Over the last two months over 90 people have
been killed in Venezuela, and over 1200 people
have been injured as a result of a destructive
destabilization campaign by Venezuela’s
violent opposition. These pro-US mercenaries
have committed murder, arson, and theft,
among other dangerous crimes and terrorist
actions all with the objective of overthrowing
the democratically elected government of
Nicolas Maduro and reversing the gains of the
Bolivarian revolution.
In the face of these increasing attacks by
Venezuela’s counter-revolutionary opposition,
who works together with the US government,
President Nicolas Maduro has called for a
National Constituent Assembly to strengthen
the Bolivarian revolution and constitution.
On July 30, 2017 people in Venezuela will go
the polls to elect this National Constituent
Assembly. The 545 elected members of the
National Assembly will then get to work
in strengthening Venezuela’s Constitution,
which was originally passed in 1999 and
has been a cornerstone of the Bolivarian
Revolution.
Venezuela’s capitalist class, which still hold
the majority of the means of production and
distribution in Venezuela, does not want this
election, and the re-writing of the Constitution
to happen. Not only are they boycotting the
National Constituent Assembly elections,
they are also inciting increasing violence in
the streets of Venezuela and sabotage against
the economy meant to scare away people from
participating in the elections as well.
This increased campaign of terror has also
come hand-in-hand with escalating attacks
by the US government and their imperialist
allies. Since March of 2015, President Obama,
and now President Trump, have held in place
an executive order that declares Venezuela
a so-called “extraordinary threat” to US
national security. This order has enabled
increasing sanctions and economic sabotage
against Venezuela at a time when Venezuela’s
economy was already suffering due to the
massive drop in the price of oil. Recently,
US President Trump has not only increased
the sanctions against Venezuela, but is also
appealing to other countries, especially in the
European Union, to join in.
US imperialism and their allies like the
government of Canada, has also attempted to
undermine Venezuela’s sovereignty and selfdetermination
through a campaign to get the
Organization of American States (OAS) to
intervene in the internal affairs of Venezuela.
This is no surprise, given that the OAS, a
regional diplomatic body, receives the majority
of it’s funding from the United States and is
head-quartered in Washington. DC. This proimperialist
intervention campaign in the OAS,
as well as an attempt by the US government
to condemn Venezuela in the United Nations
Security Council, have both failed.
People and governments around the world
are standing with President Nicolas Maduro
and the Bolivarian Revolution in defense
of the sovereignty and self-determination
of an independent government. They are
also standing with Venezuela because the
Bolivarian revolutionary process, under the
leadership of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas
Maduro has also made great gains for poor
and oppressed people around the world
through international solidarity.
As one example of this, in July, Venezuela is
celebrating the 12th anniversary of Petrocaribe,
and organization set-up by the government
of Venezuela to provide affordable oil
to countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean, not necessary in exchange for
money, but instead in exchange for goods and
services. The government of Venezuela has
also joined with revolutionary Cuba in the
creation of ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas) and UNASUR (Union
of South American Nations), organizations
that provide an alternative to US-sponsored
alliances and funded free-trade agreements
that have impoverished and plundered
countries throughout Latin America and the
Caribbean.
In main stream capitalist media today,
including here in Canada, there is never a
mention about the violence in Venezuela
carried out by the murderous thugs and
mercenaries of the pro-US opposition in
Venezuela, nor an coverage of the great
gains that have been made by poor, working
and oppressed people within the Bolivarian
Revolutionary process. No discussion about
the elimination of illiteracy in the country,
or the fact that even in the face of violence
and economic sabotage the revolutionary
government has provided over 1.5 million
homes to marginalized people in Venezuela
over the past six years.
As peace-loving people in Canada, we have
the responsibility to understand what is
really happening in Venezuela today, and
to take action against US and imperialist
attacks on the government of Venezuela and
the Bolivarian revolution. An attack against
Venezuela is an attack against poor, working
and oppressed people around the world. A
victory for the people of Venezuela against the
violent opposition and counter-revolutionary
mercenaries is a victory for all of us.
The following articles and analysis contain
the tools that we need to order to defend
the democratically elected government
of President Maduro and the Bolivarian
revolutionary process.
Follow Alison Bodine on Twitter: @Alisoncolette
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