Crisis in Caracas

Trump or no trump, Venezuella has no respite from being haunted by the spectre of invasion. It all started when the late Chavez refused to kowtow to America and used oil as a weapon to challenge American hegemony in the region. The siege against the people of Venezuele has been going on for long on all fronts. A total blockade by the US-EU bloc and, a sustained attempt at international isolation fostered by the governments of US and main European powers. Earlier they tried to dislodge Chavez but failed. Now they are back in the business of destablisation by supporting their puppet while disowning the elected president Maduro taking advantage of economic crisis resulted mainly from Venezuela's declining oil industry—production going down from 3 million barrels per day to less than 1.5 million today.

With the recent flare-up and protest marches organised by the right-wing forces, backed and funded by America, Trump lost no time to recognise a self-proclaimed president of Venezuela.

Guaido, the self-proclaimed president, has been recognised by Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay and Peru, the countries collaborating with the US. The Organisation of American States [OAS) has also recognised Guaido as president. Canada and France have extended their support to Guaido. European Council president Donald Tusk expressed hope that the EU would "unite in support of democratic forces". The imperial alliance is active.

Guaido, an obscure lawmaker, a few days ago and head of the National Assembly, called on the armed forces to disobey the constitutionally formed government of Venezuela. However, Venezuela's defense minister condemned Guaido, a former student leader participant in protests against socialist leader Chavez.

US president Trump, in a statement, described Nicolas Maduro's leadership as "illegitimate". Trump's statement said: "The people of Venezuela have courageously spoken out against Maduro and his regime and demanded freedom and the rule of law."

Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn-in as president of Venezuela earlier this month, has declared breaking of diplomatic and political relations with the US. The measure is in response to Trump's recognition of Guaido. Venezuela has given the US diplomatic staff 72 hours to leave Venezuela. Maduro has declared all US diplomats persona non grata, after the imperial power recognised Guaido as Venezuela's president. Finally Maduro backtracked fearing American retaliation.

US secretary of state Pompeio rejected Venezuela's move to cut ties with the US. Pompeo said the US did not recognise Maduro as leader of Venezuela. He said the US would conduct relations "through the government of interim President Guaido" although there's nothing like "government of President Guaido". Pompeo also urged Venezuela's military to support efforts to restore "democracy", and said the US would back Guaido in his attempts to establish a government.

These developments are a continuation of a long drawn out imperialist intervention plan. The White House, it seems, is determining issues like legitimacy and people's representation in another country while it is passing through a government shutdown.

Maduro has accused Washington of trying to govern Venezuela from afar, and said the Opposition was seeking to stage a coup. "We've had enough interventionism, here we have dignity, damn it!" president Maduro said in a televised address from the presidential palace while a huge assembly of people joined in solidarity to Maduro in front of Miraflores Palace, the presidential house in Caracas.

Today's direct American intervention in Venezuela has not been organised overnight. So-called democratic forces were organised, trained, financed and armed slowly, clandestinely over a long period. Simultaneously, tarnishing image of Venezuela / Chavez / Maduro / the Bolivarian Revolution was carried on unceasingly, and a negative impression was constructed among wider international audience while an economic war and the Revolution was organised. The Venezuelan people's sufferings due to US-EU intervention were portrayed as failures of the Revolution. There are cases of cancer patients—young, promising, old, infirm—facing death due to lack of essential drugs / equipments, which was due to imperialist economic sanction against the Revolution. Nevertheless, those stories go missing in the mainstream media.

For one thing Venezuela is not Chile of the time preceding murderer Pinochet's coup backed by the imperial power. Today is not the days of imperialism's Libya intervention. Today is not the days of betrayer Gorbachev. No doubt the positioning of a NATO ring around Venezuela is threatening the country's sovereignty all the time but the people of Venezuela have so far resisted the American designs. Sanctions have hampered the Venezuelan economy hard by making it very difficult to restructure the debt. The people of Venezuela are in reality paying the price for opposing American hegemony and Washington's persistent attempt to impose a neo-colonial state on them.

This February marks the 20th anniversary of Hugo Chavez assuming the presidency. Suffice to say, the former leader has cast a long shadow over Venezuelan politics. His record was hotly debated after his death in 2013, but as rarely with any consideration of broader historical and international factors.

Guaido's claim to the presidency—and his backing by foreign powers over an elected leader—raises important questions about democratic legitimacy.

[contributed]

Frontier
Vol. 51, No.31, Feb 3 - 9, 2019