Fred Fuentes says: "Together with opposing foreign interference in Venezuela’s sovereign affairs, a democratic and emancipatory left should support calls for transparency and for the CNE to present its tally sheets to the Venezuelan people."
I agree with opposing foreign interference. But I am not sure that "transparency" is a real issue. I agree that it would have been desirable for the CNE to immediately publish the breakdown of results by polling place. But this would not have stopped the extreme right from claiming fraud. They would have said the polling place results were false. Maduro has called on the Supreme Court to check the results. Nine opposition candidates are participating in this process. Only the extreme right candidate Edmundo Gonzalez is refusing to do so. If the Supreme Court finds that the polling place figures supplied by the nine opposition candidates match those supplied by the CNE, then presumably the figures will be published. Fred says: "Predictably, the opposition and its supporters have cried fraud. But they are not the only ones: protests have occurred in poorer neighbourhoods that were once Chavista bastions and various radical left groups, such as the Communist Party of Venezuela, have demanded the tally sheets be published. "In response, the government announced it had arrested more than 2000 protesters<https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/maduro-dice-que-hay-2.000-detenidos-en-protestas-contra-el-resultado-de-las-presidenciales/85939038> (the UN has verified at least 1200<https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/venezuela-fact-finding-mission-calls-end-repression-thorough-investigations> such arrests). This speaks to the scale of the protests and depth of repression." The government says that those arrested had committed crimes such as burning voting centres, schools, buses etc. I am not in a position to judge how many of those arrested committed such crimes, and how many were peaceful protestors. But at least some of them did commit crimes. They are not all victims of "repression", any more than the Trump supporters who were arrested after the events in Washington on January 6, 2021 (another protest over alleged electoral fraud). Undoubtedly there is discontent in the poor areas of Venezuela. People have suffered nearly a decade of extreme hardship, mainly due to the US blockade, but also due to the Maduro government's policies. According to the CNE's report of the election results, Maduro got 52% of the vote. This means that 48% voted against him. This must include a significant section (even if a minority) of the people in the poor areas. Fred says: "While the combination of an insurrectional opposition, a hostile National Assembly, crippling sanctions, falling oil prices and a dire economic crisis failed to shift Maduro from the presidency, it did shift the government away from Chávez’s “21st century socialism” project. "Increasingly, Maduro’s goal has been to simply hold onto power. In retreat, his government has sought to do this by combining concessions to (sections of) the right with co-option and repression of the grassroots left. "The result has been economic policies not too dissimilar to those of neoliberal governments in the region, which have largely benefited economic and political elites (old and new) while leaving Venezuelan workers with the lowest wages in Latin America." It is true that in the context of the US blockade, the Maduro government has retreated from Chavez's version of socialism. To what extent was this an inevitable product of the objective situation facing Venezuela, and to what extent was it a choice by Maduro? I don't have a definite answer to this question. In any case, our main task is to oppose the blockade, and any other form of US intervention in Venezuela. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Fred Fuentes <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, 16 August 2024 3:13 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [marxmail] Venezuela: Calls grow for transparency on presidential vote >From an interview I did with Green Left (the full interview can be read here >https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-calls-grow-transparency-presidential-vote): We should continue to reject foreign interference in Venezuela. No country can abrogate for itself the right to decide who governs another country. Moreover, as long as there are sanctions on Venezuela, no election can be truly fair. But sanctions are no excuse for a lack of democracy and transparency. Moreover, campaigning to lift the sanctions is vital not just in terms of their crushing humanitarian toll but their political impacts — which are evident if we are honest about the Maduro government today. While the combination of an insurrectional opposition, a hostile National Assembly, crippling sanctions, falling oil prices and a dire economic crisis failed to shift Maduro from the presidency, it did shift the government away from Chávez’s “21st century socialism” project. Increasingly, Maduro’s goal has been to simply hold onto power. In retreat, his government has sought to do this by combining concessions to (sections of) the right with co-option and repression of the grassroots left. The result has been economic policies not too dissimilar to those of neoliberal governments in the region, which have largely benefited economic and political elites (old and new) while leaving Venezuelan workers with the lowest wages in Latin America. More importantly, the government has drastically reduced the scope for people’s participation in everyday politics. This is precisely the opposite of what Chávez did — and what was at the heart of his radical project of change. When the CNE questioned whether the opposition had collected enough signatures for a recall referendum in 2004, Chávez said the referendum should go ahead anyway so that the people could decide. This example is well worth keeping in mind today. Together with opposing foreign interference in Venezuela’s sovereign affairs, a democratic and emancipatory left should support calls for transparency and for the CNE to present its tally sheets to the Venezuelan people. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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