Caracas, Venezuela – Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arriaza spoke to the international observers of the elections to the National Assembly, December 4. He said to us, “The town is not full of only resistance and consciousness, they are on the offensive. They have been attacked by the World Bank and other capitalists. The Venezuelan people are working, they are creative. It’s impressive how creative they are to fix the problems. We couldn’t do this without the people.”

He went on, “Imperialism has only increased the people’s resistance. The opposition said, ‘It wasn’t a movement, it was just a leader, Chavez.’ No, the people’s assembly has the power. There have been consequences for starting the people’s assembly. There has been violence, guarimbas and young people dying based on the opposition’s attacks against us. The opposition set 29 Venezuelans on fire and burned them alive. Why? Because their skin was brown, so they assumed they were Chavistas. The opposition is financed by the USA and the CIA.”

An activist leader from Puerto Rico stated, “The way you all run elections in Venezuela are a model for the world. On November 3, in Puerto Rico, we had elections and they have still not verified them today, December 4.”

David Denny, from the Caribbean, “In our region, we see this election as very important. This election is about defending the poor people. We visited a community, and we felt their strong defense of Venezuela.”

The vice president of the Communist Party in Kenya said, “The attack against Venezuela is not unique. The history of imperialism is a history of war and suffering. They have hurt Africa so much. You have friends in Africa willing to defend Venezuela. We want to have a national debate to share the socialist success of Venezuela and explain the USA’s attacks against Venezuela. You are not alone. You are with the progressives around the world. Send the opposition coup, who attack you all, to jail. They did that to Evo, in Bolivia. Don’t give them an inch.”

A feminist leader from Brazil stated, “We’ve seen a very successful movement from women here. I lived here for a few years. The reason the revolution has been successful is because many women are at the front of the revolution. Venezuela is a strong example that we want to follow in Brazil.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arriaza responded, “I want to thank you all for the solidarity. It is so important. Lula said, ‘Chavez and I know the direction where we are going. We just go at different rates or speeds. We fight for an equal society with all society’s needs. We need a common agenda. The education needs to be accessible and free to everyone. The people need to choose their own process. You need a leader and a strong program. And we need to know that the enemy is imperialism.’”

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On Thursday, Nov. 2, the Gayones Movement leadership in Lara state denounced the Venezuelan opposition for returning to violent action. They expressed concern over the speculative rise of the cost of basic goods and, at the same time, made a call for their XI National Assembly, which will be held this Saturday in Barquisimeto.

The plan is named ‘RaBo’ in reference to the initials of its main proponents, Henri Ramos Allup and Julio Borges, the leaders of the Democratic Action and Justice First parties, respectively. This plan will have two parallel paths: “A intensification of the economic boycott in order to harm the people through the excessive rise in the costs of basic mass-consumed goods and transport, all done by means of hoarding,” and, the second path, a refusal to participate in the December elections.

With this, “they are trying to avoid electoral disaster and delegitimize state institutions,” the leadership stated. They warned that violent acts could succeed in preventing the population from voting, causing the level of abstention to soar.

The economic boycott also has an internal force

For the Gayones leadership, the boycott and economic sabotage that the Venezuelan people suffer from, inflicted by the native bourgeoisie, is protected by certain internal sectors of the national government, who are no more than ‘traitors’ and ‘accomplices’ that “since coming to power have lent themselves to speculation and hoarding, and they have permitted a handful of their associated traitors to capital, enriching themselves with the hunger of the people.”

The leadership stated that many state institutions are “representatives of certain monopolies,” making them incapable of taking action for fear of coming into conflict with themselves. Before this, “the swell of speculation should be overwhelmingly attacked by acts of vigilance and popular oversight, as well as pressure towards the state institutions,” they expressed.

Protective actions of wage increases

With respect to the act of wage increases — announced by president Nicolás Maduro this Wednesday — the leadership gave their support, stating that similar action should be taken to ‘sensibly’ improve the purchasing power of Venezuelans faced with the strongest speculative phase since the beginning of the economic war.

But, they argued, the action should be accompanied by strict control of prices to avoid the conversion of the wage increase into ‘salt and water’ when faced with new speculative prices. To accomplish this, the leadership proposes revolutionary workers’ control of all imports, production and commercial businesses.

Other necessary actions

Additionally, they proposed other actions to advance towards socialism, among them the control and centralization of the banks, a centralized planned national economy, seizure of businesses that are directly implicated in acts of sabotage, and the creation of agricultural production brigades.

Finally, the leadership extended an invitation to the XI National Assembly of the Gayones Movement on Nov. 4, when the organization will set its policies for 2018 and celebrate 100 years of the Great October Socialist Revolution, among other topics.

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The statement reads:

“This Sunday, July 30, 2017, during elections for the National Constituent Assembly in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Venezuelan people demonstrated to the world that they are in full possession of their sovereign rights, and are firmly on the side of peace, in defense of citizen security, of independence and self-determination in their homeland, as they have been throughout the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, since Bolívar.

“Venezuela poured out to the polls as never before in a constituent process. This people, that challenged barricades, blocked streets, economic sabotage, and international threats, defeated with their votes the strategy of imperialism, the oligarchies, and an opposition which has not hesitated to unleash the most brutal expressions of cruelty. The cynicism of those who attempt to blame the government, and the defenders of the people, for crimes committed is offensive.

“Cuba denounces the implementation of a well planned international operation, directed from Washington with the support of the OAS General Secretary, intended to silence the voice of the Venezuelan people, ignore their expressed will, and impose surrender with attacks and economic sanctions.

“The government of the United States, for its part, has imposed sanctions directly on constitutional President Nicolás Maduro Moro, unprecedented, arbitrary sanctions that violate international law, which we condemn.

“We are very familiar with these interventionist practices. They think that with this, they will achieve the submission of a people to a puppet opposition which they finance, and now promises to burn the country down.

“Once again, we reiterate what Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, said last July 14, in the National Assembly:

“The aggression and coup violence against Venezuela harms all of Our America and only benefits the interests of those set on dividing us in order to exercise their control over our people, unconcerned about causing conflicts of incalculable consequences in the region, like those we are seeing in different parts of the world.

“Today we warn that those attempting to overthrow the Bolivarian Chavista Revolution through unconstitutional, violent coup methods, will shoulder a serious responsibility before history.”

Nothing can stop a people which takes control of its destiny. Only Venezuelans can decide how to resolve their problems and chart their future. No more interventions, conspiracies, or betrayals of the Bolivarian spirit.

We reiterate our unwavering solidarity with the people and the Bolivarian Chavista government, with the civic-military union lead by constitutional President Nicolás Maduro Moros. As Fidel said at the Central University of Caracas, during his 1959 visit, “The position of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba will be a firm position, without hesitations of any kind, because the hour has arrived for peoples who know how to defend themselves and how to assert their rights.”

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At around 11:20 p.m. on the night of April 14, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the results, which were closer than the 2012 Presidential election when Chavez also defeated Caprilles by about 55% to 45%.

Shortly after the CNE announced the results, Maduro gave a speech in Caracas to supporters, in which he reaffirmed his commitment to Chavez's revolutionary pro-worker policies. Because of the close results, he welcomed the CNE to audit the results and called on the opposition to stand by the will of the Venezuelan people. Wielding a small blue copy of the Venezuelan constitution in his right hand, he ended his speech by paying homage to Chavez's legacy of social justice and anti-imperialism.

Despite no reported irregularities by the CNE or any of the 200 international observers, Caprilles, the son of a wealthy corporate oligarch linked to Kraft Foods, and the right-wing opposition call for a recount. Caprilles and the rich in Venezuela fear Maduro and the revolutionary process in Venezuela started by Chavez.

Maduro, a former bus driver and trade unionist, was announced by Chavez as his successor shortly before the former president's death. In his brief tenure as acting president, Maduro has strengthened relations with the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), which participates in the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Maduro called the PCV an example of the great sacrifices and pains that “the struggles of revolutionaries have incurred.”

The April 14 election marks the 16th democratic vote taken on Chavez, the PSUV and the ongoing Bolivarian Revolution. The Venezuelan people have voted in favor of the Bolivarian Revolution in 15 of those 16 elections and referendums, indicating the overwhelming mass support for deepening and expanding the national democratic process.

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