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href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14206">https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14206<br>
https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/14209<br>
https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14212<br>
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<h1 class="reader-title">President Maduro’s New Year Interview:
‘The Pressures & Attacks of the US Empire Are Nothing
Compared to the Voice of Our People’</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">By Nicolas Maduro / Ignacio
Ramonet - January 7, 2019<br>
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<p><font size="+1" color="#ff0000"><b><i>3 Parts follow</i></b></font></p>
<p>VA- The following is an interview conducted by
Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet with Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro. Ramonet has previously
worked with <a
href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Monde_diplomatique">Le
Monde Diplomatique</a> and <a
href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lib%C3%A9ration_(peri%C3%B3dico)">Liberation</a>
and is an author of over a dozen works including a
spoken biography of Fidel Castro.</p>
<p>The interview was published on Ramonet’s <a
href="https://www.facebook.com/ignacio.ramonet">facebook
page</a> on January 1 2018 and comes only days
before Maduro is due to start his <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13820">second</a>
constitutional term as president on January 10, which
many regional right-wing governments have claimed is
illegitimate. It also comes in a context of ongoing
inflation, increased <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14071">international
pressure</a> and <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13936">sanctions</a>
against Venezuela, a solidification of the political
hegemony of the ruling United Socialist Party (<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14180">PSUV</a>)
after winning five elections in the past 18 months,
the implosion of the right-wing opposition alliance, a
series of government-led <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13967">economic
reforms</a>, and a recent attempt to <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976">assassinate</a>
the President with drone-laden explosives.</p>
<p>Ramonet, who has known Maduro for more than ten
years, personally testifies to “the profound affection
and confidence that Chávez had in him.”</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>IR- Before we sit down in his office to do
this interview in Miraflores Palace, Caracas,
President Maduro invited me to join him in a public
ceremony to hand over social housing units.
Apartment number <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14198">2.5
million</a> is about to be delivered… The
buildings, erected in collaboration with a Chinese
company, are located close to the El Valle
neighbourhood, a </strong><strong>middle class</strong><strong>
area, and precisely where Maduro was born and
raised.</strong></p>
<p><strong>The small population here receive Maduro with
a loud show of joy and affection. Maduro is wearing
a white Guayabera shirt with the Venezuelan colours
on the collar. Naturally elegant and with </strong><strong>an
imposing</strong><strong> stature, – he is over
1,90m tall – Maduro is a calm, affable, serene
person, gifted with a fine sense of humour.</strong></p>
<p><strong>In his short </strong><strong>speech</strong><strong>
he denounces the “indolence” of many of his own
collaborators in the government or in local
institutions. The locals enthusiastically cheer
these criticisms. And they shout their lungs out
when the president rails against corruption and
pledges to punish it “regardless of who falls.”</strong></p>
<p><strong>He alternates pleasant comments, almost
personal, with some of the families (among them a
young couple with hearing disabilities and their
baby) who receive keys to their new apartments, with
deep reflections on economic policy or international
relations. A bit how Hugo Chávez used to do it. He
oscillates from the personal to the collective, from
the concrete to the general, from praxis to theory.
Always giving a pedagogical impression of lightness
so as not to overwhelm anyone.</strong></p>
<p><strong>The next day, December 27, we met in his
working office in the government palace. In the very
same room where, almost six years ago to the date,
Chávez appointed Maduro as his successor. We greet
and, as the team finish preparing the set, we take a
stroll in the yard and the beautiful indoor gardens
of Miraflores, decorated for the holidays.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Today, the President is wearing an elegant
intense blue shirt. Although this is an interview
for </strong><strong>written</strong><strong>
press, some photos of our meeting will be shot and
some of the answers will be recorded on video. As
usual with him, he brought a bunch of books that he
places on the table between us. Everything is ready.
Therefore, without further ado, we get started.</strong></p>
<p><strong>IR: Good afternoon, President. Thank you for
receiving us. In this </strong><strong>interview</strong><strong>
we will essentially address three issues: politics,
economics and international affairs.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Let's start with politics: perhaps the main
political event of 2018 was your re-election in the
elections of May 20, with more than six million
votes and more than 40 </strong><strong>percent</strong><strong>
of difference with respect to the main opposition
candidate, Henri Falcon.</strong></p>
<p><strong>How do you explain, given the difficult
context for citizens created by the economic war and
the financial sanctions imposed by Washington, that
voters gave you their massive support for the second
time?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> Indeed, the people
of Venezuela gave their <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13820">greater
support</a> to the Bolivarian revolution, to
Chavismo, to my candidacy - which is a real political
and social force on the streets, in neighbourhoods, in
the countryside, in the cities and in the villages -
with humility. In percentage terms, it was the
greatest support that any candidate has ever received
in a presidential election in Venezuela.</p>
<p>We had already started noticing that after the
victory for peace with the <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13174">constituent
election of July 2017</a> our forces had undergone a
sustained recovery, a strengthening of revolutionary
unity. [In May] we received the support of all the
Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) parties and plenty of
social movements. We have also seen an organized
growth of our United Socialist Party of Venezuela
(PSUV), which is the political party with the greatest
number of members in Latin America.</p>
<p>This good result is also explained, I must say, by
the maturity and wisdom shown by our people in the
midst of the most brutal aggression that we have
suffered since our wars of independence. Our people
have grown, have grown in awareness, in organized
strength, in patriotism, and in spite of the
psychological warfare and the illegal and illegitimate
economic war perpetrated by the American empire along
with its satellite governments of this continent and
Europe, which look and subdue us. The result of this
hostility has been the resilience shown by citizens in
their determination to remain free, independent and
sovereign.</p>
<p>Another fundamental, decisive factor, Ramonet, is
that the Bolivarian revolution has, in the midst of
difficulties and economic and financial harassment,
managed to meet the needs of Venezuelan society. Not a
single school or university has been closed here. On
the contrary, the number of students in public
education has increased. Here we continue to have free
healthcare for everyone. We have protected, with much
strength and determination, wages and employment for
all. And approximately every three weeks we make sure
that staple food products get to about six million
households in Venezuela, the now famous "CLAP boxes,"
we deliver them directly to their homes.</p>
<p>On the walls of Caracas one may see some murals or
grafitti which maybe sum up what I want to say: "I
vote for who increases my wage, not for who makes
products more expensive." Perhaps that explains why
the Bolivarian revolution is now more robust, alive
and amalgamated in a single constructive effort than
ever.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Within a few days, January 10, your new
presidential term of six years starts. Some
governments that did not recognize the results of
the presidential election of May 20 have threatened
to not recognise you as the constitutional President
of Venezuela. What is your response to them?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> Well, first of all,
that Venezuela is a country that has forged,
throughout history, its own identity, its Republican
character, its independence. Also, that Venezuela is
ruled by a Constitution which is the most democratic
that has existed in our history, approved by our
people nineteen years ago by referendum, and this
Constitution has been respected flawlessly during the
nineteen years.</p>
<p>In 2018, we had two fully transparent electoral
contests, governed by the country's electoral
institutions. I must remind everyone that the
Electoral Power in Venezuela is an [independent]
public power, the fifth public power. This power used
all of its logistics, its electronic [voting] system
with the highest level of transparency. Recognized by
international personalities of unquestionable prestige
like [former President of the United States] Jimmy
Carter who said at the time that "the Venezuelan
electoral system is the most transparent and clean in
the world; the most perfect."</p>
<p>The presidential election of May 20 2018 was held
with the accompaniment of national and international
observers, and our people made a decision. Venezuela’s
decisions are not taken by foreign governments. We are
not an intervened country, advised by any empire. Not
by the empire of the North, its satellites in Latin
America and the Caribbean, nor Europe. In Venezuela,
the people rule and govern sovereignly. The people
made a very clear and very forceful decision: for the
first time we won 68 percent of the vote... as you
pointed out: four million votes more than the main
opposition candidate.</p>
<p>So: the people decided. And we are going to comply
with the decision of the people. There is no way that
any government can have a say, from abroad, on the
correctness of recognizing or failing to recognise the
constitutional and democratic legitimacy of the
government which I will preside over as of January 10
2019 until January 10 2025. I have a plan, a project,
experience, the strength. I have the people, with the
military-civil union, and above all, [I have] the
constitutional legitimacy which is the most important.</p>
<p>Let me repeat myself: the pressures and attacks of
the North American empire and its satellite
governments mean nothing compared to the voice of our
people. Our democracy has a real strength that has
been expressed in the 25 elections over the last 20
years... This means that in twenty years of Bolivarian
Revolution, there has been almost three times the
amount of elections carried out during the same
period, for example, in the United States...</p>
<p>In the election campaign of April and May 2018, which
lasted 21 days, I visited the 23 States of Venezuela
several times. And I asked the people that filled the
streets and avenues: "Who elects the President in
Venezuela? Washington or Caracas? Miami or Maracaibo?"
And the vigorous response of all the people, including
those that vote for the opposition, is that we have
the inalienable right to choose our rulers. Nothing
and nobody is going to change that basic and sacred
right.</p>
<p>For those who don't like this we say that Venezuela
has a long tradition of non-interference in the
affairs of other countries. The Bolivarian Revolution
has shown solidarity with all the countries of our
continent and the world when they so required it due
to natural disasters or other incidents. The least we
can demand is that this is reciprocated, that others
respect that we are sovereign and independent.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Although you have not ceased to appeal to
democratic dialogue, the most important opposition
group - gathered in the so-called Democratic Unity
Roundtable (MUD) - decided not to participate in the
elections of May 20. The result is that the MUD is
now fragmented, divided and, in fact,
self-dissolved. What do think about you this
opposition?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolas Maduro:</strong> I have invited the
Venezuelan opposition to participate in a political
dialogue on more than 300 occasions... And this
doesn't even include the ongoing dialogue that my
government maintains with the private sector and
society in general. This dialogue has not sought to
convince anyone to take on our model, we understand
that we have very different ways of looking at life,
that we [all] have different proposals to meet the
challenges of our society. Our efforts have always
consisted of strengthening the peaceful political
coexistence of political forces in Venezuela.</p>
<p>But all those efforts of dialogue have been boycotted
by the US Embassy in Venezuela. At some point the
details of the house to house visits that the Chargé
d'affaires of the US Embassy made to each of the
opposition candidates to force them not to take part
in the presidential election of 20 May will come to
light. He managed to convince almost all of them, with
two exceptions [Henry Falcón and Javier Bertucci] who
participated and got the vote they got.</p>
<p>You don't know how happy I would be if we could count
on an opposition in Venezuela that stayed attached to
politics, which moved away from conspiracies and coup
adventures, which defended a voice of their own. And
not the authoritative voice of the US Embassy.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Within the framework of the Bolivarian
Revolution, what is the political space available to
the opposition? In other words: will the Revolution
accept an opposition which wins a presidential
election?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> The opposition in
Venezuela has all of the guarantees that the
Constitution provides for the free exercise of
politics. What more, of the twenty-five elections
which have occurred in Venezuela in 20 years, we have
won twenty-three, that is true, but we have lost two:
the 2007 constitutional reform and the legislative
elections of 2015. When we lost, we immediately
recognized our defeat, minutes after the Electoral
Council issued the results. Chavez in 2007 and myself
in 2015 recognized the outcomes and called on the
people to respect them in peace.</p>
<p>I presented my message to the nation, in January
2016, before the National Assembly's opposition
majority, headed by the leader of the opposition Henry
Ramos Allup. And what was the response of the right,
which had become vain by its electoral victory? To say
that they would take power in six months, in violation
of the Constitution and the electoral mandate given by
the people.</p>
<p>The consequences of their actions are that now we
have a fragmented opposition, divided, hating their
leaders among them, and very diminished in its
political strength. I want to say that we have always
recognized all the election results, when we have won
and when we have lost. The opposition has exercised
regional and local power in the election of governors
and mayors that has been favourable for them with the
same electronic electoral system which Venezuela has
had since 2004.</p>
<p>The problem is that they recognize only electoral
results when they win... They did not recognize the
outcome of the recall referendum of 2004, which Chavez
won by 20 points. Nor that of the presidential
election of 2006, which Chavez took by 23 points, nor
my 2014 victory, nor May 2018.</p>
<p><strong>IR: On various </strong><strong>occasions</strong><strong>
you have described some opposition forces as looking
for a “coup.” This past August 4 you were the victim
of a spectacular assassination attempt with
explosives-laden drones. What can you say with
regard to this attack?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> Indeed, on August 4,
2018, we <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13976">lived
</a>what I never thought could happen: a terrorist
attack with the use of advanced technology to kill me.
And rather than kill myself as a human being, it was
looking to end the Presidency of the Republic and put
an end to the powers of the State. It was a truly
terrible attack. Thanks to the technological security
mechanisms that we have, we managed to partially
neutralize the attack.</p>
<p>They used drones. A drone flew above the stage where
I was, and was flown in front of me when I was making
the keynote speech. Later it came closer but was
neutralized by our technology. If it had exploded
where the criminals wanted it to, it would had caused
lots of blood, pain and death.</p>
<p>And there was a second drone that, fortunately, was
disoriented by the same protective technology we
possess. And it exploded... It was the most powerful
drone because it carried a load of C-4, a plastic
military-grade explosive. That drone exploded against
an apartment building very close to the main stage. It
made a huge hole in the outside wall of the building,
and set fire to an apartment. The mission of this
drone was to finish off, from above, the work of the
first drone once this one had destroyed the main stage
from the front.</p>
<p>We were able to - along with the Venezuelan people,
the security and intelligence forces, and alongside
the police - immediately apprehend the perpetrators.
And then we started to capture the other perpetrators,
those who organised it, and we were able to establish
the identity of the masterminds of the attack.</p>
<p>The attack was ordered by [Colombian ex-] President
Juan Manuel Santos, whose mandate ended curiously
three days after the terrorist attack, on August 7,
from Bogota... With the direct participation of former
[Venezuelan First Justice] Deputy Julio Borges, leader
of the Venezuelan opposition. The entire attack was
prepared in Colombia. All direct drone operators were
trained in Colombia. The drones and their explosives
were prepared in Colombia under the direction of the
government of then President Juan Manuel Santos.</p>
<p>The White House in Washington also had knowledge of
it. I have no doubt. Behind that attack, there was a
“yes,” an "okay" from the White House. We already know
that John Bolton, current President Donald Trump’s
National Security Adviser, is leading plans to kill
me. I've reported it. Bolton had knowledge of the
attack. And he gave his "ok" to run it. Washington and
Bogota maintain a permanent policy of terrorism
against us.</p>
<p>Why accuse me of being a "dictator"? When they label
a progressive leader a "dictator" and build such a
beastly global campaign against them... and all right
and the extreme right forces in the world take up the
accusation of "dictator" against Maduro, a union
leader, a man of the people, forged in the struggles
of the Caracas barrios, in the struggles of the
student movement, in the struggles of the Constituent
Assembly, in parliamentary debates, forged on the
diplomatic front... When they accuse someone like me
of being a "dictator" and term Venezuela a
"dictatorship," it is to be able to justify anything
against our country. There is a permanent conspiracy
of the Colombian oligarchy and the U.S. empire against
the Bolivarian Revolution.</p>
<p>I say that God saved me from this attack. He placed
his protective cloak over me. The Virgin of la
Chinita, very miraculous, patron saint of the
Bolivarian National Guard, also saved me. Anyway, here
we are, very committed, willing to go on. Obviously
with special security measures so that the criminal
purposes of those people are never carried out.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Repeatedly, both Chávez and you have
spoken of the need for a democratic opposition that
abandons the coup strategy and their subordination
to any foreign power. Do you consider that in 2018,
there has there been any progress on that regard?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> In Venezuela, the
opposition, the opposition bloc, the MUD,
unfortunately has been falling apart, disintegrating.
And I am convinced that the main cause of this
collapse is its dependence on the policies of
Washington and Bogota. It is not a national
opposition, it has no policy based on national
interests, an ideology or a national doctrine. It is
an opposition supported, maintained, and directed - as
if they were remote-controlled drones - from
Washington and Bogota. And that has made them
disintegrate, because they don't think with own heads,
they are unable to make decisions.</p>
<p>Just look at the sad spectacle they gave in the last
process of national dialogue, when the registration of
candidates for the presidential elections of May 20,
2018 was raised. They only attended to the call of the
international forces of American imperialism and the
right. That was regrettable. Because Venezuela needs a
political opposition. I have called them to come and
dialogue hundreds of times.</p>
<p>And I am firm on this: every sector of the opposition
which wants to talk will find me with my arms open,
with an open mind, ready to discuss the future of the
country.</p>
<p>I deeply believe that, sooner rather than later, in
Venezuela a diverse political dialogue with all the
ideological forces of the opposition will be set up. I
have faith in that. And I will work to achieve that
goal, so that, in Venezuela, in 2019, there is a
fruitful political dialogue that would rebuild a real
opposition that our country needs to have peace, to
have peace of mind, as well as to have a diverse
democracy which is what we need.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Several opposition leaders have launched
an international smear campaign against your
government accusing it of holding "political
prisoners." How do you assess these serious
criticisms?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro: </strong>Look, there are
people who, being accused of committing a crime such
as, for example, being involved in coups or attempted
military coups, or even assassination attempts like
that last August 4 that we just spoke about, must be
held to justice. Whether they are political or not.
One must not confuse a politician in prison with a
political prisoner. This is so in Venezuela and in any
country in the world.</p>
<p>Imagine for a moment that a political actor - a
deputy, a mayor, a councillor, a former minister -
attempts to assassinate the President of France, or
launches a coup d'état against the President of Spain,
what would be the legal response that they would
receive from the courts of these nations? Well, in
Venezuela, there is a rule of law which must be
respected by all.</p>
<p>Also, as a result of dialogue with the opposition in
2017, a Truth Commission appointed by the National
Constituent Assembly granted generous commutations of
sentences and benefits for almost all of the accused
who had acted against the Constitution and the law,
since the coup of 2002 until the violent actions - the
"guarimbas" - of 2014 and 2017, with the exception of
those who had committed serious offences, such as
murder or drug trafficking.</p>
<p><strong>IR: There are currently two legislative
assemblies in Venezuela. On the one hand, the
National Assembly that emerged from elections in
2015 and is dominated by the opposition but that the
Supreme Court has declared "in contempt." On the
other hand, the National Constituent Assembly (ANC)
that emerged from the elections of July 30, 2017,
and is dominated by the ruling party but which
several international powers do not recognise. How
do you think that this situation can be resolved?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> Really, they are two
figures of popular representation clearly laid down in
the Constitution and with specific functions which are
also contained in the constitutional text.</p>
<p>On the one hand, the legislative power, which
flagrantly disregarded a ruling of the highest court
of the Republic, forcing this Court to take an action
of constitutional protection. This action by the
Supreme Court will be overcome straight away once the
National Assembly takes corrective measures and
follows the decision of the Supreme Court.</p>
<p>On the other hand, in response to the power of
initiative that the Constitution gives me in its
article 348, I convened the election of the National
Constituent Assembly (ANC) by popular vote, in a
context in which the right had plunged sectors of the
country in a serious, murderous violence with more
than 130 dead, people burned alive due to their skin
color, children who were induced to act with violence
under the influence of drugs... In summary, a very
unfortunate and painful situation. So as it turns out,
the election of the ANC was wise and had a curing
effect. It brought peace to the country.</p>
<p>In identical circumstances, I would do it again. I
can assure you. And the ANC is now complying with the
constitutional function set which is to transform the
State, create a new legal system and write a new
Constitution.<br>
<em>_________________________________________________________</em></p>
<p><strong>Ignacio Ramonet: Well, let's discuss, in the
second part, some economic issues.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Once the scene of political violence was
overcome, the economic battle and in particular the
fight against inflation were seen as the main
national tasks for 2019. What evaluation do you make
of the Plan of Economic Recovery, Growth and
Prosperity launched on August 20 last year? And what
are the prospects for 2019?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro: </strong>I believe that the
main achievement of the Programme of Economic
Recovery, Growth and Prosperity is that we now have a
handle on what is a plan of growth and recovery. We
have the reins for the protection of employment, the
protection of the wages of the workers. We have the
reins for the organized growth of key sectors of the
economy.</p>
<p>And we are in a better position to engage in the
bloody, tough battle against international sanctions
that have made Venezuela lose at least some twenty
billion dollars only during 2018... These are
colossal, multi-billion dollar losses. They pursue our
bank accounts. They prevent us from purchasing any
product in the world: food, medicines, supplies... It
is a wild persecution, a criminal harassment against
Venezuela.</p>
<p>Not to mention the financial blockade, which is more
than a blockade... Because a blockade is, sometimes,
when they want to block you they put a barrier there,
and now you cannot go there... But it is more than a
blockade against us, it is a true persecution... They
chase after our bank accounts, the business dealings
which Venezuela has in the world, our purchases etc…</p>
<p>For example, Euroclear [one of the largest systems of
clearing and settlement of financial stocks in the
world whose headquarters are located in Brussels.] in
2018 kidnapped 1.4 billion Euros which we had put
aside and committed to buy medicines, food and
supplies. And no one gave us an explanation. We have
denounced this at the United Nations, to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. I have
reported it to the various international agencies...
And nobody says anything.</p>
<p>So, we have a struggle to liberate ourselves, to make
ourselves independent from all this persecution and
blockade, and this is only achieved through the
production of wealth.</p>
<p>I'm very determined to raise oil production, to raise
Venezuela’s petrochemical capacity, gold, diamonds,
coltan, iron, steel, aluminum production. These are
abundant goods which Venezuela has and which, despite
international persecution decreed by the United States
of North America, are still raw materials which have
an international market without limitations.</p>
<p>I would add that the attacks against us are constant,
ruthless, and multi-pronged. And they are not just
economic. For example, now, with the end of the year
festivities, dozens of terrorist cells specialized in
electrical sabotage have arrived to Venezuela from
outside. They blow up transformers, cut high voltage
cables, they dynamite power stations... They leave
entire neighborhoods, sometimes entire towns, without
electricity, without power for freezers, industries,
hospitals, transport. They put lives in danger, they
ruined the holidays for thousands of families.</p>
<p>Other groups have infiltrated [Venezuela] with plans
to provoke disruptions in the distribution of water.
They destroy pipelines, sabotage aqueducts, cause
water cuts, they complicate the daily life of hundreds
of families. Other terrorists sabotage our public
transport... Others specialize in making cash
disappear, carrying it en masse to Colombia.</p>
<p>These are criminal acts that we qualify as
"terrorist." Our security forces are deployed
throughout the country and are every more effective.
They have already arrested dozens of these mercenary
commandos. But they keep coming because our enemies’
resources are infinite...</p>
<p>And I must say, admiringly, that the Venezuelan
people have faced all these attacks with a staggering
political consciousness. With the determined support
of our security forces, they are very determined to
resist against such cowardly attacks.</p>
<p>This is why I say that the people of Venezuela are
the victims of fierce persecution that I compared, I
have dared to do so, with the persecution of Hitler
against the Jews, with the permission of the World
Jewish community. They persecute us mercilessly. They
besiege us. They obsessively heckle us from the United
States, with sadism, and they want to do us economic
damage so as to suffocate us, strangle us, beat us.</p>
<p>They haven't managed to achieve this. Nor will they.
And I think that with the Programme of Economic
Recovery, Growth and Prosperity, in 2019 there will be
very positive surprises, the elevation of production
and the creation of wealth for the country and for the
population. Decidedly, our economy will take off
thanks to the control of inflation and the elements
that have been disrupting the life of Venezuelans in
recent years.</p>
<p><strong>IR: </strong>According to our information,
the production of oil from Venezuela is around
1,200,000 barrels per day, i.e. below the optimum
output. What is the real situation of the state-owned
PDVSA petroleum firm?</p>
<p><strong>NM: </strong>We have embarked on a process
of defending international oil prices, and my
government has strived to do just this. One of the
manifestations of the multipronged aggression against
the economies of Russia, Iran and Venezuela - to
mention a few of the big exporters - is the way of
handling dangerous forms of production, the so-called
fracking of shale oil, and the financial speculation
in future contracts, which look to artificially lower
prices.</p>
<p>We try and defend a balanced oil price that favours
both producers and consumers, and we will continue to
act this way in the framework of the agreement of OPEC
[Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] member
countries and non-OPEC members.</p>
<p>About your specific question, I confess: it is true,
Venezuela is producing less oil than it should, and
that has been one of my major concerns. Unfortunately
real mafias have popped up in the bosom of PDVSA.
Wicked corruption which, like a cancer, has undermined
our strength and prevented us from increasing oil
production. We have faced this with force, with
determination.</p>
<p>We have put several corrupt managers and senior
officials who betrayed our trust, their word of
honour, and loyalty to become cheap thieves, at the
disposal of the justice system, and they are being
processed.</p>
<p>I am sure that 2019 will be the year of recovery in
oil production, with the contributions of the honest
PDVSA and private enterprises that, through the
formation of joint ventures and contracts for
services, are already producing and accelerating this
effort.</p>
<p><strong>IR: What you respond you to the international
media that campaign against your government talking
about "chronic shortages" of basic food, “hardship”
in finding vital drugs, and denouncing a
"humanitarian crisis"?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM: </strong>The reality behind the brutal
and infamous psychological and media campaign of the
imperial centers against Venezuela and Venezuelans has
been demonstrated by serious researchers. They want to
break our morale and our unwavering commitment to be
independent and free.</p>
<p>Of all the news published about Venezuela in US and
European media, 98 percent is negative news. 98
percent! Outrageous. They don't tell - as I have
already stated - that six million Venezuelan
households receive at home, almost for free, essential
family food every three weeks. They silence the fact
that we are ensuring food for the people, as they do
for the recognition by multilateral agencies such as
FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations]. They do not mention that, in these festive
weeks, our government has distributed about 14 million
toys to boys and girls from poor families. They are
silent on the fact that we have delivered - you were
witness to a part of this yesterday - two and a half
million social houses. What other country has done
that?</p>
<p>They hide the fact that we are facing a tough
economic war and a blockade promoted by the US empire
and some countries in Europe. They omit indicators
that almost the entire population of Venezuela has
access to free and good quality medical care. There is
not a single corner of Venezuela that is not covered
to by our physicians of the Barrio Adentro mission.
They don't say - as I have also pointed out - that the
entire population has access to free and quality
education from preschool to elementary school to
university and even postgraduate level.</p>
<p>By the way, in 2018 in Venezuela total education
enrolment increased... Don’t you find it strange,
Ramonet, that we have managed to increase enrolment in
this so-called "catastrophic" context which they are
trying to convince the world exists here?</p>
<p>The response to such nonsense has already been
suggested in 2015 by General John Kelly [current Chief
of Staff of President Donald Trump; former Secretary
of Homeland Security. In 2015, he was commander of the
United States Southern Command of the United States]
when he said that Washington "would intervene" in
Venezuela should a "humanitarian crisis" present
itself.</p>
<p>We do not deny the problems that exist in our
country. On the contrary, we confront them, discuss
them with our people and are determined to solve them.
If the United States wanted to help, they could start
by not being hypocritical. They could release the
resources that Euroclear stole from us, 1.4 billion
Euros. They could allow us access to the credit system
of international finance that all the states of the
world can access. And bear in mind that Venezuela is a
good payer. In the first five years of my government,
we paid more than US $ 70 billion [in debts].</p>
<p>Despite our status as good payers, Venezuela is
denied access to international credit, pursued and has
accounts closed in an illegal, abusive, illegitimate,
and unfair way.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Throughout 2018, some international media
outlets have spread images of Venezuelans "fleeing"
their country due to the alleged "economic collapse"
and the "humanitarian crisis." They speak of
"millions of immigrants." And several neighbouring
recipients of this emigration - spurred on by the
United States, the European Union and Canada - are
demanding international aid for the so-called "care
expenses" for those migrants. What reflection does
this phenomena deserve?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM: </strong>This phenomena, as you yourself
observed, has been built, in part, based upon "fake
news" of "alternate truths" and other misinformation
manufactured with the active complicity of various
media conglomerates.</p>
<p>On a minimum reality base - that no one denies,
Ramonet - some working screenwriters have developed an
anti-Chavista narrative for the millions. It is a
gigantic 'false positive' operation coordinated by the
world champions in 'false positives', i.e. the
government of Colombia, who are accompanied as
‘yes-men’ by some satellite countries of imperialism.</p>
<p>It's a good sad story. It sounds regrettable. On the
one hand these magicians tricked a group of
Venezuelans, whose number - I take this opportunity to
denounce - never reached, even remotely, the figures
big media outlets have repeated a thousand times in a
deceitful way. We, I insist, do not deny that a group
of Venezuelans left the country swallowing that
deceitful offer of "better conditions of life and
work."</p>
<p>It was an unusual group of people, to put it that
way, because those who left did so with money in their
pockets, a thousand, even ten thousand dollars;
another group left with twenty thousand dollars, or
even larger amounts... And they went to Peru,
Colombia, Ecuador, Chile. And there they were met with
the brutal reality of the wild capitalism, of
xenophobia, racial hatred... Many had the money stolen
from them, others were mistreated, harassed, or
subjected to slave work.</p>
<p>In parallel, the propagandists constructed the false
story of "mass migration" and the "humanitarian
crisis." Stating frankly absurd things, blatant
lies... They came to repeat, for example, that a
million Venezuelans entered Ecuador each month... I
did a little exercise of arithmetic, Ramonet: do you
how many buses are needed daily to move that amount of
people to Ecuador? Eight hundred daily trips! Can you
imagine eight hundred buses going daily to Quito?
Where are the photographs showing that these million
people? The world has seen thousands of migrants
walking toward the United States from Honduras. We all
saw a huge march. Yet, however, this was only
something like eight or nine thousand people... Can
you imagine a column of 100,000 migrants? A column of
eight hundred buses collapsing the streets of Quito
daily?</p>
<p>It is incredible that people who can think for
themselves have believed lies of such a caliber. But
that is precisely the purpose of the "false positive"
and of the "fake news": to sow lies so that they
impose themselves over reasoning and truth.</p>
<p>In addition, the government of Colombia and its
President Iván Duque, in a shameless move, are trying
to get money out of the operation. It's amazing! Isn’t
it? Money that, surely, will be lost, stolen... There
are still those who are asking, in the United States
Congress, what the government of Colombia did with the
US $72 billion Washington gave them to "fight
drugs"... What did they do with those billions? I can
tell you for sure: they stole it.</p>
<p>Colombia remains the number one producer of cocaine
in the world, and illicit crops have done nothing but
increase. It is incredible that President Duque is
looking to defraud the international community and the
multilateral system with the nonsense that he himself
invented. He could begin to deal with, for example,
his own citizens, the Colombians, who already
repudiate him amply only a little more than 100 days
after taking office.</p>
<p>He could deal with, for example, the Colombians
living in Venezuela. Did you know that here, in our
country, we have received around six million sisters
and brothers from Colombia? They constitute 12 percent
of the population of Colombia, but they live in
Venezuela! And here we have given them security, work,
food, education, free medical care and above all,
peace, we have guaranteed their right to a dignified
life. It never occurred us to ask anyone for a penny
to cater for the millions of Colombian, Peruvian,
Ecuadorian, Chilean, Brazilian, Spanish, Portuguese,
Italian, Lebanese brothers and sisters who have come
to this Venezuelan homeland. Here we receive them with
open arms.</p>
<p>Finally, all this tall story about "mass migration"
has already fallen apart. The mask has fallen off...
And something even more unusual has happened. I do not
remember this happening anywhere else: in mid-2018,
large numbers of our compatriots began to queue at the
doors of our embassies and consulates in Peru,
Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, etc. Compatriots clamoring
to return to Venezuela. Fed up with racism,
xenophobia, scams, the precariousness of the poor, the
working life of a slave...</p>
<p>This was when we came up with the “Return to the
Homeland" plan... More than twenty thousand
Venezuelans have returned already. And we will
continue facilitating the return of all those who wish
to do so. Here we expect them to go on to building our
beautiful homeland together.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Several Latin American governments, left
and right, have recently been accused of being
involved in major corruption patterns linked in
particular to the "Odebrecht" case. In your opinion,
what is the level of corruption in Venezuela? What
measures has your government taken to fight this
corruption?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM: </strong>Listen well to what I'm going
to say, Ramonet: there is, in the history of
Venezuela, no process nor government that has fought
corruption in its structural character with greater
rigour than the Bolivarian Revolution and the
governments of Hugo Chávez and mine. I am aware that
one of the lines of attack of our opponents consists
in accusing us of laxity with regard to corruption. It
is absolutely false.</p>
<p>I denounced corruption in virtually every one of my
speeches. You have heard me, only yesterday... I am
the first to recognise that there is much corruption,
there are many bandits out there, in public offices,
stealing, cheating and taking advantage of the people.
I have denounced it with greater severity again
recently, last December 20, in the Bolivarian Peoples
Congress where I proposed the creation of a plan for
the fight against corruption and bureaucracy. This has
never been addressed in Venezuela.</p>
<p>But these are not just words or speeches, Ramonet.
With the tools of justice and of the state, we have
undertaken a genuine crusade against corruption and
indolence.</p>
<p>And we have gotten the Attorney General to process
and imprison dozens and dozens of senior public
officials and high-level representatives of private
companies that dishonored their oath of loyalty,
honesty and that violated the laws of the Republic. To
point out only the oil sector, for example, more than
40 senior managers of PDVSA and Citgo [Citgo Petroleum
Corporation] are in prison for acts of corruption
against the Republic, and even a former president of
PDVSA is on the run from our justice for serious acts
of corruption.</p>
<p>So I doubt that there is any government in the world
that confronts corruption more aggressively and
diligently as we are doing. In fact, for 2019, I've
defined three basic lines of action of the revolution
and of my government in its new beginning. First of
all, the preservation of the peace of the Republic,
with strict adherence to the constitution, and
safeguarding of the peace from internal or external
threats. Secondly, the consolidation of the economic
recovery programme to finally defeat, in the first
half of 2019, the criminally induced inflation and
strengthen the productive system of our country.</p>
<p>And thirdly, precisely: a tireless struggle against
indolence, negligence, laziness, and above all
corruption. I have asked for all the support of the
people in this crusade. And I am counting on their
strength and collaboration to accompany me. This is a
highly popular cause, deeply supported by the
population. People know that corruption is their
enemy, an enemy in the shadows and an enemy of the
revolution. We will eradicate it. We'll make it
happen. You will see. We will defeat the indolence of
the officials who don't fulfill their duties. And we
will deepen the battle against corruption. Be it where
it may. He or she who has to fall, must fall.</p>
<p><em>Translation by Ricardo Vaz and Paul Dobson for
Venezuelanalysis.com.</em><br>
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<p><strong>Ignacio Ramonet: For this final
section, let us look at international
issues. In these past six years, several
Latin American countries have witnessed
a resurgence of the neoliberal
right-wing. In your opinion, is this
conservative surge – confirmed by the
recent victory of Jair Bolsonaro – a
lasting trend or merely a temporary
crisis?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Nicolás Maduro:</strong> Well,
Latin America is a terrain of struggle,
and, with the Monroe Doctrine, is embraced
by the current US administration. As
background, there has been a brutal
offensive against popular movements,
against these alternative leaderships
which, ever since the 1990s, tackled and
dismantled neoliberalism in Latin America.
Let us recall, for example, President Lula
da Silva in Brazil, former President
Cristina Fernández in Argentina among
others. There has been a persecution of
these leaders which has created the
coming-to-power of governments and leaders
very far to the right.</p>
<p>There has been, certainly, a regressive
cycle in what concerns social
achievements, reversing the advances made
under the progressive leaderships which
were very diverse. We feel not only the
impact of these policies on the peoples,
but also in processes of privatization. In
Brazil, for example, after the destitution
of Dilma Rousseff, there have been
privatizations of oil, public services,
electricity, water, etc. They have
privatized everything overnight. Now with
the arrival of the far-right neofascist
government of <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14121">Jair
Bolsonaro</a>, they will be handing over
Brazil, and what it represents in Latin
America, to US multinational corporations
on a silver platter. It really is a sad
process of regression.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Along the same lines, with
the electoral victory of Andrés Manuel
López Obrador in Mexico, do you envision
a possibility for the popular forces to
return to power in Latin America.</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM:</strong> Along the lines of
what I was saying before, I should add
that this entire process of regression
boosts and stimulates – inadvertently –
the forces that fight against it. It is
like the physical principle of action and
reaction.</p>
<p>Therefore, we witness that, alongside
this major regression, in many countries
currently governed by neoliberal forces,
the capacity for action of social and
popular movements in the cities and in the
countryside is getting stronger. Examples
include the Homeless Workers’ Movement,
the Landless Workers’ Movement [both from
Brazil], as well as student, feminist,
Afro-descendant, sexually diverse
movements.</p>
<p>There is a powerful resurgence which
reminds me of the emergence of formidable
popular movements that fought against the
ALCA [Americas Free Trade Deal] in the
1990s. At the time, these resistance
movements did not have a prospect of
achieving political power. Then, in
Venezuela, along came the Bolivarian
Revolution. This victory by Chávez [in
1998] convinced the resistance movements
against ALCA that winning political power
was possible. It had been so in Venezuela,
and then in 1999 with the constitutional
referendum.</p>
<p>These two victories blew new wind into
the sails of social struggle in Latin
America. They paved the way for the
upcoming electoral triumphs of popular
governments of Lula in Brazil, Néstor
Kirchner in Argentina, Fernando Lugo in
Paraguay, the Frente Amplio in Uruguay,
Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Evo Morales in
Bolivia, the FSLN and commander Daniel
Ortega in Nicaragua, Michelle Bachelet and
the Concertación in Chile, Manuel Zelaya
in Honduras, Salvador Sánchez Cerén and
the FMLN in El Salvador…</p>
<p>This sparkle of popular forces allowed
Latin America and the Caribbean to play,
in the early XXI century, a central role
in global geopolitics and in the global
left. Today, paradoxically, the situation
is similar. There have been setbacks due
to, most of the time, merciless attacks
and coups from the opponents of progress
and social justice, but popular forces
throughout the continent are once more
ready for battle, and new electoral,
democratic successes will not be far off.</p>
<p><strong>IR: Recently you made two visits
to important partners, one to Beijing in
September and another to Moscow in
December. What were your conclusions
from these two trips to China and
Russia, two of the main world
superpowers and strong allies of the
Bolivarian Revolution?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM:</strong> From the beginning
of our Revolution, Commander Chávez was
very dedicated to consolidating relations
based on respect and friendship with all
the peoples of the world, and in
accordance to what he called “strategic
alliances” for a planet different from the
one imposed by imperial powers. Then, with
his prodigious political creativity, and
in close cahoots with [Cuban President]
Fidel Castro, Chávez moved towards the
creation of ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance of
the Peoples of Our America], UNASUR [Union
of South American Nations], Petrocaribe,
TeleSUR, CELAC [Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States]… All of
this was part of a wide ranging effort
towards Latin American integration.</p>
<p>The relationship between Caracas and both
China and Russia, two economic and
military giants, was also directly
nourished by Chávez and his counterparts
to get to where we are today.</p>
<p>I should tell you that with Beijing and
Moscow we have more than a relationship of
partners, we have a relationship of true
brotherhood between our governments and
peoples. The same occurs with some Arab
countries, Iran, African countries and
others in the Far East.</p>
<p>I served as Chávez’s foreign minister for
over six years and I can testify to his
efforts towards the construction of a
“multipolar and multicentred world.” These
days, with the brutal aggression from the
US empire and its allies against us, we
take note of the results of the
relationships that Chávez set up and
nurtured.</p>
<p>Let me remind you that Venezuela
currently presides the Non-Aligned
Movement, which is the most important
organization of states after the United
Nations. On the other hand, by the time
this interview is published, on January 1,
we will assume the presidency of OPEC in
Vienna. During these recent <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14175">trips
</a>of mine to Russia and China that you
mentioned, we had high level discussions
about our economic, political, military
and cultural relations with two of the
main world superpowers.</p>
<p>With Turkey we also share ties of true
friendship, between the government of
President Erdogan and mine, and there is
even – I confess – a true personal
friendship between myself and the Turkish
leader. Never before had Venezuela managed
to have such important economic and
commercial ties, so diverse and
favourable, with a historical power like
Turkey.</p>
<p>Nowadays Venezuela is not alone. On the
contrary, it is our aggressors that are
ever more isolated, while our relations
with the whole world get stronger and more
diverse.</p>
<p><strong>IR: January 1 2019 will be the
60th anniversary of the triumph of the
Cuban Revolution. In your opinion, what
is the importance that this Revolution
had and still has in Latin America?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM:</strong> The <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14199">Cuban
Revolution</a> was a watershed moment in
the second half of the XX century. It
represented and still represents a
fundamental reference point for all the
peoples struggling for freedom, for
dignity, for sovereignty, for justice and
for socialism. Many generations of
revolutionaries – including mine, the
youth of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – saw
the feats of Fidel, Raúl, Camilo and Che
as a beacon that guided our hopes during
the long neocolonial night that engulfed
our continent for over a century.</p>
<p>This small country faced up to the most
brutal empire that humanity has ever seen,
resisted and still resists against the
aggressions of its northern neighbour and
its lackeys. A country that made dreams of
redemption, equality, solidarity, of an
historic construction of socialism, came
to exist. It drove many young people to
the streets to struggle with renewed hope.</p>
<p>It is a Revolution that has defended and
supported Latin American unity, this dream
of Simón Bolívar and José Martí. A dreamed
unity – without forgetting Puerto Rico and
the Malvinas – that the pliant oligarchies
of our continent so fear. Cuba has been an
example of international solidarity. How
many lives have Cuban doctors saved around
the world?</p>
<p>I celebrate this 60th anniversary of the
Cuban Revolution. And I am thankful for so
many long nights talking to Fidel, hearing
his words full of wisdom, of searching for
ideas and putting them into practice.
Always striving to do good. I also thank
Hugo Chávez as he, alongside Fidel and
Raúl, built a new dignified beginning for
Latin America.</p>
<p><strong>IR: December 6 2018 was the 20th
anniversary of Chávez’s first electoral
victory. To conclude, I would like to
ask you the following: if you had the
chance to talk to Chávez about your own
experience of almost six years
governing, what would you tell him?</strong></p>
<p><strong>NM:</strong> There are so many
occasions, in the midst of battles, when
reflecting on things in the middle of the
night after a hard day’s work, that I ask
myself: “What would Chávez have done?”
“How would he have approached this or that
issue?” We had so many intimate
conversations, so many memories…</p>
<p>Fortunately, and of this I am sure,
Chávez established a constant pedagogical
work with us, his closest circle, a
training on the immense difficulties
involved in the construction of a
revolutionary project: its challenges,
obstacles, unexpected turns… the attacks,
threats, betrayals… This taught us,
trained us, forged us.</p>
<p>Chávez predicted many of the events we
are currently living through. He put us on
guard. Some of the last concerns he shared
with us concerned what he envisioned as
the “economic war” – the phrase is his –
that the enemy would launch against us, a
new kind of aggression, a multi-pronged
one at that, against our people. He was
also very concerned that oil production
was declining.</p>
<p>Therefore, the profound sorrow that his
departure provoked is in a way compensated
by the immense advice he left us. And we
never forget it. So many examples of
strength and loyalty to the Bolivarian
ideals. This “beautiful revolution” he
dreamed of, with democracy and freedom,
free from illiteracy, with multiplied art
and culture, healthcare for everyone, full
employment, peace, joy, progress,
prosperity and love. When I think of how
cruelly he was attacked for having this
beautiful dream… Just like I am attacked
today, with even more fury, if that is
even possible, for having the same dream,
wanting to do good and spread joy…</p>
<p>That is why I invoke Chávez every day. I
need him, I claim him, I resort to him,
and like in that verse by Spanish poet
Miguel Hernández, I tell him: “We have to
talk about many things, compañero.”</p>
<p><em>Translation by Ricardo Vaz and Paul
Dobson for Venezuelanalysis.com</em></p>
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