Socialist Appeal - International Marxist Tendency
Marxism. Socialism. Revolution.
Yesterday, March 5, at 4.25 pm local time, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died after battling cancer for the last two years. This was announced by Vice President Maduro. We publish here a short statement by the Hands Off Venezuela campaign.
On January 23, Caracas was once again the scene of a huge mass mobilization in defence of the revolution. January 23 is a national day of struggle in Venezuela. It was the day that the infamous Marcos Pérez Jímenez dictatorship fell in 1958, overthrown by the mass movement from below. The opposition tried to cynically take advantage of Chávez illness and called for a demonstration to protest against “the unconstitutional situation”, i.e. against the postponement of the swearing in of Chávez. The PSUV leaders responded by calling on the masses to take the streets on the same day.
Taking advantage of Chavez’s ill health, the Venezuelan oligarchy and imperialism have renewed their campaign of destabilisation against the Bolivarian Revolution. They risk unleashing the wrath of the workers and the poor. Jorge Martin analyses the latest developments in Venezuela.
Candidates of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won the governor elections on December 16 in 20 out of the country’s 23 states, including in 5 which were ruled by the opposition MUD. The regional elections came after the victory of Hugo Chávez in the October 7 presidential elections. It is time for the working class and the poor to go on the offensive and complete the Venezuelan Revolution.