Journal of Other Forum Analysis

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Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on a successful, fair and transparent election, and congratulates President Nicolas Maduro on his re-election with 51.2% of the vote, announced shortly after midnight by the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), the Venezuelan election authority. The victory of President Maduro is a victory for the Bolivarian revolution, the people of Venezuela, the Palestinian people, and everyone struggling against imperialism everywhere in the world.

Mohammed Khatib, the Europe coordinator of Samidoun, is currently in Venezuela representing Samidoun as a part of approximately 1000 international solidarity delegates and election observers to witness the presidential elections, which were conducted on July 28, 2024. “The victory of President Maduro in this election is a victory for Venezuela, for Palestine, for the Bolivarian revolution and for everyone confronting imperialism,” Khatib said.

“Throughout the day and our entire delegation, the vibrancy and depth of Venezuelan political life was abundantly apparent. In popular neighbourhoods, people entered the streets to raise the Venezuelan flag and cheer for President Maduro and the Bolivarian promise. There was tremendous participation by women and youth in the electoral process, and a powerful presence of working-class struggle everywhere we went,” Khatib noted.

After a busy day of polling, in which international observers viewed an orderly, transparent and well-run election system at polling places throughout Caracas and nationwide, the eagerly awaited election results were announced shortly after midnight on July 29. President Maduro won with 51.2% of the vote, followed by his primary opposition challenger Edmundo Gonzales, with 44.2% of the vote, with an overall turnout of 59% of the 21.3 million-person voter base.

As expected, US-backed opposition figures, far-right figures from across Latin America from Mauricio Macri to Ivan Duque to Javier Milei have weighed in attempting to undermine the democratic process in Venezuela for no reason other than that they, and their sponsor in the United States, are unhappy with the election results. The people of Venezuela have spoken again, as they have repeatedly over the past 25 years, and again on this July 28 — Hugo Chavez’ birthday — for the Bolivarian process and for socialism.

Under Chavez, Venezuela cut all ties with “Israel” in 2009, amid the “Operation Cast Lead” aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Chavez’s willingness to confront U.S. imperialism openly in a wide range of international arenas, alongside his commitment to the Bolivarian socialist project in Venezuela, won him strong support globally, including from Palestinians and Arabs.

In 2018, Ahmad Sa’adat, imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a prominent leader of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, wrote:

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been a stalwart friend of the Palestinian people. In all international arenas and forums and through practical support and material solidarity, the Venezuelan people and state have stood with the Palestinian people, confronting imperialism and Zionism. Venezuela’s rejection of diplomatic ties with the Israeli colonial regime stands as an example in the world of principled solidarity and boycott, especially as the Palestinian movement, including the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, urges international boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel… We know well the words and actions of Hugo Chavez in support of the Palestinian people and his clear condemnations of the Zionist attacks on the Palestinian people. ‘The State of Israel has become a murderous lackey at the service of imperialism…It’s a genocidal government. I condemn that Zionist government that persecutes the heroic Palestinian people,’ Chavez said. His words on Palestine and in support of the struggle of our people have bolstered the strength and resolve of Palestinians everywhere.

On the other hand, the Venezuelan opposition, backed by the United States, imperialist powers including the European Union and Canada, and an array of global far-right forces aligned with imperialism, has sought out an alliance with the genocidal Zionist regime. Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition — for which Gonzales was selected as a replacement, as she was barred from running due to her repeated involvement in subverting democracy in Venezuela, including her role in promoting Juan Guaido as “interim president” in 2019 in a failed coup attempt. She was involved in prior coup attempts in 2002 and 2014, and promised to privatize 90% of state industries in Venezuela, bring an end to free health care, cut social programs and otherwise devastate the Chavista program. While this won her accolades from far-right libertarian Javier Milei of Argentina, it is no surprise that this failed to find an echo in the popular neighbourhoods of Venezuela.

Of course, Machado also sought an alliance with Zionism. In 2018, Machado wrote a letter to the infamous war criminal, genocidaire and Prime Minister of the zionist entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, requesting the occupation’s participation in a military intervention in Venezuela, through a document published on her X social media account. She gave interviews to Zionist TV, not only pledging to reestablish diplomatic ties with “Israel” but to establish a Venezuelan embassy in occupied Jerusalem.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that as the people of Venezuela celebrate the victory of their Bolivarian Revolution in the streets of Caracas, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — best-known for his fervent support for the continuation of “Israeli” genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza — appeared in Japan to fan the flames of discredited assertions by far-right opposition figures that, somehow, despite the presence of their own observers at the polls and the highly transparent and regulated election system in Venezuela, the results “do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.” It is clear, instead, that the results do not reflect the will of U.S. imperialism.

Spoiler: more evidence of Maduro's standing on the right side of history including with persecuted members like noodlesoup (click to show)(click to hide)

Mexico City, Mexico, May 7, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expressed his solidarity with students in the United States protesting against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza while questioning the silence of human rights organizations amid a crackdown against freedom of expression in the US.

“What would they say if in Venezuela the police suddenly entered and raided the country’s universities and dragged away professors, students, workers as is happening in the United States, where seventy universities have been raided?” asked Maduro during his weekly broadcast on Monday night.

The Venezuelan president likewise criticized Israel’s decision to censor Al Jazeera and expressed his support for the workers of the Qatar-backed international news outlet.

“They have suffered persecution, the murder of their journalists and now the Zionist regime and colonialist occupier under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to silence them,” said Maduro.

The Venezuelan government also condemned Israel’s latest assault on Gaza following Monday’s invasion of Rafah.

“Venezuela, consistent with its unrestricted support for the Palestinian cause and the just claim for its existence and sovereignty, expresses its absolute solidarity with its People and Government, including the families of the victims, and hopes for the speedy recovery of the wounded and injured,” read a statement published by Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil.

The communique called for the international community to take all the steps necessary to reestablish “legality and international law in the area” in order to avoid a further escalation that could lead to a regional conflict.

The Maduro government has previously publicly spoken out in favor of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Mexico City, Mexico, February 27, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro paid tribute to the sacrifice made by Aaron Bushnell, the US airman who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, to bring attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.

In his final words, Bushnell reiterated a call to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“We call on the conscience of the entire world to stop this genocide. How can it be that we have to see someone, a soldier, a young man, immolate himself in order to denounce something as horrific as genocide,” said Maduro during his weekly television program on Monday.

Yet the Zionists on ResetERA.com celebrate an attempted coup of this anti-genocide democratic leader.