[News] Venezuela: a developing coup attempt –

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  Venezuela: a developing coup attempt – URGENT ACTION NEEDED
  <http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/venezuela_attempted_coup.htm>

16 April 2013
Hands Off Venezuela
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/venezuela_attempted_coup.htm

On Sunday April 14, Bolivarian candidate Nicolas Maduro won the 
Venezuelan presidential election by a narrow margin. With 99.12% of the 
votes counted, there was a 78.71% turn out, with Maduro receiving 
7,505,378 votes (50.66%), and Capriles 7,270,403 votes (49.07%). 
Opposition candidate Capriles declared that he does not recognise the 
result and demanded an audit of 100% of the vote.

On Monday April 15 Capriles made a speech, which was broadcast live by 
all private TV stations as well as CNN Spanish. In it he refused to 
recognise the election results and called for mobilisations to demand a 
full manual recount of the vote. These included a national pots and pans 
banging protest on Monday at 8 pm, marches on the regional offices of 
the National Electoral Council (CNE) on Tuesday 16, as well as a march 
on the CNE in Caracas on Wednesday 17.

At the same time both the Organisation of American States president 
Insulza and the United States declared that they were also in favour of 
a full recount. The Spanish government added its voice to the chorus and 
said they did not recognise the results of the elections.

This was followed by riots in the streets, road blockades and burning 
barricades organised by opposition supporters. Prominent opposition 
leaders spread rumours that ballot boxes and ballot papers were being 
burnt to prevent a recount, using pictures of the destruction of 
electoral material from previous election contests (these were taken 
from the CNE website as can be seen here 
<http://aporrea.org/actualidad/n226929.html>).

Following the allegation by prominent opposition journalist, Nelson 
Bocaranda, that Cuban doctors were participating in the burning of 
ballot papers <http://aporrea.org/oposicion/n226966.html>, dozens of CDI 
(Integral Diagnosis health Centres) were attacked throughout the country.

Gangs of armed opposition thugs were roaming the streets of the main 
cities last night. Four Bolivarian supporters were killed as a result of 
the violence, some of them in drive by shootings, repeating a pattern we 
saw last week and on election day. PSUV offices were attacked in several 
states as well as the buildings housing Simoncito pre-school nurseries, 
Mercal and PDVAL state-run supermarkets and the Petrocasa housing 
program in Carabobo.  The private homes of a number of state officials 
were also attacked. In the capital Caracas there were attacks against 
Telesur, La Radio del Sur and VTV state media buildings. (See some 
PICTURES here 
<http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/grupos-ultraderechistas-asediaron-cdi-viviendas-sedes-del-psuv-y-del-cne> and 
HERE 
<http://www.laiguana.tv/noticias/2013/04/15/5072/VEA-COMO-SEGUIDORES-DE-CAPRILES-DESATARON-UNA-VEZ-MAS-GUARIMBAS-EN-ALTAMIRA-.html>)

This is the real face of the so-called “democratic” opposition in 
Venezuela. They are attacking all the symbols of the social programs of 
the Bolivarian government, all the conquests of the revolution.

PSUV campaign coordinator Jorge Rodriguez as well as the new Venezuelan 
president Nicolas Maduro described these actions as a “developing coup 
d’Etat.” CNE president Tibisay Lucena rejected the blatant imperialist 
interference on the part of the OAS, the US and Spain. She added that an 
audit of 54% of the ballot boxes had been conducted, and that the final 
count of 100% of the vote slightly increased Maduro’s lead.

The Venezuelan elections have been free and fair and the voting system 
is fool proof. This has been ratified in several elections by 
institutions which are not suspicious of revolutionary leanings like the 
Carter Centre. The elections were observed by a range of international 
bodies, including UNASUR and the OAS, all of which have certified their 
clean and democratic nature. Even right wing governments like those of 
Mexico, Colombia and Chile, not known for their sympathies towards the 
Bolivarian revolution have recognized the result. Capriles himself 
accepted the results of the October 7 presidential elections, which were 
organized by the same CNE, with the same voting machines and with the 
same electoral register.

The bottom line is that the opposition lost the election and refuses to 
accept the result. The result was close, yes, but there have been other 
election results international with results which were even closer and 
these were not challenged. Capriles himself only won the governorship of 
Miranda in December last year by 40,000 votes and the PSUV accepted the 
results. Chávez lost the constitutional reform referendum in 2007 by a 
narrower margin, 1.4% and accepted the result.

As CNE head Tibisay Lucena pointed out, if the opposition wants to 
challenge the results, there are legal mechanisms to do so, instead of 
resorting to violence and not recognizing the official institutions.

What we see in Venezuela is an attempt to violate the democratically 
expressed will of the people. Venezuela has elected a president, albeit 
by a small margin.

We call on all progressive and democratic forces around the world to 
remain vigilant, to express their solidarity with the Bolivarian 
revolution, to denounce the undemocratic maneuvering of the opposition 
and imperialism, to counter the lies and manipulation of the mass media 
and to demand respect for the democratic will of the Venezuelan people.

London, April 16, 2013

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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