More than 200 people– including a disappointingly large number of Labour MPs and trade union leaders– have signed a letter calling on the British government “to respect the results of the Venezuelan Presidential election this Sunday.”
On 7th October 2012 Venezuelans will be voting in their Presidential election. In recent years, Venezuela’s democracy has been deepened with the country having more elections than nearly anywhere else in the world, all certified free & fair by respected international bodies. Record numbers are registered to vote – up from 11 million in 1998 to 19 million today – due to the removal of obstacles that stopped many poorer people voting.
Alongside this expansion of democracy, there has been a flowering of social programmes that have delivered free healthcare for millions, eradicated illiteracy & lifted millions out of poverty.
This year also marks 10 years since the temporarily successful US-backed coup against the Chavez-led government. Since then we have seen attempts – some successful, others not – to undermine elected governments in Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras & Paraguay, showing how real threats to social progress & democracy in the region remain. Political parties, & other movements, engaged in these destabilisation campaigns have received millions of dollars from US bodies such as the National Endowment for Democracy, International Republican Institute & USAID.
Worryingly, in Venezuela, US government interventions have continued – mainly through tens of millions of dollars of funding to right-wing opposition movements including for the coming elections.
There are concerns that some opposition movements may not recognise the outcome at the forthcoming election, which polls indicate Chavez is set to win, in an orchestrated attempt to discredit the outcome & to isolate Venezuela internationally. We the undersigned believe it is for the Venezuelan people alone to choose their next government, free from any external intervention, & governments around the world should respect the results & engage constructively with the country.
The trade unionists might want to read Rory Carroll’s excellent Guardian piece on Venezuela, including the following:
When visiting the Caruachi hydro-electric plant to whip up support Chávez suffered the indignity of being heckled by workers demanding unpaid wages and the restoration of collective-bargaining rights. His microphone failed and a back-up sound system transmitted what sounded like shouts of “justicia”, justice, at which point state television cut the broadcast. A nation accustomed to highly choreographed presidential events with handpicked audiences gasped at the glimpse behind the curtain.
The disturbing implication of the letter is that only a Chavez victory is possible, and the only threat to a democratic outcome is from Chavez’s “rightwing” opponents. But what if Chavez loses? It’s Chavez, after all, who warns of a possible civil war if his opponent wins.
Will these same 200 champions of democracy be equally insistent that the president and his regime hand over power peacefully?
The letter offers no clue.
Update: Read Francisco Toro’s New York Times op-ed piece, “How Hugo Chávez Became Irrelevant.”
