Tucson, AZ – On the evening of Feb. 27, a group of activists gathered outside Tucson City Hall to protest U.S. interference in Venezuela and declare solidarity with the revolutionary Bolivarian government.

Protesters held signs reading, “U.S. hands off Venezuela,” “We stand with Maduro for peace,” “Let democracy decide,” and “Long live the Bolivarian revolution!” Friendly drivers honked their horns and passersby raised fists of solidarity during rush hour in Tucson’s downtown. People stopped to ask about the demands of the protest and were appalled to learn about U.S. government backing of right-wing movements, as well as the violence targeting popular people’s projects in Venezuela. Venezuela’s revolutionary government takes billions in oil profits and invests them in jobs, housing, food programs, health care and education, lifting millions out of poverty.

In recent weeks, a right-wing movement backed by the U.S. is attempting to overthrow the revolution and return Venezuela to the days of poverty and misery. The U.S. is funding non-governmental organizations and using other illegal methods to support anti-government protests and violent attacks by the right-wing opposition. Pro-U.S. and counter-revolutionary forces are once again turning to street violence in the wake of electoral failures. It is similar to the failed coup attempt against revolutionary President Hugo Chavez on April 11, 2002. At that time, the U.S. government under President Bush funded and provided intelligence to the coup makers at that time. Now, the government led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is responding to more U.S.-backed provocations with calls for a peace conference. Venezuelan police also use force when necessary to suppress the guarimbas - roadblocks with burning tires and men carrying an assortment of weapons.

The recent violence represents an escalation by a section of the wealthy capitalists and their supporters against the socialist-oriented Chavista government. The right-wing opposition is taking advantage of difficulties with inflation. Also, the scarcity of some goods figured in initial protests, but soon turned into violence directed at supporters of the Bolivarian revolution. Some business people in Venezuela deliberately hoard certain goods, purposely sabotage the economy, and then engage in currency speculation to make big profits. The wealthy opposition parties keep losing election after election, including the recent municipal elections where they lost ground. So now some are turning to violence in an attempt to impose their will on the majority.

Tucson Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Alliance for Global Justice planned the rally, and were joined by representatives of Tucson Peace Vigil and Veterans for Peace. Protesters held signs and shouted, “Stop media lies!” in response to wide scale news manipulation by Venezuelan and American news corporations.

The Bolivarian government has the upper hand and the correct handling of the disturbances can bolster the progressive and patriotic movements in Venezuela, but the right-wing opposition is determined to reverse the Bolivarian revolution.

As for Tucson, SDSer Dayna Broder proclaimed: “We stand for solidarity with Venezuela, against war, and with President Maduro for peace.”

#TucsonAZ #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Venezuela #Coup #USImperialism #NicholasMaduro

The U.S. government has been placing intense pressure on governments around the world to deliver Snowden into U.S. custody. Earlier this week, the U.S. government sparked outrage when it prevailed on European countries to force down the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales, on the grounds that he might be transporting Snowden from Moscow.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced the asylum offer, saying that the most powerful empire on earth was trying to persecute a young man who has done nothing but tell the truth.

Maduro then went on to say, Who is the terrorist? Governments like ours who offer humanitarian asylum to a young man like Snowden, or the U.S. government who shelters terrorists like airline bomber Luis Posada Carriles or sends bombs to the terrorist opposition is Syria?

Snowden has the support of progressive people across the globe for revealing massive NSA spying operations.

#Venezuela #NicholasMaduro #EdwardSnowden #NSA #Americas

In the two days since Maduro's victory, the Venezuelan right-wing opposition has attacked supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution and resorted to violence to oust the democratically elected president. These confrontations left seven people dead and more than 60 people injured. Armed bands of opposition forces, angry at their defeat in the election, attacked Venezuelans who gathered to celebrate the victory of Maduro in several states. These dangerous attacks are part of a deliberate attempt by the U.S.-supported opposition to destabilize the revolutionary Venezuelan government.

Lacking any commitment to democracy in Venezuela, opposition gangs firebombed the United Socialist Party of Venezuela's (PSUV) party headquarters in Anzoategui and Tachira while people worked inside, April 16. Elsewhere, upper class students led deadly confrontations with Venezuelan security forces. According to Russia Today, these opposition mobs attacked a government-run clinic in a central Venezuelan state.

Maduro denounced the opposition's violent tactics in the harshest terms. He vowed to protect the will of the Venezuelan people, saying, “I will fight fascism and those who attack democracy with a firm hand. If they want to topple me, they can come get me.”

In the recent special presidential election, Maduro defeated opposition candidate Henrique Caprilles by a margin of 50.8% to 49.0%. Maduro, a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), succeeded the late President Hugo Chavez, who died just months after also defeating Caprilles in the 2012 election.

Maduro won by a narrow margin of about 270,000 votes. Despite the National Electoral Council (CNE) and at least 100 international observers affirming that the election was fair, Caprilles and the opposition are demanding a full recount. Venezuela's election process is consistently rated by international observers, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, as one of the most democratic in the world.

Caprilles' demand for a recount follows in a sinister tradition of U.S.-backed counter-revolutions in socialist and anti-imperialist countries. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) works closely with the rich and wealthy elites in these countries to delegitimize democratic elections and violate the will of the people. In 2002, the U.S.-backed a coup d'état in Venezuela that temporarily removed then-President Chavez from power. The workers of Venezuela and progressive elements in the military battled these U.S. puppets in the streets and eventually restored Chavez to power. A similar CIA-backed destabilization attempt took place in Iran in 2009, with the so-called “Green Revolution.”

This most recent election marks the second time that the people of Venezuela rejected Caprilles' anti-worker, pro-corporate agenda at the ballot box. Caprilles currently serves as the face of the wealthy Venezuelan opposition. The corporate elites who funded Caprilles' campaign lost much of their wealth and power because of the Bolivarian Revolution led by Chavez. They fear Maduro's presidency will continue the trend towards a more just society.

Maduro indicated that the threat of a coup would open the opportunity to radicalize the Bolivarian Revolution. Even after the privately owned media and major corporations conspired to overthrow him in 2002, Chavez stopped short of outlawing or arresting most opposition leaders. This latest wave of counter-revolutionary violence may open the opportunity for Maduro and the Venezuelan people to break the power of the rich oligarchs once and for all.

Revolutionaries and progressives in the U.S. have an obligation to the Venezuelan people to oppose intervention by their own government in the conflict. Venezuela has a right to national self-determination and progressives in the U.S should support the ongoing national democratic process under the leadership of President Maduro. We should demand, “U.S. hands off Venezuela! U.S. hands off Latin America! Victory to the Bolivarian Revolution!”

#Venezuela #UnitedSocialistPartyOfVenezuela #NicholasMaduro #PSUV #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