Alfred de Zayas: The Venezuela Elections of 28 July 2024: What and Whom to Believe? As early as the 1990s, we experienced a great deal of manipulation of reality in the reporting on the conflicts in Yugoslavia, with many stories that proved to be false when fact-checked. A relentless manipulation of public opinion followed in the early 2000s with regard to Afghanistan and Iraq. In the 2010s, media bias was persistent in most reporting on Libya, Syria, Russia and Ukraine. Today we are witnessing the same with regard to Belarus, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Palestine and so forth. With regard to Venezuela, Western propaganda has been running a consistent “fake news” campaign since 1998, since Chávez became President. What we are witnessing is reminiscent of various so-called “colour revolutions”, a euphemism for coup d’état. This was the case in Georgia in 2003, in Moldova in 2009, in 2014 with “Euromaidan” in Ukraine, and in early 2022 in Kazakhstan (albeit unsuccessfully) – all with the help of the USA and the EU.
Even after the Venezuelan Supreme Court confirmed Maduro as president, it is certain that the sanctions by the US and EU will not cease. Venezuela will not be allowed to have peace. The US, through its global propaganda machine and the media, still continues to try to convince the world that a majority of Venezuelans favours the opposition. The US and the EU do not have the right to meddle in the elections of other countries, nor the right to decide which elections are legitimate and which are not.
Peoples Dispatch: Direct and popular democracy of communes: the Second National Popular Consultation was held in Venezuela On August 25, elections were held again in Venezuela. This time, 4,500 communes of the Caribbean country went to the polls to choose from 24,000 projects related to roads, electricity, sports, drinking water, gas, housing, health, education, environment, productive units, public transportation, and many other social development initiatives. Each commune chose one of seven projects proposed by the popular assemblies of each communal council. Everyone over 15 years of age was called to vote. “Today we have seen the face of true democracy, popular socialist democracy,” said Angel Prado, Minister for Communes and Social Movements.
Orinoco Tribune: Interview with Ángel Prado, Minister of Communes: We Want to Protect People’s Power From Bureaucratic Excesses “So far there are a little over 3,000 communes…The commune is a self-government in a specific community…I live in a commune and millions of people who work in the communal councils and in the communes repudiate when an institution executes a project that has not even been discussed with the communes.” We like it when the institutions go to consult with the community and ask us what our priorities are. In this case it is not an institution that is asking, in this case it is the people who are prioritizing. It is a proposal launched by Nicolás Maduro, and we accept it at the base…This Sunday, August 25, we are going to vote to choose the second project in each commune to be financed by the national government and at once the processes will be accelerated to complete the projects, seeking support by all means because the president has already announced at the end of November or in early December there will be a third consultation. From next year there will be four annual consultations…Today we are the government, we have the opportunity to decide on the resources and how to solve our issues, because we are not going to have that in another system of government but only in our revolution.”
Ultima Noticias: International observers: Second National Popular Consultation 2024 is an example for the world “This is a process of internationalism, trying to remove the virus from the capitalist model in the world is important, here in Venezuela there is hope.” The representative of Chile, Cristian Figueroa: “It was unprecedented to see how people actively decide their destiny, voting to finance local projects,” adding that participatory democracy in Venezuela “has no precedents worldwide. Although for locals this may seem normal, for foreign observers it is an example to follow.”
Ultima Noticias: Venezuela Foreign Minister Gil to European Union’s Josep Borrell: “We don’t give a damn about your comments” The European Union does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the democratically elected president following the elections in July, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said on August 29. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil responded, “The shameless Borrell, the same one who has been bringing the European Union to the brink of collapse for years, the one who kneels before the massacre and genocide in Palestine and the one who failed to promote a clown like Guaidó in Europe, now intends to ignore the democratic institutions of Venezuela. In Bolívar’s homeland, where we drove the European empires from our lands with blood and fire, we don’t give a damn about your comments. We know that your knees can’t take any more of Washington’s orders, but Venezuela is respected. The Constitution and democracy triumphed here. Dedicate your last days in office to accepting all the defeats you have suffered. Leave us alone. Enough of so much interference.”
Venezuelanalysis: Regional ALBA Bloc Backs Maduro Reelection, Rejects Foreign Interference in Venezuela The countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) support Nicolás Maduro in the face of ongoing international efforts to cast doubt on the July 28 election. They defend Venezuela from what the bloc called the “tentacles of fascism” as several foreign countries endorsed the US-backed opposition’s efforts to delegitimize the results. “The United States must cease interference in the affairs of the governments of the region. We must exorcize the evil spirit of the United States that influences the foreign policy of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Everyone should respect the choice made by the Venezuelan people and the right of Venezuela to independently choose its own development path. We believe that the Venezuelan government and people are capable of handling their internal affairs well.” Other countries that are not members of the ALBA bloc, including Russia and Honduras, have likewise endorsed Maduro’s reelection.
Cuban President Díaz-Canel Speech at the ALBA Summit The return to the plans of destabilization in Venezuela is being concertedly promoted, and we cannot allow that to happen in Our America. On July 10, 2024, we met at the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the ALBA-TCP to denounce the attempted coup against the brotherly Plurinational State of Bolivia. Today we meet again in these fateful circumstances to condemn the coup and the blatant external interference against the homeland of Bolivar, which is the homeland of all of us, and against the unity of Our America. These are the times of unity and firmness in the face of imperialism and the oligarchies, which take advantage of the slightest opportunity to try against the triumph and stability of any popular oriented force, as well as to hinder the policies of social development and to destroy the dreams achieved in case they conquer power. We will always and unequivocally defend what the peaceful, honorable people of Venezuela, punished by unjust unilateral coercive measures and in the midst of very adverse circumstances, defend and support with their vote, have achieved with hard work and determination, the economic and social rebirth of the nation.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Speech at the ALBA Summit He reproached the positions taken by his peers from Brazil and Colombia regarding the electoral victory of Nicolás Maduro, for which he censured both leaders, Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, for being in a “competition” to see which of the two will become the “representative of the Yankees in Latin America.” Ortega assured that “the gringos will never accept the government that was chosen and decided by the Bolivarian people” and that they are very much grieved for the defeat they suffered in Venezuela. Ortega denounced that new ways have been established to chain people with the practice has been blackmail with economic aggression.
NicaNotes: Nicaragua’s NGO law – Cooperation, not Conspiracy The law demands administrative transparency for all associations and the constant monitoring of funding and reporting of expenditures. Funds from abroad must be documented with their amount, purpose and use. The law sees the State as responsible for the proper functioning and correct performance of any entity, whether private, public or international, operating in the national territory. The law specifies that the NGOs document the projects to be carried out, and it requires each NGO to submit proposals according to their mission. The updating of the law became necessary because of the destabilization that many NGOs carry out as representatives of Washington’s interests. These NGOs, funded by various U.S. agencies, devoted themselves for years to organizing opposition for confrontation with the legitimate and democratically-elected ruling authority. In fact, there were thousands and thousands of NGOs. In just 2018, USAID spent $24.5 million in Nicaragua.
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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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