Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 6 statement from the International League of Peoples´ Struggle (ILPS).

_Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 5 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). _

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Aug. 5 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

Milwaukee, WI – On May 20, the revolutionary forces of Venezuela won a great victory with the re-election of Nicolás Maduro as president, who received a landslide 67% of the vote. The reactionary opposition parties, stumbling over themselves, ran a sub-par candidate that they could not even unite behind. For the foreseeable future, the political forces of the comprador bourgeoisie are defeated, and they and their imperialist partners will need to explore other means to try to defeat the Bolivarian Revolution. Now is the time for the revolutionary movement to advance, and that is what they are doing.

Milwaukee, WI – In Venezuela's first presidential election since 2013, President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in a landslide, receiving 67% of the vote in an election where the opposition was deeply divided and unwilling to unite behind a candidate. Henri Falcón, the most prominent opposition figure to run, received the endorsement of only a handful of parties and only got 27% of the vote. The majority of the right-wing opposition refused to even participate, pre-emptively condemning as fraudulent the very electoral system praised by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter as “the best in the world.”

Meeting in Caracas Feb. 26, the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) and the governing United Socialist Party (PSUV) reached a historic agreement after days of negotiation. As a result of the “PSUV-PCV Unitary Accord,” the first of its kind in the country’s revolutionary struggle, the two parties agree to work together to solve the challenges facing Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution. The PCV also agreed to endorse Nicolás Maduro for president in the upcoming April 22 election. The Unitary Accord was presented at the PCV’s Fourteenth National Conference, during which President Maduro and several top PSUV members and government ministers addressed the delegates and signed the Accord. The entire proceedings were broadcasted live by Venezuelan TV. Below is the PSUV-PCV Unitary Accord in its entirety, translated by Fight Back! staff. PSUV-PCV Unitary Accord

On Feb. 7, the Venezuelan government was to sign an “agreement of coexistence” with the reactionary opposition, after months of negotiations. At the last minute, the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) changed its mind and refused. According to Jorge Rodriguez, the chief negotiator for the government, the MUD’s change of heart came after their lead negotiator received a call from the Colombian government.

Minneapolis, MN – In a March 30 statement, the Federation of Cuban Workers said, “The Federation of Cuban Workers and Cuban trade unions declare our unconditional support and militant, internationalist, revolutionary solidarity with the energetic, resounding response of worker-President Nicolás Maduro Moros, to the debate on the situation in Venezuela convoked by a small group of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Commission, March 28, 2017, in defense of the country's sovereignty, independence, and self-determination, asserting the dignity of Venezuela and all of Our America.”

Latest U.S. moves to topple Venezuela's progressive Bolivarian government and inflict harm on the people

Jacksonville, FL – In the latest move by the U.S. to topple the progressive, democratic Venezuelan government, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced on March 3 that President Barack Obama was considering economic sanctions on Venezuela. Schultz, who represents a district in south Florida and who chairs the Democratic National Committee, made the disturbing announcement on the heels of a proposed Venezuela sanctions bill introduced and sponsored by Florida's two senators, Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson.

Milwaukee, WI – Despite freezing cold temperatures, Milwaukee students and anti-war activists rallied in solidarity with the Venezuelan government on March 3. They stood waving flags and held up signs reading “U.S. hands off Venezuela,” and “Soy Chavista!” Standing on ice and snow, they chanted against U.S. intervention and in support of Venezuela’s President Maduro. They are joining progressive people around the world holding rallies in solidarity with the Venezuelan government.