Nelson Davila
Within Venezuela we have always had strong solidarity movements with just struggles around the world, such as with Vietnam and Cuba. Our struggle in Venezuela is an international struggle, a struggle without borders. A central aspect of the Bolivarian revolution is solidarity, which is why the involvement of Green Left Weekly in supporting the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network is so welcome.
Green Left Weekly has the only Australian press office based in Caracas, and has been a major source of English language news on Venezuela. On the occasion of the international solidarity week with Venezuela I congratulate Green Left Weekly for this important practical act of solidarity, which has also acted to orient the Australian solidarity brigades.
Venezuela needs your solidarity. Venezuela has in only a few years made enormous gains in the areas of democratic and popular participation, and people are benefiting from the social missions in the areas of health, housing, food, education, popular economy and cooperative production. We are levelling the playing field and breaking down discrimination. But as we do so we are confronted by the dominant class, who benefited in the old neoliberal economic order. And as global imperialism pursues its doomed strategy of wars for oil, Venezuela's peaceful and democratic revolution is under constant threat.
For the next presidential election, which takes place in December, the former ruling class in Venezuela is stepping up the opposition campaign to present the situation as illegitimate, in an attempt to discourage participation. It is for this reason that the new political conjuncture raises the following scenarios:
1. Intensification of the fourth generation war (the information war) on Venezuela — increasing the international pressure in organisations like the United Nations, the Organisation of American States and their financial entities.
2. Increasing regional conflicts to justify the involvement of a multinational force.
3. Using the pretext of social disturbances to justify a coup d'etat.
4. Direct intervention from the United States. There are currently two situations to sustain this final hypothesis. Firstly, the US armed forces' presence for military exercises in the Caribbean, to intimidate the countries of Latin America — 6500 Marines form a part of these exercises. And secondly, the declarations in recent days from the Dutch government asserting that Venezuela wants to invade the Antilles.
Under these threats, the revolutionary government and the people are taking all necessary measures to defend our country. At the same time we are working on many fronts, to continue strengthening the social missions, the benefits of which have now been recognised at the international level.
Venezuela has regained the confidence of world markets. We have the highest proven oil reserves in the world. Our international financial reserves are in the order of US$30 billion.
And most importantly, our solidarity with the peoples of the world has grown, and we are working towards the construction of an anti-imperialist and multipolar world, a socially just world that counterposes the negatives of globalisation!
[Nelson Davila is the charge d'affaires at the Venezuelan embassy in Canberra.]
From Green Left Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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