Venezuela

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Chavism swept municipal elections in Venezuela.



The fascist/capitalist/reactionary opposition parties refused to participate, proly cause they didn't want another electoral beating.

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Chavista and revolutionary Caracas
11.DIC.2017 / 09:45 AM


Photo: City CCS

This Sunday with 491,328 votes, representing the (66.17%) of the ballots, Érika Farías became the first mayor in the history of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas, with the support of the Simon Bolivar Patriotic Pole (GPPSB).

On November 1, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, announced the candidacy of Farías and said that "a young woman from Caracas, born in the western neighborhoods of the city, will be the next candidate of the Revolution for the Mayor's Office of Caracas: Érika Farías, this young girl, revolutionary leader of Venezuela. "

The activist of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is a graduate of the Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador, was the national director of the Francisco de Miranda Front, a Venezuelan youth political organization dedicated to social work.

The new mayor of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas was elected on July 30 as constituent of the Plenipotentiary Power for the Capital District. On September 22, the head of the State appointed her as Minister of Popular Power for the Office of the Presidency of the Republic.

She also held the portfolios of Urban Agriculture, Communes and Social Movements and was governor of the Cojedes state between 2012 and 2016.
Farías, during the campaign, committed to consolidate a popular government system that contributes to turning Caracas into a productive power . With that premise he toured the 22 parishes of the capital.

He turned to the streets to listen to the people of Caracas to address the problems of the city and present solutions, in addition to carry out a plan in conjunction with the central government for the collection of garbage.



http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/c ... =hootsuite

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EU Parliament awards the 2017 Sakharov Prize to the reactionary right-wing Venezuelan opposition



The reactionary, pro-U.S. opposition of Venezuela has been awarded by the EU Parliament with the Sahkarov Prize 2017. On the occasion of this shameful and outrageous act, the Communist Party of Greece group in the Europarliament made the following comments:

The European Parliament group of the KKE condemns the provocative act of the European Parliament to award the so-called Sakharov Prize to the reactionary opposition of Venezuela, the antigovernmental protests of which express sections of the capital with powerful relations with the USA and the EU, thus promoting the imperialist plans to this country and the broader region.

This "prize", which is recognized and praised by all the wings of the bourgeois political spectrum- European People's Party, Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and GUE - New Democracy, SYRIZA, PASOK, Potami- has been proved a timeless tool of open imperialist interventions by the EU. Among those who have bee "honored" with this award are... prominent anticommunists, persons and organisations distinguished for their undermining action against the people, for their multipurpose interconnections with business groups, imperialist centers and their security centers, epsecially of the USA, the EU and bourgeois governments of the member-states.

This year's "award" choice marks the EU's pursuit to strengthen the position of the monopoly groups that serves in the broader region of Central and South America. The European Parliament, like previous ones with respective actions about Libya, Ukraine, Syria, etc, systematically paves the way for the imperialist military interventionso of the EU, alongside her allies, the USA and NATO.



The KKE neither recognizes nor legitimizes this inter-state union of the capital and her bodies to proclaim themselves as supposed guardians of the popular freedoms, supporters of reactionary mechanisms of the capital and institutions of imposing "democratic values". Our Party has, timely and documented, positioned itself about the developments in Venezuela and spoke about the sharpened problems generated by the capitalist way of development against the working class and the popular strata.

The KKE constantly and over time condemns every foreign imperialist interventions. It stands in solidarity with the people of Venezuela and supports their inalienable right to choose their own way of development, against every kind of antipeople policy, in order, through their organised struggle,to be relieved from the yoke of capitalist exploitation, taking in their own hands the authority and the wealth they produce.

https://communismgr.blogspot.com/2017/1 ... ze-to.html

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A real lesson in democracy
The Bolivarian Revolution obtained 71% of the vote in the country's December 10 elections, the largest margin of victory in Venezuela's history, winning 308 of the 335 mayor's offices

Author: Alina Perera Robbio | perera@juventudrebelde.cu

december 13, 2017 13:12:27


Photo: www.eitb.eus

President Nicolás Maduro Moros described the voter turn out for December 10 municipal elections as "extraordinary," noting, "In the last 140 days, on three occasions, we have exercised our popular will, our national sovereignty, our ability to make decisions."

The head of state commented to the press, shortly before the vote, that 15 checks of the electoral system had been conducted, saying that as soon as the voting stations across the country were closed, 54% would be audited, and "This is the only place in the world where this is done."

Maduro recalled that this is the 24th vote in the Bolivarian Revolution's 18 years, and that the Venezuelan people have been subjected to every kind of warfare, from abroad and internally, yet, "We have become accustomed to this, and we have strengthened the nation's political consciousness. No matter the economic war, no matter the psychological war, no matter the media war - the people always step up."

He emphasized the importance of the battle for peace, saying, "The only alternative is the debate of ideas, political participation…"

Over the course of election day, several leaders of the Bolivarian Revolution shared their views with the press.

Diosdado Cabello, first vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) commented to Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) that during these moments, it is once again made clear that the nation is free and sovereign, and will not accept meddling or intervention by any other country in internal affairs.

Elías Jaua, vice president for Social Development and the Missions Revolution, stated on VTV that Venezuela continues to have vigorous popular participation, while Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza stated in his analysis that just when the violent opposition thought the leadership of the Revolution, the government and President, were weakened, the people reacted and peace was established.

President Maduro called on local authorities elected December 10 to govern with the people, to strengthen social policies of comprehensive attention, and build unity within revolutionary forces.

"I congratulate the Venezuelan people," he wrote on his Twitter account, "for this great victory… We have won 308 of the 335 mayors' offices and won 70% of the vote. Now it's on to govern with the people in the streets, in the neighborhoods, in settlements, and to work for the unity of revolutionary forces,"

Reports indicate that the Revolution obtained 71% of the vote, representing

6,517,606 voters, as compared to the opposition's 2,749,000.

Jorge Rodríguez, head of the Zamora Command running the PSUV election campaign, noted that this is the largest margin of victory any political force has ever achieved in Venezuela's history.

He added that Chavista forces now hold more mayor's offices than ever before, recalling that in 2013, they won 255.

http://en.granma.cu/mundo/2017-12-13/a- ... -democracy

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Venezuela: Terrorist Cell Led by Fugitive Oscar Perez Dismantled
Venezuelan authorities confirmed that several members of the insurgent group and two police officers were killed during a shoot-out Monday morning.

By Rachael Boothroyd Rojas
Jan 15th 2018 at 11.56pm

https://venezuelanalysis.com/GQxA


The leader of the cell, Oscar Perez, published a series of videos on social media during the confrontation. (Reuters)

Bogota, January 15 2018 (venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuela’s Ministry of Justice has confirmed that an anti-government terrorist cell led by fugitive Oscar Perez was dismantled by security forces this Monday during a lengthy and bloody siege.

In an official statement released Monday afternoon, the ministry affirms that two police officers and an as of yet unknown number of armed insurgents were killed in a shoot-out between the FAES special police force and the insurgent group earlier in the day. Five members of the cell were also captured and arrested by security forces, according to the ministry.

“The Ministry for Interior Relations, Justice and Peace of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, informs today, January 15 2018, that a dangerous terrorist group was dismantled after a confrontation with security forces,” reads the statement.

The shoot-out follows a six-month long manhunt for Perez, who had previously headed a series of armed attacks on government institutions.

As a former officer and pilot with Venezuela’s CICPC forensic police force and part-time amateur action-movie actor, Perez grabbed international headlines in June 2017 after commandeering a CICPC helicopter and using it to attack the Justice Ministry and Supreme Court with grenades.

In December, he also led an armed assault on military barracks in Miranda state, in which he and a team of masked men stole more than 25 AKA 103’s, pistols, and 3000 pieces of ammunition. During the attack, Perez and his men smashed pictures of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, and handcuffed several soldiers. The group claimed to represent God and the nation, and said they were fighting an unjust and authoritarian government.

Despite having eluded authorities for several months, on Monday morning, Venezuelan news agencies reported that security forces had finally located and surrounded Perez and his men on the upper floor of a house in rural El Junquito, just outside of Caracas.

Throughout the morning, Perez released several dramatic videos from inside the besieged house, partially documenting the confrontation. In an earlier video, the former pilot states that the men are negotiating their surrender with authorities, and says that they are “here, fighting” for the future of Venezuela. However, later on the former pilot appears in several videos with a bloodied face, claiming that authorities were continuing to open fire and throw grenades at the men despite their attempts to surrender. He also calls on Venezuelans nearby to come out in protest in their defense.

“Don’t shoot! We’re wounded. There are civilians here, women and children,” he shouts, as gunfire is heard in the background.

No women or children can be seen in any of the videos posted by Perez, though it is unclear whether they were present in other parts of the premises.

Nonetheless, the government’s statement conflicts with Perez’s version of events. According to the Ministry of Justice, authorities returned fire against the insurgents after they broke negotiations, shooting at police and attempting to detonate a car bomb on the ground below, ultimately killing two officers and wounding five more.

“These terrorists, who were heavily armed with high calibre weapons, opened fire against the officials responsible for their capture, and tried to detonate a vehicle in which explosives had been planted, with the regrettable result that two Bolivarian National Police officers died, and five were seriously injured,” reads the statement.

“The members of this terrorist cell which engaged in armed resistance were killed,” it continues.

In a video recording of an exchange between the police and the insurgents earlier on, Perez can be heard trying to convince officers to join the cause to depose the national government.

“Brother, we have a chance to make a change,” he is heard saying, addressing the officer through a window.

Meanwhile the officer compels Perez to hand himself over, telling the men that he is “here to fulfil an order” and that he did not want to call on the national guard.

"The president's orders are to preserve your lives," says the officer.

In a video published on twitter by Venezuelan new source, Iguana.TV, there was visible fire from both sides of the confrontation.

According to the ministry, Perez and his group of insurgents had also planned to carry out a series of terrorist attacks in order to topple the government, including planting car bombs in public places.

Though the fate of Perez remains unknown, CNN reported that an anonymous top government official had informed the news agency that he had been killed in the confrontation.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13597

Happy Day

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From Daktari to Óscar Pérez: the use of the paramilitary letter against Venezuela

The capture of more than 100 paramilitaries in the Daktari farm in 2004 is the iconic fact that allows us to start thinking about the Venezuelan conflict from the infiltration and emergency of armed cells as a political instrument. If, to a large extent, its contours have changed form from that moment until now, the greater degree of risk of a political scenario of frontal interference has also done so.

JANUARY 18, 2018, 2:25 PM



Plan Colombia, an imported phenomenon and the border
During the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez, Colombia experienced a process of reconfiguration of its territory due to the forced displacement of more than 2 million people (mostly rural / peasant) that produced the occupation and military offensive of Plan Colombia and the paramilitarism

Far from solving something, although that was not the initial interest, the business of the war is extended as well as its mechanisms and financing channels, which give it existence : drug trafficking, arms trade, economic crime, etc.

The Venezuelan border receives the first impacts of a phenomenon with transnational and cross-border features, supported by a failed state that delivered its internal security to the United States and determined, mainly, by the importance that the latter has for the cocaine that is produced and exported there. ; a balance that in turn leans in favor of the increase in the demand for weapons. Drug trafficking also has its geopolitics.

That process of sui generis conquest whose result was the progressive depredation, also sui generis , of the economic and social life of the border, brought with it the consolidation of armed groups that came to control routes of contraband, arms sales and drug trafficking. The war company in Colombia, the USA brand, grew tremendously and sought in Venezuela to install its subsidiary, expansion that also gave a new character to the classic organized crime in Venezuela under an illegal economy drawn from drug trafficking, contraband, hired killers ... future, of political violence.

In the case of a company, then, it was natural that the need for a private security apparatus, in this case paramilitarism, has acquired forms as the executing arm of neoliberalism , since it disputes the State's social control over the territory. And that applies to both Colombia and Syria.

This penetration shaped the progressive importation of that private army into local soil, but also its way of molding a culture of specific violence in Venezuela, establishing itself as a company beyond the merely criminal. By having that private quality, is that big political interests can get their hands and use it. It is a matter of assuming the risk of such investment.

Paramilitarism is not a Venezuelan phenomenon, gangs and referents of organized crime were not born spontaneously, their ways of administering punishment and social control over certain territories did not learn it on the Internet either; it is a consequence of the geopolitics of the United States' war through Colombia, of which Colombians are also victims. Being next to the main producer of cocaine in the world and the main arms market in the region is easy, precisely in that detail is the rationale of paramilitarism being used as a political tool in Venezuela and as a phenomenon has the implications what's wrong with it.

Not the product of chance political leader of the Colombian paramiliarism, in a recent exchange with journalists, empathize with the actions of Perez and call the Army to rise up against the Government.

Daktari, modus operandi and the armed route
The fact of the Daktari farm at the time gave a dimension of how far it was willing to go to get the chavismo out of power, how far the limits had been run. It was a year in which the country was mobilized by the recall referendum agenda promoted by anti-Chavezism, which sought to consolidate a political victory after the coup / unemployment / sabotage of previous months.

The facts and their political and business connections are well known; more than 100 paramilitaries hired, and linked to agents infiltrated inside the security forces and businessmen, gave the measure of a modus operandi that has been repeated inertially during the last years: as political battles are lost, they turn to lead; as street battles (guarimbas) are lost, where they also appeal to lead, they resort to hired killers and political assassinations. And for this only missing who put the silver on the table and who moves the springs (think of the CIA), and who from the political and media tribune is complicit in distort, deny or legitimize what results there.

Depending on this more general context, it acquires visibility when armed cells are used (germ of private armies) to intensify street violence, or when, in circumstances of reflux, it is used for selective purposes as political assassinations . After the iconic fact of the Daktari farm, the multiple forms of application of this instrument have been evidenced, highlighting the guarimba periods as schools or training centers, where there is also an attempt to position armed groups (disguised as "demonstrators", of course) to escalate the confrontation.

The 2017 guarimbas described quite well that the molotvs and shields made of brass were marketing tools that blurred - for the world press - the kidnapping and control of urbanizations, the use of snipers and firearms in confrontations and the proven intention of Carrying out murders against people for being or looking like chavistas.

There is a clear intention of testing the armed route, both by internal and external actors: the international recognition of the confrontation scenario of the guarimbas, cell midwife such as Óscar Pérez and Juan Caguaripano, came from the United States and the European Union mainly.

Paramilitarism in Venezuela is the private occupation army of the Trump Administration and the gringo Congress

Armed cells and the Libyan case
After the cycle of political and armed violence in Venezuela was closed, three armed attacks took place. One was directed against the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ, while children who study in that institution were inside) and the Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace from a helicopter where grenades and high-caliber bursts of fire were launched; and two others against instances of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) in the state of Carabobo (Fort Paramacay) and the Miranda state (Command of the Bolivarian National Guard, GNB). The aim was to obtain weapons to prepare a blow to the future and gain capabilities, but also to impose on the public a supposed superiority in tactical and military terms, in addition to a climate of terror.

With these attacks two armed cells (one of Óscar Pérez and another of the former captured military Juan Caguaripano) became the new bet.

A cell is not an end in itself, it serves as an initial grouping of a superior strategy aimed at forming a parallel army: after a process of infiltration and co-optation of regular forces to produce desertions, an attempt is made to give it shape and political objective. In this way it happened during the "Arab Spring" that swept Libya, where NATO intelligence services managed to extract officers from the military to nourish the "rebels", under a global narrative framework that placed as the only practical route the armed agenda to leave Gaddafi. Does it sound?

Pérez and Caguaripano were evidence of that intention (global but adapted to each terrain) of "resolving" conflicts to lead and infiltrating security forces to form the seed of a private army. In Venezuela the visibility of this intention is even greater when measuring the psychological siege to which the FANB is subjected, the appellants called of the opposition to "stand by the Constitution" (euphemism to call the insurrection) and infiltrations detected on time.

In this sense the dismantling of these two highly dangerous cells was not only aimed at reversing any act of sabotage or terrorism in the future, according to the constituyer Diosdado Cabello prepared to blow up a car bomb in the Cuban embassy, ​​but also neutralize possible operations within the security forces. This last point is key in terms of the anticipation with respect to foreign intelligence services that may be operating to reissue a Perez or a Caguaripano who, again, try to lead the country through the war.

Media, American politicians and legitimization of paramilitarism under another name
A fundamental component that enables legitimization and empathy with armed groups are the private propaganda media. Under the imposition of a globalized alias (the "rebels"), chaos and the mercenarization of conflicts have been justified from the great communication companies, as in the Middle East after the "Arab Spring". And "rebels" are, precisely, all the terrorist cells or armed groups that "emerge" in territories with governments that are not aligned to the United States .

Venezuela does not escape this treatment, and during the last guarimbas had advanced a narrative to represent as "clashes between peaceful demonstrators against armed military" what really were episodes of ultraviolence, cuts of roads, sniper fire and looting against businesses.

However, the alias "rebel", a nomenclature that marks a military factor, was clearly seen after Óscar Pérez and his group fell down in the confrontation; international and local media cartelized the tone and glorified him as "the pilot who rebelled against Maduro", appealing to the gaps of disinformation left by the operation, and above all, to the most extreme voices of the political spectrum (María Corina Machado, Diego Arria, Antonio Ledezma, etc.) that gave Pérez a frontal support.

Although that alias already denotes the intention to run the limits of the story in order to legitimize armed cells, placing Pérez in the same symbolic coordinate of terrorist organizations in the Middle East, another data prefigures the external supports that the option has. war: Marco Rubio, Otto Reich, Roger Noriega and Ileana Ros defended Óscar Pérez and supported their actions.

It is not a question of simple congressmen or political spokesmen of the United States, but of a sector that after the rise of the Trump Administration has reached important levels of influence to configure the framework of the US foreign relations towards Venezuela. Highlight the cases of Otto Reich and Roger Noriega , both operators of the dirty war in Central America and closely linked to the US intelligence services, to which Marco Rubio, in his position as senator, gives them a push so that his limited voice is I heard. Case that also applies to Luis Almagro, who took advantage of the wave from his Twitter account shared the support given by NGOs funded by the Department of State, such as Human Rights Watch.

At this point it is necessary to emphasize the obvious: the next attack planned by Perez's cell, or Caguaripano's before its dismantling, would be legitimized by these political actors of the US Congress, which have shown influence in delimiting foreign policy towards Venezuela . Marco Rubio and Ileana Ros even have access to budget black boxes with which they could even grant financing so as not to stop the enthusiasm, a fact that is already quite dangerous.

That proof is more than enough to put the operation against Perez's cell in context, but above all, as paramilitarism is on the table of those who have acquired a relative influence in the White House to shape what to do with Venezuela.

During these days there has been an attempt to show Óscar Pérez as an isolated case, when in reality it represents a continuity (not yet achieved) within the framework of the paramilitary agenda against Venezuela.

http://misionverdad.com/la-guerra-en-ve ... -objetivos

Google Translator

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Venezuela has increased drug seizures by 209% since leaving the DEA
January 25, 2018

January 25, 2018
Since the country's departure from the office of the Federal Drug Administration (DEA) in 2005, Venezuelan security authorities have managed to increase drug seizures in the country by 209%, the director said on Wednesday. National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), Juan Grillo.

During an interview with the Al Aire program broadcast by Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), González explained that since 2005 the Bolivarian Government has seized a total of 677 tons of narcotics in different procedures.

"Once President Chávez decided to suspend the agreements with the DEA, we increased the seizure of drugs in our country by 209%. We share a border of more than 2,000 kilometers with the largest producer of drugs in the world (Colombia), "said Grillo, recalling that the Colombian drug trafficking mafias, with the support of criminal groups in Venezuela, use Venezuelan territory as a bridge to take out narcotics. to other countries.

González stressed that the ONA has managed to carry out - since it was created 12 years ago - a total of 550,000 preventive activities that have allowed contributing to the reduction of crime rates.

At the same time, he indicated that they will reinforce the anti-drug policies of territorial protection to improve the early warning system against the installation of clandestine drug crops.

"We are eliminating clandestine airstrips, an operation to eradicate illicit crops and we are carrying out all prevention plans," he said.

He also announced that they will resume the signing of agreements with the governorates, city halls and organizations to carry out prevention and detection of consumption activities through the quadrants of peace activated in the national territory.

http://www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve/vene ... de-la-dea/

Google Translator

Socialism is bad for bidness, see?

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Venezuelan Constituent Assembly Approves Workers' Councils Law

The Constitutional Law of Productive Councils of Workers gives legal status to bodies which already exist in many workplaces and is aimed at giving workers greater protagonism in the productive process.


The National Constituent Assembly in session with representatives of the working class observing in the balcony. (Archive)

By Paul Dobson
Feb 3rd 2018 at 3.31pm

Merida, February 2, 2018. (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly (ANC) passed a new law aimed at empowering the organised working class this past Tuesday. The Constitutional Law of Workers' Productive Councils (CPTT) was a product of the ANC's Workers' Commission and was drawn up as part of a broad consultation process.

"It’s time for socialism,” stated President Maduro following the law's approval.

“It’s impossible to think of socialism without the working class. The working class has always been and will be the driving force in the building of the future of socialism, in Venezuela, and in the entire world,” he continued.

Himself a former union leader, Maduro called on the workers to immediately incorporate themselves as CPTTs into the national body charged with enforcing Venezuela’s price controls and to get to work in ironing out bottlenecks and problems in the country's industries.

According to Francisco Torrealba, head of the ANC Workers' Commission and president of the Caracas Metro Workers' Union, the legislation is aimed at increasing workers' participation in national production.

“It is a law which has as its fundamental objective to foster, make possible, and achieve the leading participation of the workers of the nation, who are those who make it possible for us to have goods and services which have been systematically attacked by the economic war," explained Torreabla.

“The councils of workers will have a leading role in the monitoring and effective control over what is going on in the factories… They will guarantee that we can elevate the production of goods and services to their highest possible levels, especially in those goods of massive consumption and primary necessity," he added.

The CPTTs look to work alongside and not replace existing trade union organisations. They focus on involving the workers in the running of the workplace rather than protecting workers and workplace conditions, which falls under the purview of union representatives.

Under Article 7 of the new law, other grassroots organisations will be incorporated into the councils, such as local women’s groups, communal councils, communes, ecological groups and others. The article explains that all spokespersons will be elected by the workers, and where possible include at least one woman, one person from the national Bolivarian Militia, and one person under 35 years of age.

Often production of basic goods in Venezuela is hindered or limited due to a breakdown of a single element in the productive chain. Once such example has been the recent shortage in bread, which was due to problems in importing flour.

Another example is the processing of crude oil into gasoline. In December, when international payments for the compound chemicals needed to facilitate such a process were withheld due to the new US financial sanctions against Venezuela, the entire productive process collapsed, resulting in long lines at gas stations nationwide. Further examples include public transport units not fit for use due to a shortages of repair parts, or egg production hindered by shortages of chicken feed. These problems have been further exacerbated by corruption, hoarding, and reselling of raw materials, among other illicit practices which have been at the center of an anti-corruption probe by Attorney General Tarek William Saab into the oil industry and import sector.

Articles 11 and 12 stipulate the responsibilities of the spokespersons of the councils, which include the responsibility to denounce corruption, hoarding and reselling of goods, and other economic crimes which are harshly punished by Venezuelan law. They are also charged with informing state authorities of problems in the productive process so as to enable their rapid resolution.

Workers' councils have organically sprung up since 2005 and have been mostly concentrated in state-run industries. Since then, the councils have been pushing for the passing of a law to regulate and safeguard their existence and activities. Legislation for such a law, initially introduced into the National Assembly by the Communist Party of Venezuela in 2005 as the Socialist Workers' Councils Law, had been bouncing around different commissions ever since without ever reaching a vote, despite massive pro-government majorities in parliament until 2016.

However, due to the lack of any legislation backing their existence, councils have often been ignored or persecuted by workplace management, both in the private and public sectors, such as in Tromerca, the state-run tram system in Merida State, in which numerous workers were illegally fired two years ago for organising a council.

In response to past problems of illegal firing of workers trying to organise their workplace, Article 15 of the law declares “workplace irremovability” of workers involved from the moment the management is notified of the organisation of a CPTT, while Article 19 outlines sanctions of any management member who obstructs the development of the CPTT.

Following the law's approval, ANC President Delcy Rodriguez took to Twitter to celebrate the law's passage stating, “From the ANC we have fulfilled our responsibilities to the workers of the country! The historic driving force of the socio-economic transformation of Venezuela."

ANC deputy Yahiris Rivas explained that workers' councils have “been working in the last few months in a progressive way and have shown positive results in productive levels."

"The councils look to contribute to the productivity, efficiency, and stocking of productive goods," she added, highlighting that the councils will work closely with the Local Productive and Suplly Councils (CLAPs) which distribute subsidised food directly to the communities.

Rivas also explained that one of the major objectives of this law is “to consolidate popular power in the working class”.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/News/13638

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War Preparations Against Venezuela As Election Nears
by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, via Popular Resistance

Since we published “Regime Change Fails: Is a Military Coup or Invasion Next,” we received more information showing steps toward preparing for a potential military attack on Venezuela. Stopping this war needs to become a top priority for the peace movement.

Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) published a newsletter that reported “troubling news of an impending military assault on the sovereign nation of Venezuela by states and forces allied with the United States.” Ajamu Baraka, the director, said the US is concerned that President Maduro will win the April 22 election, which would mean six more years in office. BAP urges people to include “No War On Venezuela” in actions being planned from February 16-23 for the 115th anniversary of the United States occupying Guantanamo.



IS THE PATH TO WAR THROUGH BORDER DISPUTES?
One way to start a war would be a cross-border dispute between Venezuela and Colombia, Brazil or Guyana. On February 12, the Maritime Herald reported that Admiral Kurt Tidd, head of the US Southern Command, arrived in Colombia just two days after the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with President Juan Manuel Santos as part of Tillerson’s unprecedented regime change tour. Tidd met with Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas and other senior officials to coordinate efforts around “regional stability” with a focus on Venezuela.

The Maritime Herald also reports US troops coming to Colombian military bases, paramilitaries coming to Colombian towns along the Venezuelan border, plans for “a joint naval force between the United States, Colombia and Mexico,” and arrival of a contingent of 415 members of the United States Air Force to Panama to create support and logistics points for the operation against Venezuela. Also important are two fast-acting US military bases installed in the communities of Vichada and Leticia, Colombia, bordering Venezuela.

Both Colombia and Brazil have deployed more troops to their borders with Venezuela. Colombian President Santos ordered “the deployment of 3000 additional security personnel to the Venezuelan border. This figure included 2,120 more soldiers.” The decision came the day before officials from the US Southern Command met in Colombia to “discuss security cooperation.” Brazil also announced plans to “double its border patrols on the Venezuelan frontier.” The excuse for these increased deployments was due to Venezuelan migrants crossing the border into Colombia and Brazil.

To calm these concerns, President Maduro called for a meeting between Venezuelan authorities and Colombia over security concerns along their border. The Colombian government estimates that 450,000 Venezuelan migrants have entered the country in the last 18 months. Maduro said that official numbers did not equate to a “massive exodus” and reminded Colombia that during the Colombian civil war with the FARC, 5.6 million Colombians crossed the border to make Venezuela their home.

The corporate intelligence firm, Stratfor, which works closely with the US government, recently published a report that could be laying the groundwork for a border dispute. Stratfor wrote that Brazilian intelligence officials are going to meet with Guyana’s officials to warn them that Venezuela is planning to attack Guyana. There is a long-term dispute over land between Venezuela and Guyana that is being litigated before the International Court of Justice. The report includes a questionable claim that there is an “ongoing dialogue with the Trump administration over the terms of President Nicolas Maduro and his party’s departure from power.” The reality is that President Maduro is preparing for the April election.

In response to these actions, President Maduro announced the Venezuelan armed forces will carry out military exercises on February 24 and 25 in “defense” of the nation to fine tune the movement of “tanks, missiles and helicopters as part of the nation’s defense strategy.”



UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN VENEZUELA
The opposition in Venezuela has been seeking presidential elections since 2016 when they presented a petition for the recall of President Maduro. They claimed to collect enough signatures, but there were allegations of voter fraud, including thousands of dead people’s names listed on the petitions.

Violent protests followed rejection of the petition and Henrique Capriles set a deadline for an election in November 2016, threatening larger protests. On November 1, opposition leader Henry Ramos, the head of the national assembly, announced cancellation of the protests. The opposition still pressed for an election. The government announced a special election to be held in February or March of 2018.

Now, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza announced, “We have a date for the presidential election, which is the date proposed by the opposition, April 22. Furthermore, we have the electoral guarantees proposed by the opposition, so we are going to the elections and the Venezuelan people will decide their future with democracy and votes.” Officials of the Dominican Republic observers guaranteeing the legitimacy of the elections. Venezuela will invite the United Nations and others to also serve as observers. Despite this, the United States and members of the right wing Lima Group of US allies, say they will not recognize the elections.

DOES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANT WAR TO “UNIFY THE COUNTRY”
President Trump’s divisive presidency has left him unpopular in the polls. Hours before his State of the Union speech, Trump told television news anchors, “I would love to be able to bring back our country into a great form of unity. Without a major event where people pull together, that’s hard to do. But I would like to do it without that major event because usually that major event is not a good thing.”

We hope President Trump is not looking at the increase in public support that President George W. Bush received after he attacked Iraq as a model for his administration. Instead, he should remember President Lyndon Johnson being driven from office after his landslide election because of the Vietnam war.

The Trump administration has failed in its attempts to instigate war with North Korea and Iran. The terrible diplomatic performance of Vice President Pence at the Olympic games, where the two Koreas began to make progress toward peace and unification, puts the US in a weaker position to threaten North Korea. President Kim invited President Moon to North Korea to continue peace talks. Now there is rising hope for an agreement between the two Koreas.

Similarly, the protests in Iran, which the US may have encouraged, fizzled. When the US brought the protests to the UN Security Council and used them to call for action against Iran, the US was isolated. Countries asked whether the UN should have taken action against the US after the protests in Ferguson over the police killing of Michael Brown. The protests also exposed massive US spending to create opposition to the government in Iran, as well as coordination with Israel.

STOPPING THE US ATTACK ON VENEZUELA

In our last article, we indicated the reasons for the threat of a military coup and military attack were because Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and because Venezuela has set an example of breaking from US dominance of the region and challenging capitalism.

In addition, economic sanctions have pushed Venezuela to have closer relations with Russia and China to circumvent US sanctions. The US does not want these global rivals in what it has considered it’s backyard since the Monroe Doctrine.

Finally, the US is concerned with Venezuela’s new cryptocurrency, which will launch within days and be backed by 5.3 billion barrels of oil worth $267 billion. The cryptocurrency is a bid to offset Venezuela’s deep financial crisis. This threatens US economic domination.

We must expose the reasons for increasing US aggression towards Venezuela and work to counter misinformation in the media that is attempting to build support for a military conflict with Venezuela. Here are actions you can take:

Use this tool to contact your Members of Congress. Urge them to use diplomacy with Venezuela and to stop the sanctions, which are a deadly form of economic warfare. CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION.
Share this newsletter widely in your community and through social media.
Join the actions on February 23 with messages of “US out of Guantanamo” and “No war with Venezuela.”
Let’s stop this next war before it begins!
PLEASE SHARE TO HELP COMBAT SOCIAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP

https://off-guardian.org/2018/02/20/war ... ion-nears/

indeed, write yer congresscritter to protest bout the only thing those scumbags agree on, that'll work....

[blindpig]

President Maduro and communists reach ground-breaking accord
Joint action plan by communist and socialist forces in Venezuela is a blow to imperialist attempts to overthrow the progressive government.
writers

Thursday 1 March 2018


A little boy waves a Venezuelan flag at an anti-imperialist march in Caracas.

Meeting in Caracas on 26 February, the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) and the governing United Socialist Party (PSUV) reached a historic agreement after days of negotiation. As a result of the new accord, the two parties agree to work together to solve the challenges facing Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution. The PCV also agreed to endorse Nicolás Maduro for president in the upcoming election on 22 April.

The Unitary Accord was presented at the PCV’s fourteenth national conference, during which President Maduro and several top PSUV members and government ministers addressed the delegates and signed the accord. The proceedings were broadcast live by Venezuelan TV.

Text of the unitary accord
Unitary accord between the PSUV and PCV to address the crisis of dependent and rentier capitalism of Venezuela with popular, patriotic and anti-imperialist political and socioeconomic actions:

1. We, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), as heirs to the legacy of Simón Bolívar and the struggles of the Venezuelan people in their aspirations for independence, sovereign development and Latin American integration, subscribe to the present unitary accord.

Said accord contains the common commitment to implement it in all of its parts, and represents a clear understanding of the growing, immoral, illegal and criminal interventionist aggression of US imperialism and its European allies against the Venezuelan Bolivarian process. Such aggressions are putting at risk the prospect of national liberation, which began with the popular victory of Commander Hugo Chávez in the presidential elections of 1998, and which even includes threats to our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

2. We, the PSUV and the PCV, denounce before the world that imperialism, through the US government and with the subordinate complicity of governments of Latin America and the Venezuelan extreme right, insists on creating an artificial case in multilateral organisms against our country so as to justify international intervention, with the real possibility that the right-wing governments of Colombia, Brazil and Guyana may generate a provocation on our borders.

3. We, the PCV and the PSUV, express that the crisis of dependent and rentier capitalism of Venezuela has had, and has, serious consequences for the quality of life of our people, especially in their purchasing power, supply of goods and services; that this situation has been exacerbated by actions and measures of imperialism and its local figureheads, who promote private and public corruption, bureaucracy and the flight of foreign currency in a context of a severe reduction of oil income, all of which are phenomenon against which the national government must maintain and deepen a frontal fight, such as that undertaken in PSVSA and other state bodies.*

4. We, the PSUV and the PCV, declare that the way out of the current capitalist crisis should not be in favour of the bourgeoisie and transnational corporations but in favour of the interests of the people, in the search for a new, productive, post-oil model of sovereign development, and tend towards the protagonist participation of the workers, peasants, community activists and popular classes, which should form a great anti-imperialist front and move forward in the establishment of an organic expression of collective and unified leadership of the political, social, patriotic and revolutionary organisations so as to enable an analysis of the government’s actions as well as to construct and coordinate policy actions.

5. The magnitude and gravity of the current situation and the intensification of the class struggle at national and international levels demands an increase in immediate actions to be taken in the economic, social and political fields, including emergency measures needed to prioritise popular demands such as food and health requirements. Such measures would be consolidated with the triumph of the patriotic forces in the next presidential election.

Rights of the working class and the working people
6. We, the PSUV and the PCV, underline the importance of strengthening the class-based trade union movement, and the various expressions of the labour and revolutionary movement, such as the Productive Workers Councils and Socialist Workers Councils, approving the special law established in the Organic Labour Law, and respecting their autonomy. Also, to develop channels of effective communication and timely mechanisms of other revolutionary workers’ organisations so as to enable workers of public and private sectors to have a leading role in the development of the social process of work. **

7. Taking into account the deepening of the capitalist crisis, which affects large sections of the working class, it is important to strengthen and protect labour rights and employment protection, and expand the policy of creating new jobs.

8. We, the PSUV and the PCV, will work together, each to the extent and scope of our organisations, from the government and the sociopolitical spaces we occupy, to identify and channel the restitution of the infringed rights of workers in cases already raised or that may arise in the public and private sectors.

9. [We commit] to immediately review and apply the necessary corrections regarding denouncements from revolutionary organisations regarding the actions of certain public officials.

10. [We adhere to] advance resolutely in suitably interconnecting the productive processes of the nationalised companies with each other, many of which must be restructured, and the processes of dismantling and deterioration that could lead to stoppages which would be damaging for the national productive development must be reversed. In addition, [we commit] to protecting and institutionally supporting the rural collectives that have reactivated state-owned farms.

11. We, the PSUV and the PCV, will evaluate the experiences of workers’ control, such as the Guiana socialist plan, so as to establish a new model of ownership and multifaceted management of the state-owned enterprises whose productive processes, management, and distribution are under worker and popular control. We shall do this based on the principals of collective leadership and so as to permanently banish the scourges of corruption, inefficiency and authoritarian and undemocratic methods in management.

12 [Is it necessary] to promote and implement strong actions by the National Superintendence for the Defence of Socioeconomic Rights (Sundde) and the Superintendency of the Institutions of the Banking Sector (Sudeban), in coordination with the popular organisations, in order to protect the millions of users of the banking system, particularly workers, pensioners and small entrepreneurs.

13. We consider relevant and urgent the adoption and strengthening of measures aimed at dismantling the power of private monopolies, defining and promoting policies to achieve sovereign and productive national development, punishing corruption, speculation and mobsters, and promoting the deepening of national, sovereign and productive developmental policies.

14. [We commit to] prioritise formal employment with its respective labour rights as an activity that dignifies the human being, as well as strengthening wages and restoring them to be the majority and main component of the income of the workers.

Measures to analyse in greater depth
15. We, the PSUV and the PCV, in bilateral and regular meetings, will discuss strategic proposals that are being raised by the PCV to collaborate in the development of plans and policies of the state and the government for the benefit of the people and national liberation, amongst others.

15.1 Themes included are the banking and financial systems, foreign trade, public finances, and the tax system.

Strengthening political and organisational actions
16. We, the PSUV and the PCV, will identify areas of common action that we must strengthen both politically and organisationally.

16.1. We, the PCV and the PSUV, will set a timetable for the holding of bilateral meetings with a frequency of at least once a month between representatives of both national leaderships.

16.2 We, the PSUV and the PCV, will follow up regional and municipal efforts to develop effective policies, and those which attend to needs of the population.

16.3. In the international arena, based on the areas of action and attention of every organisation, we will strengthen relations with bodies that have demonstrated consistent solidarity with Venezuela and the revolutionary process.

16.4. In the production area, we will support manufacturing and agro-industrial proposals and projects, with special emphasis guaranteed to all initiatives stemming from the communal and peasant movement.

16.5. We, the PSUV and the PCV, are committed to the strengthening of the labour and trade union movement, facilitating the articulation of class-based and revolutionary currents with the state entities so as to solve problems and disputes as well as respecting the rights of workers.

16.6. All projects related to audio-visual and printed media that are initiatives of both organisations and popular movements and workers will be supported as part of the cooperation in the fight in the media war and against psychological operations.

16.7. Both political organisations will foster relationships between their youth organisations: the Youth of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and the Communist Youth of Venezuela, through student, cultural, sporting and community-based proposals, so as to deepen the rights of youth.

16.8. In order to make progress in the development of policies of alliances, PSUV-PCV and the revolutionary popular movement, we will work to ensure a unified formula of an electoral nature that ensures effective presence and the strengthening of our organisations in the legislative elections at the national, state and municipal level.

Presidential elections
17. The PCV, using this accord and the diverse points in which they coincide with the PSUV in areas of national and international politics as its base, assumes the candidacy of the compatriot Nicolas Maduro Moros.

We do so so that he may head a wide coalition of political, social, patriotic, popular, and revolutionary forces, which may serve as the seed of a collective and unified leadership of the process.

Also, so that he may represent the popular aspirations of the anti-imperialist, unified, Latin-American struggle and develop our sovereignty in the interests of the Venezuelan people.

As such, we will work together respecting the autonomy of each organisation so as to achieve an overwhelming triumph this upcoming 22 April.

18. Both organisations commit ourselves to widely reproducing this Programme of Unified Accord PSUV-PCV.

Notes
* Since August, the country’s attorney general has led a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in PDVSA that has led to dozens of arrests, including of former PDVSA presidents and oil ministers.

** The Organic Law of Workers and Work (LOTTT) is the comprehensive labor law in Venezuela that covers union rights, allows for workers to run the means of production, and severely restricts the rights of employers to harass workers.

Introduction and notes reproduced from Fightback News with thanks.

https://www.cpgb-ml.org/2018/03/01/news ... ng-accord/

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