July Venezuela Webinar videos
July 7 & 14 webinar videos: Venezuela Chooses: What is at Stake in the Coming Elections? Watch Webinar I and Webinar II
July 22: video: What’s Really Happening in Venezuela? A discussion with the new Venezuelan Ambassador Felix Plasencia & Francisco Dominguez.
July 23 webinar video: Venezuela: High Stakes Election Threatened by U.S. Sanctions
President Daniel Ortega’s Speech on July 19, 45th anniversary of the Revolution The Soviet Union, led of course by Russia, despite being a great power, did not come to settle here so as to take Nicaragua’s wealth, but rather they came here to lend a hand to the Nicaraguan people, so that they could develop and grow. That is the big difference between the great Powers that have been colonialist and neocolonialist, for example the United States or Europe, they are still neocolonialists, they have not stopped being criminals, they are still criminals, and we see how in Ukraine they arm the Nazi Forces that the Red Army fought in World War II… the People’s Republic of China which has been bringing progress, benefits and development to the world’s peoples who were colonized and who became independent, but who were then subjugated under the boot of the interests of the powers that had colonized them leaving those peoples in poverty, with people in misery, people going hungry, people in illiteracy, with infant mortality, in Africa, in Asia. And the People’s Republic of China has been developing a policy bringing benefits to developing countries, without setting any conditions. So now the great powers grouped in NATO already have an incipient war; that Russia and China are a threat, but then too there are the BRICS, where there is India, and they say they too are a threat. [In Palestine] children are being killed every day, where young people are being killed every day, and the European governments, the US government decide every day to give Israel more and more weapons, to send ever more weapons, so that the Palestinian people continue to be bombed. And this is clearly stated by the rulers of the State of Israel, who want the Palestinian State to disappear…. we should ask for the disappearance of the United States… which is the greatest criminal humanity has, and not only for going around murdering peoples and occupying Countries, as has happened here in Nicaragua.
Tom Whitney: Cuba’s problems multiply, but proposals for what to do are in short supply The Cuban economy is the worst it’s been since the “Special Period” following the end of the Soviet Union. Cuba is in the midst of a years-long economic contraction that’s affecting food production and the availability of medicines. For the first time ever, the government has officially requested aid from the UN World Food Program. Inflation, meanwhile, is soaring, and there is massive emigration and power outages roll across the island. Cuba’s economy contracted 1.9% in 2023, and its infant mortality rate – the number of infants dying in their first year per 1,000 live births – is inching upward: 4.7 in 2013, 5.0 in 2017, 6.2 in 2022, and 7.9 in 2023.
Crime rates remain high. Among the most prevalent crimes: abusive pricing, “illicit commercialization of diverse products,” drug trafficking, livestock theft, “speculation on goods and services,” hoarding, administrative corruption, tax fraud, marketing of stolen goods, “lack of discipline in public spaces,” damage to public property, and fighting. The Comptroller-General confessed that she “could not understand why” many party members “are indifferent to deeds of corruption,” adding that “to not fight [corruption] is counterrevolution.” The Agriculture Minister lamented that “Harvests do not even approach 50% of what is needed,” despite various plans having been fulfilled.
In contrast to deliberations of earlier years, the presentations offered no new remedies for fixing Cuba’s economic downturn and shortages. The country has essentially no money, and thus no purchasing power on the international market. The basic message was that Cuba’s international credit is nil. The US classifies Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT). Countries so designated may not benefit from transactions involving U.S. dollars, according to the enabling law. Fearing U.S. penalties, international financial institutions refuse to respond to Cuba’s credit needs.
Venezuelanalysis: Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Elections: All You Need to Know This coming Sunday, Venezuelans will head to the polls for crucial presidential elections. Venezuela’s presidential elections are a single-round process won by plurality: whichever candidate gets the most votes wins. At stake is the next six-year presidential mandate, beginning on January 10, 2025, and ending on January 9, 2030. Incumbent Nicolás Maduro is running for a third term, and has touted a stable and growing economy in the face of crushing US sanctions. There will be 635 electoral observers from 65 countries on the ground according to Venezuelan authorities. The organizations sending delegations include the Carter Center, the United Nations, the African Union, the United Nations and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA). Western outlets have deliberately chosen to only consider polls predicting a landslide opposition victory to claim that Maduro could only win by resorting to “fraud,” allegations never explained nor substantiated.
Francisco Dominguez: Venezuela: Chavismo on course to another victory A confirmation of [Venezuela’s economic] recovery [from Western economic warfare] is the return of nearly a million Venezuelans who were persuaded to leave the country during the worst moments of the brutal US sanctions. The economy is expected to grow between 5-8% in 2024 and inflation has come down, being 1% in June; more than 40,000 loans to female entrepreneurs have been issued and over 220,000 women’s committees have been created to boost the role of women in Venezuela’s participatory democracy; subsidised boxes with food and other basic necessities reach nearly eight million families whose contents are 97% domestically produced.
Although the electoral campaign behind right-wing opponent Gonzalez sought to hide their real government plans, they were discovered after sustained efforts. They are planning to dismantle and reverse almost every aspect of post-Chavez Venezuela. The 85-page plan’s title is Venezuela: Land of Grace (October 2023) and, peculiarly, was available only in English. The dominant objective of the plan is the privatisation of just about everything: the oil and gas industries; all state enterprises and public assets; using the financial resources obtained with the privatisation programme to pay the country’s external debt; the privatisation of education; the abolition of the existing labour law to maximise the “flexibility” of the labour market; the privatisation of the pension system; the adoption of insurance-based healthcare and abolition of the current free health system; and, last but not least, the dismantling of the people’s militia.
Venezuelanalysis: Maduro Campaign Chief Warns of Miami-Based Plot to Cry Election Fraud Jorge Rodríguez, head of President Maduro’s reelection effort, spoke out against an made-in-Miami plot by the far-right opposition to claim electoral fraud following Sunday’s presidential vote. The opposition allegedly intends to run an independent vote count from Florida and declare victory. “It is not from the National Electoral Council, it is not even located in any city in Venezuela, but instead in Miami.” Although the opposition has consistently cried fraud following losses in electoral contests, Venezuela has a robust electoral system with a series of safeguards to prevent ballot-box stuffing or repeat voters. In addition, immediately after polls close, 54% percent of voting machines are chosen at random in order to verify that paper backup tallies match the electronic count.
Maria Paez Victor: “Venezuela is at the vanguard of the defense of democracy, socialism and humanity itself” The USA is imposing collective punishment on Venezuelans with illegal sanctions for daring to assert their sovereignty in deciding that only they, the Venezuelan people, in fair elections, can determine their governance.
The far-right forces, backed by Washington and the fascist, racist Venezuelan elites, have never ceased to try to destabilize the nation and overthrow the government. In 2014 they were responsible for a series of virulent street violence that led to 43 deaths, 878 injured and millions in damages. In 2017 they continued with 121 deaths and 1,958 injured, including the horrendous death of a young man, Orlando Figuera, who because of his dark skin, was burned alive on the street. These violent events were portrayed by the world media as “protests” carried out by “people who wanted democracy”, and even “students.” In this presidential year, the violence is simmering. The Attorney General has denounced at least five attempts to murder the president, and a series of sabotages of the nation’s electrical system.
The canard invariably leveled at Venezuela is that Nicolas Maduro is authoritarian. This is without foundation, but is repeated ad nauseum. These accusers have never visited the 40,035 Communal Councils spread all over the country.They have never attended a meeting of any of the 1,401 Communes and have never attended any meeting of the Presidential Counsel of the Communes whereby the President is advised directly by the communes, as part of his cabinet.
Friends of Socialist China: China and Venezuela: building a Great Wall against imperialism and hegemonism Venezuela has established itself as a consistently anti-imperialist state; a friend to the oppressed peoples of the world; a friend to the Global South and the socialist countries; a friend to the liberation struggles; a defender of peace and a supporter of the UN Charter and international law. Venezuela is not just a protagonist of revolutionary internationalism but a beneficiary of it as well; the support of Cuba has been invaluable.
TeleSur: The Great Missions Are the Core of Social Transformation in Venezuela In June, Great Housing Mission completed 5 million social housing units delivered to citizens. Currently, this great mission is building 500,000 housing units expected to be delivered by the end of 2024. When this happens, the Bolivarian Revolution will have met 80% of the housing needs of Venezuelan families. The AgroVenezuela Great Mission, which emerged in 2011, sought to reverse the dependency of Venezuela on income from oil exports. Since then, it has been working to achieve food sovereignty and independence. Now 97% of mass-consumed food is produced in Venezuela. Currently, Venezuela has over 29 missions and great missions that are activated according to situational needs.
Venezuelanalysis: Bolivarian Diplomacy vs. the Monroe Doctrine: A Conversation with Carlos Ron (Part I) Bolivar sought the unity of the former colonies in benefit of the whole people. It was not just a struggle of a few privileged individuals who aimed to do away with external domination while recreating the old forms of oppression. As opposed to US independence, our national liberation process was not expansionist. The aim was not to be a superpower but to build a nation that could deal with other nations on equal terms. In 1914, with the discovery of oil, things changed: US imperialism entered Venezuela’s daily life, taking control of much of the country’s political and economic organization.
The Bolivarian Revolution took steps so the resources resulting from our [oil] industry could be invested in healthcare, education, and development in general. There was also a process of democratization of information, with Chávez inviting communities to organize and create alternative outlets to complement public media.
If you really want to transform society, two things will have to coexist: on the one hand, political will from the top to open the avenues for transformation and, on the other, organization from below that is capable of carrying out transformations. That, precisely, is what makes the Bolivarian Revolution so strong and so difficult to defeat.
As soon as Venezuela began to alter the organization of the continent, taking it away from the configuration preferred by the US, we began to experience unusual attacks. All the elements of hybrid war have been deployed against our country: from economic to diplomatic, from military to mediatic ones.
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Upcoming Events
July 26 Toronto: Celebration Of Cuba’s Rebellion Day
July 26 webinar Canadian Network on Cuba celebrates Moncada Day 2024 with Isaac Saney, and messages from special Cuban guests, including from the Cuban Embassy
July 27 Victoria: Cuba’s National Day of Rebellion & Solidarity with Palestine
July 27 Chicago: Cuba in Africa film, with director speaking
July 27 St. Paul: Cuba Celebration with the film “Black Box”
July 26-28 listing of different solidarity events with Cuba
August 11, 3pm ET. Nicaragua Webinar, “Celebrating 45/19: Nicaragua’s Revolution Lives On”Join us to hear a report-back from participants celebrating the 45th anniversary of Nicaragua’s July 19 triumph and ongoing Revolution.
Aug.12, 1:30 pm: Venezuela’s Elections – Eyewitnesses’ Report Back. Calvin Tucker (‘Morning Star,’) Francisco Dominguez (VSC) & other international eyewitness accounts from Venezuela’s Elections.
August 19-22 Protest at the Democratic National Convention. Join contingents against the US blockades and economic warfare on Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua. Contact Stansfieldsmith100@gmail.com
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Delegations to Cuba, Nicaragua
Cuba Delegations
December 1-9: National Single Payer: Invitation To Join Our Delegation To Cuba
Witness for Peace delegations to Cuba
Friendly Planet delegations to Cuba
Nicaragua Delegations Casa Ben Linder 2024
Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
November 8-17 2024: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
February 2025: The Bird Brigade: Birding in Solentiname Arquipelago
March 2025: Power & Protagonism: Women in Nicaragua
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This is also available at ChicagoALBASolidarity.org. If you have events to publicize or find helpful articles for readers on the ALBA countries you can post them on Facebook here: Venezuela; Nicaragua; Bolivia; Latin America in general (here or here) Or send them to venezuelaweekly@afgj.org or stansfieldsmith100@gmail.com.
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