Argentina: Wednesday, February 27, the left marches against imperialist intervention in Venezuela

This Tuesday, the parties that integrate the Frente de Izquierda (PTS, Partido Obrero and Izquierda Socialista), our party, the MST, and the Nuevo MAS, met to agree on the organization of an important mobilization next Wednesday to the United States embassy in Buenos Aires, to denounce the policies of imperialist aggression and interference against Venezuela, and reject the U.S. puppet Guaido. Our denunciation and anti-imperialist march holds a position independent and critical of Maduro´s government.

The mobilization will begin with a concentration in Plaza Italia at 6 p.m. And will march from there to the diplomatic headquarters of U.S. imperialism. The common call is based on a joint statement of the FIT, the MST and the MAS.

The statement is reproduced below:

The Frente de Izquierda, the MST y the Nuevo MAS call for a mobilization to the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires to denounce the coup attempt in Venezuela and the self-proclamation as president of Juan Guaido, blessed by Trump and his agents in Latin America -the Bolsonaros, Macris and Piñeras.

This imperialist interventionism seeks to justify itself in the name of “democracy” and “human rights”. But those who command it are historic advocates of coups and the subjugation of all the peoples of the world, with U.S. imperialism in the first place.

The same can be said of the ultra-reactionary Bolsonaro, who vindicates the Brazilian dictatorship, or the right-wing Macri, who promotes a repressive escalation in Argentina and forms part of a political current that has supported every military coup in Argentina.

We repudiate president Macri´s recognition of the pseudo-president Guaido and his representative in Argentina. We demand the withdrawal of Argentina from the Lima Group, imperialism´s battering ram in the region.

We denounce the brutal economic blockade that imperialism has imposed on Venezuela by freezing its assets in the United States, as well as the declared threat of recurring to a military invasion to secure the objectives of the coup.

At the same time, we also point out the just as pro-coup interventionism of those who seek those same objectives through a supposed “mediation” or “dialogue”, whose presupposition is sustaining the economic blackmailing of Venezuela. This is the case of the Montevideo Group, driven by the European Union.

In Argentina, the Massas, Pichettos, Urtubeys, grouped in Alternativa Federal, have joined the pro-coup crusade against Venezuela. While Cristina Kirchner remains silent on the issue, her parliamentary block has joined the policy of false “mediation” imposed by the European Union and the Vatican.

Our rejection of the imperialist coup does not imply any political support for the Bolivarian regime, which is responsible for having driven the Venezuelan people into a trap. Chavism established a regime of personal power and state control of popular organizations, with the Armed Forces as its principal support. Chavism did not alter the relations of property and, when the world crisis provoked the fall of the price of oil, it did not waver in transferring the cost of the crisis to the masses with devaluations and price hikes.

The Venezuelan government has driven wages down to 6 dollars a month and provoked a social catastrophe and millions of refugees. It rules through pacts with multinationals (mixed enterprises in oil and mining), in favor of large national business owners and the so-called military and civil “bolibourgeoisie”, and pays the external debt punctually. The Maduro government has also eliminated the enforcement of collectively bargained work contracts, which motivated the strike wave of the end of last year.

The pro-Yankee opposition is mounted on popular discontent, but, if it prevails, it will only submit the people to new deprivations and a recolonization of the whole economy.

The alternative is workers´ and peoples´ mobilization against the austerity plans, expelling the ruling bureaucracy from the unions to conquer the independence of working-class organizations and the establishment of a real workers´ and peoples´ government.

Starting from this common comprehension, we call to mobilize in Argentina and the entire continent against the coup attempt and any kind of imperialist interference, and propose a workers´ emergency program:

  • No to the payment of the fraudulent external debt and compulsory repatriation of capital.
  • No to mixed enterprises, 100% state owned oil under workers´ control.
  • Confiscation of assets of those who have looted the country, to use those resources to meet the urgent needs of the people and the country.
  • Integral respect of collectively bargained work contracts and wages equal to the cost of living, indexed to inflation.
  • Control of prices by workers and communities, with elected delegates.
  • Workers´ control of production and distribution, without government of military bureaucrats. Rehiring of all laid-off workers.
  • No lay-offs in the public and private sectors, occupation and production under workers´ control -without soldiers or bureaucrats- of any company that lays off workers or threatens to close.
  • Liberty of workers imprisoned for fighting for their rights and annulment of charges against workers, peasants and all those charged for protesting.

With this position, we call to mobilize to the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires against this coup attempt.

Imperialism out of Venezuela and Latin America!

We fight for a workers´ political solution for Venezuela and the socialist unity of Latin America.