Young Communists of Venezuela condemn US aggression

Against the imperialist aggression - Unity, solidarity and struggle

Statement of the Communist Youth of Venezuela (JCV) – National Executive Committee of the Central Council

The Communist Youth of Venezuela (JCV) expresses its strongest condemnation to the executive order signed by the president Barack Obama, last March 9th, when he declared a “National Emergency” after describing Venezuela as an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the National Security and Foreign Policy of the United States”.

The interventionist policy of the US and European imperialist poles against Venezuela has intensified during the last months: unilateral sanctions against the state of Venezuela and recurrent statements by senior US officials and European Parliament have highlighted the development of an international conspiracy against the Bolivarian Process.

Venezuelan communist youth forge new, post-Chavez strategy

Tamara Pearson,
Venezuela Analysis.com

Merida, 1st October 2013 – The recent national congress of the Communist Youth of Venezuela (JCV) declared the need for more “revolutionary measures” to combat the “economic sabotage” that Venezuela is facing.

The congress, held last week from 19 to 22 September in Caracas coincided with the 66th anniversary of the JCV. Its slogan was “With rebelliousness and organisation we deepen the revolution” and 200 delegates attended. Each delegate represented one youth collective.

On the ground account account of destabilization in Venezuela

Padraic O'Brien is a student activist at the University of Guelph, currently in Venezuela.

Spread widely! Apparently the message in mainstream media isn't quite the same as what I'm finding on the ground here...

The recent chain of events in Venezuela since the electoral results came out last Sunday contain very troubling aspects which need to be brought to the light. I am presently in Guacas de Rivera, in the state of Apure, where elections took place normally and no act of violence was committed. But people here are worried about the way things are going.

The scenario we are seeing develop was foreseen by many people who had been anticipating a destabilization attempt against the government by the opposition in order to pave the way for a coup. This prediction was reinforced by the fact that opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski never said he would accept the vote -- although his organization officially recognizes the impartiality and competence of the national electoral council, whose work has been deemed impeccable in the past by international observers.

Here is what happened so far.

First, despite the polarization of the debate and accusations both parties have been throwing at one another, the elections went smoothly across the country.  Chavista supporters in the area waited anxiously the results until around midnight, results which made Maduro winner with the slimmest margin ever registered by the revolutionary movement, less than 2%.

Immediately after Maduro's speech, his opponent Capriles stated the results were false and demanded a recount, while saying there were no doubts he had won the elections. Maduro later replied that a recount and audit were reasonable, as allowed for under electoral procedures, but saw in Capriles' actions nothing but maneuvers aimed at engendering a climate of instability in the country. The events from last night reinforce this accusation.

During the day, Capriles maintained his accusations against the revolutionary side, calling his supporters to take the streets with pots and pans to put pressure on the government. Meanwhile, the director of the national electoral council announced the final results and certified their validity, officially awarding victory to Maduro.

Later in the day, many governments congratulated him for his victory, such as those of Argentina, Chile,Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico, while other such as the United States and Spain took position in favour of a recount and did not recognize Maduro's victory. The Inter-American Organization meanwhile gave its approval to the electoral process and declared its results valid.

During the evening, Capriles supporters took the streets in many cities across the country. In Guacas de Rivera, Chavista supporters celebrated victory with loud music and dancing, and decided not to parade in the streets to avoid fighting. There was a pots and pans march in the neighbouring town of El Cantón but without any violence. There is the suspicion, however, that a 2 hour power outage was caused by sabotage.

Around 9pm, news starting coming out from the rest of the country about violence. Here is what we know so far.

In the largest cities of the country, such as Caracas, San Cristóbal, Mérida, Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Maracay, Baruta, Barcelona, Maturín, Barinas and San Fernando de Apure, Capriles supporters rioted and attacked state institutions associated to Chávez, Socialist Party offices and even residencies of party officials and of the electoral council's director.

At least seven people, including four members of the PSUV, were murdered. In Maturín, in the state of Monagas, the rioters took over the electoral council's office, but were then taken out by the JCV -- the Communist Youth of Venezuela.

The most troubling aspects however were the attacks against public hospitals, in the cities of Maracaibo and Valencia. In Maracaibo, they were triggered after opposition figure Nelson Bocaranga -- notorious for spreading false rumours in the past about Chávez's health status -- tweeted that voting booths were being stored in those public hospitals under the care of Cuban doctors.

Capriles' supporters went out to damage 11 hospitals, but of course found no evidence of this pure lie. Other regime opponents also spread photos from 2008 and 2010 elections to base their claims about electoral mischief. And public kindergartens and subsidized food stores were also attacked. Yes, you read that right...

Violent acts were also committed in smaller towns, which is cause for worry. For example, in the small, remote Andean town of Pregonero, in the state of Táchira, and in the town of Achaguas, in the state of Apure, rioters tried to burn down community radio stations. These towns are located in traditionally strong Chavista territory, and close to the Colombian border, a strategic area. In fact, the border state of Táchira, an opposition stronghold,seems to have been particularly hit hard by violence, not only in its capital San Cristóbal, but also in many smaller towns. Táchira happens to be the doorway to Colombia...

It seems like some violence was still going on during the day. I was told that in Barinas, opponents are still electrified in the streets, and police are using tear gas. Closer to here, in the district capital Guasdualito, both groups faced off in the streets. The smaller opposition group was only able to stay for an hour, and Chavista groups will remain vigilant tonight to protect important buildings. National Guards were present to avoid fighting, but the people were generally disciplined.

Word goes around to not respond to any sort of provocation. Many rumours are flying around, like one that says that Capriles, Bocaranga and other opposition figures have sent their families outside the country. In his first public appearance since the violence, Capriles blamed responsibility over violence to Maduro, and called for other marches tonight. But he withdrew his call to march to the central electoral office in Caracas tomorrow.

The situation in the country remains critical. It is important to spread around this information. The scenario is eerily similar to that of the 2002 coup attempt, and not entirely dissimilar from what happened more recently in Libya and Syria. Let's all remain vigilant, and demonstrate our support of Venezuelan sovereignty and democracy at the nearest Venezuelan embassies and consulates!

Comandante President Hugo Chavez

Chevy Philips, 
Special to Rebel Youth

Now that most of the post-mortem hatchet-jobs have been expelled from the bowels of the western corporate media, I thought would present a brief tribute to one of the great heroes of the century so far, Comandante President Hugo Chavez.

Actually I just had to write something, or I'd burst. The past few days have seen the most outrageous torrent of abuse directed at Chavez and his legacy, courtesy of the degenerate ultra-right criminals that own and operate the press in the imperialist countries...

Hated from the start by the largely fascist-orientated Venezuelan bourgeoisie, Chavez was in their eyes, a dirty mixed-race mongrel, and not just a socialist (which is clearly bad enough all on its own).

That some jumped up, "part-Black" army officer should have the temerity to challenge their plutocratic rule must have come as a gut-wrenching shock; as much as it came as a great inspiration to those of us looking to a progressive future for a continent plagued for so long by CIA-led coups and death squads carrying US-bought guns, murdering and torturing their way through any man, woman or child suspected of being left of centre.

Those days are gone for good now, and Comandante Chavez leaves behind him a continent more united in a progressive and anti-imperialist direction than ever before. There are still those who cling to the blood-soaked past, of course, most notably the various governments of Columbia over the decades, against whom many brave men and women have fought and died in the mud and hardship of the jungles for almost fifty years - their attempts to take the peaceful path and form an electoral party in the 1980s met by a hail of bullets from those governments and their paramilitaries in black masks.

But the inevitable tide of history cannot be halted or turned back, and the masses of Venezuela, behind the PSUV with Chavez at their head, have proven this. The Communist Party of Venezuela recognized early on the genuinely popular and progressive nature of the movement led by Chavez, and so proudly stood with him against the interminable domestic and foreign imperialist attempts to sabotage, slander and even overthrow his Presidency. The short-lived, US-backed coup of 2002 demonstrates how utterly bankrupt, spineless, and without support these cowards and mercenaries were then and continue to be now.

The record of Comandante President Chavez, the PSUV and its allies speaks for itself (info taken from Ted Snider's article, rabble.ca):

- Chavez has cut unemployment amongst Venezuelans by more than half. In 1999, the year Chavez took office, unemployment was 18 per cent. By 2011 it had dropped to 8.2 per cent and by last year to about 6 per cent.

- Poverty has dropped from 42.8 per cent when Chavez took office to 26.7 per cent. -- a vast improvement of 37 per cent. However, according to economist Mark Weisbrot, Chavez did not really have control of the oil industry or the economy until 2003.

- When measured from that date, when Chavez's policies began to have an effect on the economy, the improvement in poverty increases to 49.7 per cent. When extreme poverty is considered, the results are even more impressive. In 1999, 16.6 per cent of Venezuelans lived in extreme poverty; by 2011 that number had dropped to 7 per cent: an improvement of 57.8 per cent. And again, if you only look at the period that Chavez could realistically affect, the improvement was an incredible 70 per cent.

- Venezuela's economy continued to grow by 5.5 per cent. Though in the 20 years prior to Chavez's presidency, Venezuela had the worst performing economy in South America. Since 2003, when Chavez's policies began to have an effect, Venezuela's economy has grown by more than 94 per cent.

- Chavez won four consecutive elections and submitted many important decisions to national referendums. In every case, Chavez honoured the will of the people: even the one time that he lost, by the slimmest of margins, in the December 2007 referendum.

- Chavez has consistently won a majority of the vote. In 2006, he was re-elected by 63 per cent of the people. Thirteen years into his presidency, he still attracted over 54 per cent of the vote. Jimmy Carter said in 2012 that "of the ninety-two elections that we've monitored, I would say that the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world."


This is the kind of mandate that governments in the West can only dream of, yet they regularly accused Chavez of being undemocratic! To provide one of many possible examples, the ultra-right corporate gangster that currently claims the title of Prime Minister of Canada was elected with the support of just 24% of the overall electorate (thanks, in large part, to the extraordinarily anti-democratic nature of the first-past-the-post constituency system inherited from Britain); and yet he regularly lectures other countries and their leaders about democracy!

In reply to all those who slander Chavez and what he continues to represent, we say...

Long Live Comandante President Chavez, the PSUV, and the Communist Party of Venezuela!

Communist Party of Venezuela on death of Hugo Chavez

President Hugo Chavez Frias and Oscar Figuera, PCV general secretary

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with deep sorrow over the passing of our President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias, undisputed leader of the Bolivarian process in Venezuela, Latin America and the world, wishes to express its firm conviction to continue raising the flags of struggle for socialist revolution and revolutionary popular unity.

President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias dedicated his life to efforts that helped in the construction and defense of the country, seeking the conquest of a society of justice and freedom for the working people of Venezuela, Latin America and the world, who are facing global imperialism and its lackeys.

It is indisputable that our comrade president always took, with exemplary revolutionary discipline and selflessness, the difficult and demanding task of leading our country through the paths of the construction of a more just society, and assumed this task as a lifetime commitment.

From the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Venezuela we condemn the war politics and media manipulation undertaken by reactionary sectors of Venezuela, under the guidance of U.S. imperialism, the main enemy of the working class and all working people.

We call on the Venezuelan people, the revolutionary political and social forces to close ranks, to remain alert and vigilant against the claims of imperialism to create chaos and instability in our country. This is why we must demonstrate high levels of organization and disciplined mobilization of our people, building from all instances created in recent years.

We extend to his closest loved and those who loved him dearly in life, our expressions of solidarity and condolences, especially to his sons and daughter and other relatives.

The Political Bureau pays tribute to Comrade President Hugo Chavez , revolutionary who will forever be framed in the collective imagination of our country as an example of strength, dedication, courage and revolutionary greatness.

We call on the Venezuelan people to continue to strive for the courage, fortitude, unselfishness and infinite love for humanity and behavior specific to revolutionary action of Comrade President Hugo Chavez, to now and forever be an example to our people and new generations of fighters for life.

"Bolivarian Revolution"

Luis Carapinha, Communist Party of Portugual

Suddenly, Venezuela has disappeared from the dominant media networks. Instead, if Capriles had won the election on October 7th, all would have been otherwise.

But, on the contrary, Chavez was re-elected with more than eight million votes and winning by 11 percentage points, in elections in which eight out of ten eligible Venezuelans voted. Among the right-wing candidate's supporters, tears are still being wiped off their cheeks.

The Bolivarian victory was predictable by any minimally informed onlooker. The truth is the campaign, monitored from the conspiracy centres, broke all bounds to spread the idea of a "technical draw". The false perspective helped confusion inside and outside Venezuela.

But the evidence of popular triumph disappointed those who planned to de-legitimise the results and de-stabilize the country. That infamous torrent of falsehood will certainly be back shortly.

After fourteen years of an intensive class struggle, the Venezuelan process carries on, giving exemplary lessons of democratic participation and popular unity. Nobody can deny it.

Peaceful but not unarmed, the Bolivarian revolution marches to the rhythm of emancipation, without tiring, in the "representative democracy" framework, to which it's bound, particularly hurting the bourgeoisie and imperialism.

The renewal of President Chavez's constitutional mandate, till 2019, is a window of opportunity to carry on building strength along the transformative path to national independence and to carry out the work of consolidating change demanded by the great masses.

It is a transcendental victory for Latin America, the peoples of the South and the revolutionary and progressive forces' liberation movement throughout the world, at this tumultuous time, with plenty of threats, together with capitalism's structural crisis.

At the same time, there exists an awareness that the revolution, with its own weaknesses and contradictions, is far from being an irreversible achievement.

The 6.5 million votes chalked up by Capriles, even allowing for a demagogic end campaign during which he presented himself as a "democratic left-wing" champion, proves the right-wing holds an important electoral basis of a popular nature. The deep capacity for self-criticism, identification of mistakes and correction of faults are essential elements in a revolutionary process.

But, as Oscar Figueroa, the Venezuelan Communist Party's (PCV) General Secretary states, the advances of the Venezuelan process "are unquestionable and surmount any errors" (in Correo del Orinoco, 12.10.14).

Regarding elections, for now, the battle goes on with the December elections, for governorships and regional councils of the twenty three Venezuelan states.

At the strategic level, attention centers on the approval, in January, of the Second Socialist Management Plan for 2013-19, which is takes as a socialist transition program through the deepening of participative democracy.

In the Plan's introduction, one can read: " the socio-economic model that, nevertheless, prevails within Venezuela, has a capitalist and rentier nature. Socialism, certainly, has only but begun to implant its own internal dynamism(...)."

Precisely. This is a program to ensure and deepen it, focused on a radical suppression of the logic of capital, which ought to be accomplished, step by step, but never retarding the advance towards socialism.

The theoretical and practical challenges placed before the Venezuelan revolution are huge. Popular awareness of progress is an encouraging factor amid this historical process. The PCV insists on the basic need of building unity and strengthening instruments amid collective leadership, in order to safeguard the revolution.

The imperialist threat must not be underestimated, at the precise moment when the IMF 's chief states in Tokyo, that in the core [capitalist] economies average public debt at 110% of GDP, is reaching the war-time level...

Solidarity towards the Bolivarian Venezuela is, more than ever, a current imperative.

Congradulations to the Venezuelan People

Rebel Youth reprints this People's Voice Editorial and sends our best wishes to the Communist Youth of Venezuela and the youth of the PSUV.

     The October 7 election in Venezuela was a major victory for President Hugo Chavez, for working people and the poor in that country, and for the global movements for democracy, national liberation, social justice, peace, and revolutionary change. The "Great Patriotic Pole" (GPP) coalition which includes Chavez's PSUV, the Communist Party of Venezuela and other left forces won 54.4% of the popular vote, to 45% for the right-wing Democratic Unity candidate Henrique Apriles Radonski.

     This success was achieved under difficult circumstances for the Bolivarian Revolution, which faces complex challenges at a time of global capitalist crisis. The GPP was confronted not only by united domestic capital, but also by Yanqui imperialism and the world-wide corporate media. Absurdly posing as defenders of social justice, this counter-revolutionary alliance also engaged in vicious tactics, predicting that the outcome would be "razor thin" in hopes of provoking post-election violence.

     In the end, there was a record turnout and eight million Venezuelans cast their ballots for President Chavez, giving him a strong mandate for another six-year term. But already, capitalist media pundits in Canada are calling on Chavez to yield to the demands of his opponents. When was the last time these hypocrites ordered the dictatorial Stephen Harper to pay attention to the 61% of Canadians who voted against his destructive far-right policies?

     Despite such background noise, the outcome will strengthen progress towards socialism in Venezuela. The Bolivarian Revolution remains a bulwark of Latin America's rejection of domination by Washington, towards policies which put the interests of the people ahead of the greed of big capital. We congratulate the people of Venezuela for standing firm against the threats of imperialism!