “Whenever I would try to go back to school, I could only attend some of the classes because I had to work, and the school is an hour away from my home. President Chavez has given me the chance to finally finish school.”

Misíon Sucre is the final step in this education revolution, aimed at fighting the obstacles many students face in trying to go to college. Mission Sucre has set up thousands of scholarships for people who otherwise could not attend college. Through Sucre, free universities are being set up all around Venezuela. These three missions ensure that any Venezuelan can obtain an education.

The Venezuelan People Awake

There is a Venezuelan national plan called ¡Misíon Vuelvan Caras! It takes in all the other missions and is designed to steer the Venezuelan economy towards meeting human needs, not profits. According to President Chavez, the ultimate goal of Mission Vuelvan Caras is, “A dignified and quality life for all.” Mission Vuelvan Caras is symbolic of the Bolivarian revolution itself. Its goal is to eliminate poverty, to provide health care, education, housing and jobs to the working class and to build communities that thrive. The struggle of the Venezuelan people, the struggle that Chavez is part of and leads, is now in power and ruling in the interest of the workers and oppressed.

Finally the people of Venezuela are awakening. The government of Venezuela led by President Chavez works for, not against, the people’s dreams, providing the resources for them to build their own communities and a better life.

#CaracasVenezuela #News #HugoChavez #Venezuela #MisíonVuelvanCaras #Americas

Washington D.C. – Over 500 students, trade unionists and solidarity activists gathered here, March 4 – 6, for the National Venezuela Solidarity Conference. They founded the Venezuela Solidarity Network and united the forces struggling against U.S. intervention in Venezuela. The conference was a huge success. Attendees gathered in support of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, lead by President Hugo Chavez.

Conference speakers included Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez Herrera and Venezuelan lawyer Jose Perierra, involved in the extradition case of the anti-Cuban terrorist Posada. Evening performances of poetry and music from Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia were popular.

The conference workshops were diverse: “What are the Bolivarian Circles and how to form one in your area,” with Jorge Marin, Coordinator of Bolivarian Circle of Boston; “Plan Colombia and its effects on Venezuela and the region,” with Meredith Aby and Tom Burke of the Colombia Action Network, Gerardo Cajamarca of the SINALTRAINAL union in Colombia and Berta Ceci of IAC.

There was also a workshop on “Solidarity actions in high schools and colleges,” with Kati Ketz and Eric Gardener of the Socialist Unity League, a student group at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and Sonja Swanson of the Bolivarian Youth in Miami. Others workshops were held on Haiti, the Venezuelan cooperative movement, and the Venezuelan constitution.

Discussion among activists centered on how to rally support for Venezuela and the role of the Bolivarian Circles, the groups of poor and oppressed people in Venezuela and elsewhere who fight everyday for the Bolivarian Revolution.

Pieter Wessels from Socialist Unity League in Asheville, North Carolina commented, “It’s great to see so many people from so many different groups come here and put aside their ideological differences, however important those differences may be, in order to stand here this weekend, right here in D.C., the political heart of imperialism, to say that we are with Venezuela. We are with Chavez. We are against U.S. intervention in Venezuela on the part of capitalists’ interests. That hurts all of us, both here and in Venezuela. We uphold Venezuela’s right to self-determination and we won’t stand for any further interference in Venezuela’s affairs. This is what solidarity means. This is what it is all about.”

A plenary held during the conference successfully founded the Venezuela Solidarity Network to fight back against any further intervention in Venezuela on the part of U.S. imperialism and its allies. As the plenary sessions ended, delegates all joined to chant “Oh, ah, Chavez no se va!”

Propelled by the spirit of the conference, protesters picketed the offices of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in support of Venezuela and Haiti on March 6. The NED funded and sponsored the Venezuelan non-governmental organizations that participated in the 2002 attempted coup against Chavez. The NED and the same NGO’s sponsored the thoroughly defeated recall referendum against Chavez two years later. Both of these events rallied huge outpourings of mass support, which kept Chavez in power. The NED recently collaborated in the coup in Haiti against the democratically elected government of President Aristide and is now aiming its sights to prolong the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Over 40 people picketed the NED offices, chanting slogans and carrying banners and signs. The protest then marched several blocks to the AFL-CIO offices to demand that the AFL-CIO breaks its ties with the NED and the corrupt foreign policy of the White House. The AFL-CIO funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to the coup makers in Venezuela. AFL-CIO president Sweeney has yet to take responsibility for the dirty work of his staff, though staff cutbacks and reshuffling may signify an attempt to deflect criticisms. Protesters demanded that the AFL-CIO build unity and trust with workers and union members in other countries. Protesters chanted, “AFL-CIO out of NED!”

#WashingtonDC #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #Labor #News #HugoChavez #Venezuela #NationalEndowmentForDemocracyNED #NationalVenezuelaSolidarityConference #Americas

Caracas, Venezuela – Gifts were exchanged by the 15,000 delegates throughout the 16th World Youth Festival held here, Aug. 7-15. One of those gifts was more than a store-bought present – it was a banner that came with a promise. U.S. labor activists gave National Union of Workers representative Jacobo Torres the, “Say no to NED” banner that activists marched with outside the AFL-CIO convention in July in Chicago.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a creation of the U.S. government that strives to bring more regions of the world under U.S. domination. NED money has flowed through the AFL-CIO’s ‘Solidarity Center’ into efforts to destabilize Venezuela.

As the banner was handed over, all present vowed to increase the pressure on U.S. union leaders to cut their ties with the National Endowment for Democracy.

U.S. delegates to the festival received Eva Gollinger’s book, The Chavez Code, about the NED tricks and The Keys to a Massacre video. Both help to educate people about how the NED is a political arm of the CIA and the Pentagon’s efforts to undermine Chavez and Venezuela’s national democratic process. U.S. delegates made plans to expose the U.S. ‘assistance’ to Venezuela and to Haiti’s reactionary movements. Plans were made for an anti-NED workshop at the next World Social Forum to be held in Venezuela in January.

Chavez’s many speeches to the festival outlined the incredible victories made in the areas of medical care, housing, literacy and food for the poor in Venezuela. He outlined new initiatives like Telesur, a television channel for all Americas’ independent media access. He compared his trade proposals to Bush’s failed FTAA plans. Chavez spoke about new proposals that would offer oil at discount prices to people’s organizations. He announced that millions were being set aside for a Bolivarian press that will help get the word out as they go on the socialist path. Always he was welcomed with long chanting of, “Ooh aah, Chavez no se va!” or, “Ooh aah, Chavez will not go!”

During the festival, participants celebrated with the thousand-strong Cuban delegation as they received the news about the new trial granted for the five Cuban political prisoners in U.S. jails. All the delegates were inspired by the bravery of the 3000-member Colombian delegation to come to the festival in the face of death threats. For some activists it was the first time to hear firsthand from the Vietnam, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or the Palestinian delegations. Most delegates agreed however, that the stars of the show were the Venezuelan people themselves. In the coming months delegates will report back on their trips to Venezuela’s neighborhoods and countryside to show what standing up to U.S. imperialism and serving the people’s needs looks like up close.

#CaracasVenezuela #News #HugoChavez #Venezuela #WorldYouthFestival #NationalEndowmentForDemocracyNED #Americas

Fight Back!: Why was this referendum so important? What forces were confronting each other?

Erika Zurawski: Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela in 1999. He came to power on a program of giving a voice to the poor. His first initiative was to create a new constitution. This constitution is the most democratic in the capitalist world – instead of simply the rule of law, you also have the rule of justice. Everyone has the right to health care, the right to education and the right to a decent quality of life. It guarantees the rights of women and indigenous peoples. The constitution was approved by 80% of the population, and that same percentage of the population is living in poverty.

Chavez’s ideas shook up Venezuela. The rich were used to getting exactly what they want. Their supporters, along with their U.S. backers, hate Chavez and the movement he leads – so they built an opposition movement to demand that he be recalled from office.

The referendum was a confrontation between two forces. At the voting centers, the Chavez supporters sang the widespread tune, “Uh Ah, Chavez no se va,” meaning Chavez will not go. At the same time the opposition sang “Se va, se va, Chavez se va,” or that Chavez is on his way out.

Fight Back! : You went to an opposition rally. What was it like?

Zurawski: It was mainly made up of middle class and rich people. I talked to about 50 people – some were lawyers, doctors. Some wore suits and others were waving American flags. The things they were saying seemed ridiculous. Everyone that I talked to thought Chavez was going to turn Venezuela into Cuba, and then repeatedly said that he should go live with Castro. Here we were at a rally of hundreds of thousands of people speaking out against Chavez, and their big complaint was that he does not allow any opposition. In fact, the opposition controls almost the entire news media in Venezuela, and the Chavez government has taken no action to censor them. They also allege that Chavez divided the country. The only thing that Chavez did was give a voice to those who did not have it before, putting an end to false unity.

Fight Back! : Why is the U.S. so opposed to Chavez?

Zurawski: The U.S played a part in the recall referendum by funding the opposition. This was through the National Endowment for Democracy. The U.S. is against the Chavez government because Chavez is opposed to corporate globalization, he will not agree to sign on to the Free Trade Area of the Americas unless it is approved by two-thirds of the Venezuelan people, he is a strong critic of Bush’s so-called war on terror, and most importantly, Chavez is using profits from the oil industry to meet people’s needs. The oil industry is being restructured so that more of the revenues are going to the state – not to private corporations.

The U.S. fears the example that the Chavez government is setting for the rest of Latin America. Chavez is an advocate of a Bolivarian revolution – bringing together the people of Latin America and ensuring self-determination and autonomy in the region. The U.S. is already losing control in many countries of the region and does not want to risk slipping its grip on Venezuela.

Fight Back! : The voter turnout for the referendum was huge. Tell us about it.

Zurawski: I went to observe the voting process in Zulia, the state that borders Colombia. On the day of the vote, Sunday, Aug. 15, the streets were filled with long lines. Thousands of voters lined up in front of each voting center to wait for hours in the hot sun. Many of the voters began lining up at four or five in the morning. I asked voters how long they were willing to wait. Everyone responded, “As long as it takes.” On one side they said they would stay “until our comandante does,” referring to Hugo Chavez. Yet others from the opposition said they would wait “until Chavez leaves.” At least for them, the average nine hours wait in line proves to be much shorter than what they will need to wait to get what they want.

Fight Back! : The opposition claims that the referendum was fixed. What about that?

Zurawski: There is no possible way that this referendum was fixed or tampered with. The electoral machinery is the most advanced in the world – even more advanced than the U.S. Voters’ identification was checked three times over – each voter had to present identity documents, give a fingerprint and sign a registry. The process was transparent and the observers were welcomed at every poll. Everyone got to cast their ballot in secret in an atmosphere that was free from intimidation. People said the process was slow but safe, meaning that they had confidence that their vote was going to count.

The opposition is claiming fraud because they can not accept losing. Even before the vote took place the opposition refused to admit that they would accept defeat. After their loss they called for a recount, which Chavez immediately granted. As an observer of the recount I can safely say that no evidence of fraud exists. The opposition is not interested in democracy and what the Venezuelan people want. They are only looking out for their own interests, which for the first time in Venezuelan history are being put behind the interests of the vast majority of the country’s population

#UnitedStates #Interview #HugoChavez #Venezuela #Interviews #NationalElectionsCouncilOfVenezuela #Americas

Dr. Rodrigo Chavez, coordinator of the Bolivarian Circles in Venezuela, was interviewed by Tom Burke of the Colombia Solidarity Committee in Chicago. The Bolivarian Circles, with 2.2 million members, are the backbone of the national democratic revolution in Venezuela. After an attempted U.S. coup against Chavez on April 11, 2002, the Bolivarian Circles helped reinstall popularly-elected President Hugo Chavez. The Bolivarian Circles also successfully organized mass resistance against criminal corporate managers’ and corrupt union officials’ attempted destruction of the oil industry.

Fight Back!: What are the Bolivarian Circles? What ideas do they promote and what do they do?

Rodrigo Chavez: Bolivarian Circles are the most basic form of participation in the democratic process in Venezuela, although not the only one. There are also neighborhood associations, cooperatives and indigenous groups, among others. The difference between Bolivarian Circles and other people’s organizations is in their express commitment to the defense of the revolution and the 1999 Bolivarian constitution, which was designed by the people and approved with 86% of the popular vote. This is something that, for example, a neighbor association may also believe in, but it does not form part of their foundational statements. Also, a Bolivarian Circle gets involved in country-wide on international issues, which is something that may not be of interest for a neighborhood association.

Fight Back!: What is the relationship between the Bolivarian Circles and the government of President Hugo Chavez?

Rodrigo Chavez: President Chavez has made permanent calls for people to get organized and to fight for their rights. Political parties were not the best way to guarantee people’s participation in the democratic process because of their infighting and struggle for positions of leadership. With these problems in mind, in 2000, he specifically called for the formation of Bolivarian Circles and empowered Diosdado Cabello, vice-president of the Republic, to provide all the necessary support to form the Bolivarian Circles as independent cells of support for the revolution.

The fact that Bolivarian Circles were founded under a presidential call has made people think that Bolivarian Circles are dependent on the government, but, in reality they are autonomous and do not receive government funds. Bolivarian Circles are not corporations – therefore they cannot access funds directly – but they educate people and communities on how to access credits from different lending institutions. They also allow people with common interests to form co-ops, associations, non-profit corporations, et cetera.

Fight Back!: The rich land owners and big bosses in Venezuela, backed by Bush and the CIA, tried to overthrow Venezuela’s democratically elected president, Hugo Chavez, on April 11, 2002. How did the Bolivarian Circles respond to the coup against President Chavez?

Rodrigo Chavez: The Bolivarian Circles played a fundamental role in the re-establishment of the constitutional process in Venezuela. It was a spontaneous movement that had no government guidance nor did it follow any previous government plan. It was the Bolivarian Circles, who, through their organization and high level of understanding of the need to defend the democratic process, that started to take control of different parts of the country, and, together with the military supporting the constitution, reversed the coup and provided a unique historical situation where, for the first time in history, a deposed president was able to come back to the presidency in less than 48 hours.

Fight Back!: How did the Bolivarian Circles respond during the recent sabotage of the national oil industry by criminal company officials and corrupt oil union leaders?

Rodrigo Chavez: Bolivarian Circles provided free labor, groups to defend oil installations and connections to contact former oil workers. In addition, many oil workers are themselves members of Bolivarian Circles, and created a network of support and exchange that allowed for the recovery of the oil production in record time.

Fight Back!: Do the Bolivarian Circles work with unions?

Rodrigo Chavez: As I mentioned before, many members of the Bolivarian Circles are unionized workers and union leaders. We as Bolivarian Circles provide integration between union members and the rest of the community – in fact, making the labor movement and the people’s movement one.

It does not mean that we do not perceive the differences between the labor movement struggle and the struggle of a community for a better education, but we have been able to identify more commonalities than differences between different movements. The integration of the struggles and demands of the labor movement with those of the community are a fundamental factor in the current trend to form a new kind of labor movement, and in fact most important labor unions of the country have abandoned the CTV – Confederation of Venezuelan Workers – to form new alternatives. The recently created Union of Workers UNETE is a response to the corruption of the CTV.

Fight Back!: What motivates you to organize and fight for the self-determination of the Venezuelan people? Why focus on the Bolivarian Circles?

Rodrigo Chavez: As a medical doctor, I was always concerned that, in Venezuela, health was perceived of as the treatment of diseases. I believed in a more holistic approach. I believed in education and prevention, but the more I got involved in trying to address the situation, the more convinced I got that it was only the people themselves who could solve their own problems and that health problems were just another expression of our societal ills. From this understanding to the Bolivarian Circles there is just a step.

Fight Back!: What are the Bolivarian movement’s goals? Is socialism on the agenda? Is creating a United States of Latin America a goal?

Rodrigo Chavez: The goal is the defense of the revolutionary process to form a society with social justice, with economic justice, with a guarantee for real political participation for all. This last point deserves special attention. I am not talking here about voting every four or five years or whatever the electoral cycle is. I am talking about people being able to directly design their development projects, supervise and carry out their development projects without intermediaries, without people representing them.

Through Bolivarian Circles, neighborhood associations, cooperatives, et cetera, people can represent themselves before city hall and governorships. The citizen assembly is a constitutional right. Articles 166 and 192 of the constitution establish that governors and mayors must allow for communities to participate in the design and implementation of their budgets. How do you call this? Socialism? Communism? Populism? It is up to you. We just do not care about the name as long as the process works. We call it Bolivarianism and participatory democracy.

Of course, Venezuelan problems are similar to those of other countries in Latin America and the world. We should be receiving all the support of the world as we try to solve problems in a way that has never been tried before and as we confront powerful forces trying to maintain the status quo. It has not materialized yet, and, if anything our efforts have been received with skepticism. But we just keep going against all odds trying to create an alternative model that provides an alternative for Venezuela and other countries. We are sure that the ideas of a unified Latin America are closer than ever because only people unite people. It has been the interests of corporations and the wealthy which have separated us in different countries and as a people. The unity of Latin America is an essential component of Bolivar ideas so it is ours too.

Fight Back!: Does the Bolivarian movement relate to movements in other countries? Which ones and why?

Rodrigo Chavez: We relate to movements pursuing peace with social and economic justice – fighting for the rights of the indigenous people, of the poor, of workers in general. That is why we have a close relationship with indigenous movements in Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Canada and Guatemala. We are initiating relationships with the Zapatistas in Mexico; we also have relationships with the progressive movements all around the world in Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States; with the Workers Party in Brazil and with the revolutionary process in Cuba.

Fight Back!: What are the important lessons you wish to share with Fight Back! readers?

Rodrigo Chavez: We knew we were confronting powerful interests and powerful forces, we just did not know how powerful they were. Attempts to overthrow the government and to put an end to our struggle continue. More than a hundred community leaders have been killed, mostly during the days of the coup. The key has been organization and community participation in the decision making process. We do not have great individual leaders and we do not try to form individual leaders; we think that communities have their own leaders and that new leaders are emerging all the time so people are not following a leader – they are working for their own projects and trying to build a future of their own. Hugo Chavez is, without a doubt, a leader for all communities but we do not depend on him. We accept his leadership at a national level, as the person who has opened the political space and allowed for us, the forgotten, the neglected, the oppressed to be able to stand up for our rights.

Fight Back!: What can people in the U.S. do to support the struggle of the working people in Venezuela?

Rodrigo Chavez: People in the United States should try to become more aware about the realities, about what is really going on in Venezuela. They can form Bolivarian Circles over there too; they can try to learn about our constitution and try to implement similar reforms in your country. U.S. people must also oppose U.S. government intervention in other countries’ affairs, and please denounce the mass media distorted portrait about Venezuela and other countries that do not bend to U.S. corporate attempts to take control of our resources and dominate our politics.

#Interview #HugoChavez #Venezuela #Interviews #BolivarianCircles #ColombiaSolidarityCommittee #Americas

Venezuela – A great confrontation is under way in Venezuela. On one side stands Venezuela’s elite – backed by the Bush administration and the big oil companies. On the other side of the barricades stand Venezuela’s oppressed and patriotic, people who are rallying around their progressive president, Hugo Chávez.

Chávez wants to use the profits from the state oil industry to meet the needs of the people. Critical of the Bush administration, he has charted an independent foreign policy and forged friendly relations with Cuba. He will not allow Venezuela’s territory or air space to be used for U.S. intervention in Colombia.

The month-long ‘strike’ – which is, in fact, a big business organized lockout – is an attempt by right wing forces in Venezuela to topple the democratically elected Chávez. A group of sell-out trade union leaders has thrown in with the elite opposition movement.

Early in the ‘strike,’ there was little support beyond a few large businesses, such as McDonald’s and other fast food chains; the supermarkets and the private schools. Then, managers and administrators of Venezuela’s oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) joined in, trying to take the president and the country hostage by their attacks on oil production.

While the ‘strike’ has little popular support, especially among the poor, it has had a significant effect on the state-owned oil company. Ali Rodriguez, PDVSA’s president, reported that the opposition has shut down the country’s main oil refinery, one of the largest in the world. The exportation of oil has been cut from 3 million barrels to 1.5 million barrels per day. The ‘strike’ is costing the economy $50 million per day and affecting all of Venezuelan society. Venezuela is in jeopardy of losing international customers and defaulting on their debt payments if oil production does not resume soon.

This ‘strike’ shows that the opposition and a significant number of Venezuela’s business elite prefer to commit economic suicide in order to oust Chávez and are not afraid of dragging the country with them.

U.S. Destabilization

Last April, president Chávez was kidnapped at gun point in a failed coup attempt. The Bush administration praised the coup, but backtracked when it became apparent that the coup plotters lacked domestic and international support.

Recently, Bush sided with the big business opposition and announced that Chávez should call for early elections. Chávez was elected to a six-year term. The Venezuelan constitution does not allow for elections at this time. Said Chávez, “The U.S. is confused. We’ll have to send them a copy of the constitution.” The opposition wants elections now so that they can use the current economic situation to blackmail voters into supporting their agenda.

Although Bush denies the U.S. had any role in the coup or the ‘strike,’ the opposition receives support, including financial support, from the U.S. government.

Ranking members of the State Department met with opposition leaders in Washington D.C. at the beginning of December during the early portion of the ‘strike.’ The State Department says the it would enjoy a ‘regime change.’

In the past year, the United States channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to American and Venezuelan groups opposed to President Chávez. The funds came from the CIA-linked National Endowment for Democracy – a nonprofit agency created and financed by Congress. The National Endowment for Democracy gave $154,377 to the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, the international arm of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.

For many years, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. worked closely with the State department and CIA to disrupt trade union movements in other countries. The fact that the Center for International Labor Solidarity is channeling money to the reactionary leaders of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers is raising concerns among progressive trade unionists in the U.S. The Confederation of Venezuelan Workers is led by Carlos Ortega, a close associate of Pedro Carmona Estanga, the businessman who took over during April’s right wing coup.

Venezuela is at a crossroads. Progressives throughout Latin America are backing the government of Hugo Chávez. Oil workers from Colombia and Ecuador say they will help Venezuela’s oil industry get back on its feet. Pro-Chávez demonstrations and other acts of resistance have continued throughout the ‘strike.’ The choice is clear. The pro-poor people, pro-worker policies of the Chávez government deserve the support or everyone who supports justice.

#Venezuela #News #HugoChavez #NationalEndowmentForDemocracy #oilworkersstrike #Americas

The referendum, which easily passed by 55 to 45 percent, with 99% reporting, will allow Venezuela's current president, Hugo Chavez Frias, to be a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections.

“Those who voted 'yes' today voted for socialism, for revolution,” Chavez declared, in a victory speech from what he dubbed the ‘people's balcony’ of the Presidential Palace, where tens of thousands of red-clad supporters gathered.

“This soldier is now a pre-candidate for the 2012 presidential elections,” Chavez stated. He says 'pre-candidate' since the United Socialist Party of Venezuela requires that all candidates be elected in a democratic primary from the grassroots. Chavez, of humble beginnings, has a military background and first became a household name after he led an uprising against the corrupt government of Carlos Andres Perez in 1992.

Venezuela's opposition parties and candidates, closely allied with U.S. business interests, unanimously accepted the loss. In many of the 15 electoral process that have occurred under the ten years of Chavez's administration, opposition leaders attempted to destabilize the country after a vote, refusing to recognize the results. This time around, right-wing domestic and international media were unable to question the result, as Venezuela's electoral system has gained worldwide recognition in recent years. The election was considered ‘free and fair’ by the over 1200 electoral observers present during the process.

President Chavez read a letter during his speech from his closest ally, former president of Cuba Fidel Castro.

Fidel Castro wrote, “Congratulations to you and the Venezuelan people for this victory, whose importance cannot be measured.” President Chavez responded, “This victory is also yours Fidel, a victory for Cuba and for all the nations of our America.”

#Venezuela #HugoChavez #UnitedSocialistPartyOfVenezuela #Americas