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<h1 class="title">Over 5 Million Venezuelans Sign Letter Urging
Repeal of Obama's Executive Order</h1>
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<p class="byline"> By <span class="author">Lucas Koerner </span>
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<p dir="ltr">Caracas, March 30, 2015 (<a
href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/" target="_blank">venezuelanalysis.com</a>)
- Over 5 million Venezuelans have voiced their opposition to the
Executive Order issued by the White House on March 9, which brands
Venezuela an "unusual and extraordinary threat" and imposes new
sanctions. </p>
<p>Over the past week, millions of Venezuelans have mobilized in a
nationwide petition drive, signing their names to an open letter
addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama <a
href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11288">urging him to
immediately repeal the executive order</a>.</p>
<p>In response to President Maduro's call for 10 million signatures,
the grassroots initiative has taken off dramatically over the past
week with armies of volunteers manning over 760 sign-up points in
public squares throughout the nation as well as going door to door
in order to reach those with special needs. </p>
<p>President Nicolas Maduro has characterized this effort as an
"emphatic success" and called for it to continue during Holy Week
vacations. It is hoped that Venezuelans will continue pledging
their signatures from "highways, beaches, and mountains" in a show
of national unity in the face of U.S. aggression. </p>
<p><strong>Venezuela Delivers Formal Letter of Protest to US
Embassy </strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, on Friday, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez
confirmed that the Venezuelan government had delivered a formal
letter of protest to the U.S. embassy in Caracas urging the Obama
administration to repeal the executive order. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Rodriguez underscored that the letter was the latest in
a series of diplomatic overtures initiated by the Bolivarian
government, suggesting that continued intransigence on the part of
Washington may oblige Venezuela to appeal to international legal
mechanisms. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The foreign minister also noted that Venezuela enjoys
the backing of a significant segment of the international
community, which has manifested its solidarity with the Bolivarian
government via a series of statements by various multilateral
blocs, <a href="http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11298">including
UNASUR, ALBA, the Non-Aligned Movement, CELAC, and the G77+China</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“This should allow the government of the United States
to reflect. Look at a map, a map that shows the whole world is
telling the U.S, its government and its administration to cease
aggression against Venezuela," stated Rodriguez, pointing to a
world map highlighting the multitude of nations which have voiced
support for Venezuela in response to U.S. threats.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>New Poll Finds 65% of Venezuelans "Optimistic" </strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">In the midst of an international media campaign which
has consistently presented Venezuela as a nation mired in economic
and political turmoil, a new survey by the private polling firm
Hinterlaces has found that 65% of Venezuelans chose "optimistic"
as the term that best describes their emotional state, a four
point increase over January. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, those who describe themselves as "pessimistic" or
"frustrated" declined by four points to 34% and and 21%
respectively.</p>
<p>Moreover, the percentage of Venezuelans who characterized
themselves as "hopeful" rose five points since January to 78%. </p>
<p dir="ltr">For political analyst Jose Vicente Rangel, the poll
figures as a critical vote of confidence for a government besieged
by economic war, systematic misrepresentation in the international
press, and U.S. sanctions. </p>
<p dir="ltr">"An important sector of Venezuelan society is
perceiving a unified, cohesive government that is working to
problem solve, Chavimo has regained positive expectations and
hope, wielding arguments and banners [of support] in order to
confront the discourse of pessimism and fatalism," stated the
former high ranking government official on his television
program. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The poll was conducted between the 14th and 18th of
March and featured 200 respondents from throughout the country.</p>
<p class="published">Published on Mar 30th 2015 at 10.38pm </p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
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San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
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