On behalf of the House of the Dream Weavers, a network which brings together social organizations and communal councils in Santa Elena, Merida state, we are announcing our position in relation to the scenes of chaos, coup-attempts and fascist violence that are palpable in Venezuelan society and which constitute another horrendous chapter in the constant attacks against the Bolivarian Revolution and Venezuelan society as a whole.
We reject the acts of violence schemed up and carried out by actors of the fascist right-wing, who have acquired their own characteristic variations of paramilitary terrorism to impose a dictatorship of fear, submitting Venezuelan society to the disgrace that is the systematic disrespect of the rights of others, both of people and communities.
We reject the revival of the guarimbas as an alleged strategy of struggle. This strategy is driven by hatred, intolerance, indiscriminate violence and the use of force amongst brothers. The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), in alliance with the Organization of American States (OAS) and the proto-fascist government of the United States, have come together in a underhanded pact against Chavismo as a political horizon. In this scramble for political control and Venezuelan resources, they have resorted to strategies such as the fabrication of national disturbances, death and chaos, as part of their attempt to legitimize intervention against Venezuela, disturbing the peace and tranquility that the majority of the national community aspires to.
We oppose the death count and the destruction that the terrorism of the right-wing has left in its wake. We reject it emphatically and without restrictions. The MUD, the benefactors of this politics of chaos, needs blood and death to legitimize its supposed struggle, which is not peaceful and much less democratic. We announce our position against this budding terrorism which is claiming more and more lives throughout Venezuela’s territory.
Unfortunately for the Merida community, blood has run once again amidst this tornado of bullets spat-out by the gendarmerie of hatred. On the 24th of April this year, two lives were snuffed out by actors blinded by intolerance and unrestraint. They were the comrades Jesús Leonardo Sulbarán and Luis Márquez, who were shot dead by sniper fire by killers coopted by the coup-makers. These two people were killed along with others who were wounded in an uproar of blood and fire, where the bullets were directed at taking away lives, hope, dreams and the struggle for a possible socialist world. These were not stray bullets, they were bullets aimed at Chavistas brothers.
We want to especially emphasize the death of our comrade Jesús Sulbarán, who was a father to a family, a worker in local government, a criminologist, a member of the Venezuelan Federation of Criminologists, and a caring comrade who was close to our network of emancipatory dreams. He was a son of Santa Elena and a beloved member of this community.
In the midst of the violence unleashed, these actions that are characteristic of a civil war in its infancy promoted by the fascist right-wing, has unleashed emotions once again for the families in Merida who are mourning their lost sons (in the guarimbas of 2014). Once again, mourning has returned to our homes and a black cloud of sadness hangs over our houses. The promoters of this political violence have tried to detonate through these acts a reaction or explosion from Chavismo, and in this way to intensify the violent spiral and to increase the death count. We will not allow it.
In these unfortunate hours, our call should be to our own consciences. To stand firm to a legacy of peace, to harmony and good sense, to not fall in the enemy’s trap. The victory of Chavismo and the majority of good people in Venezuela is peace. Peace as a victory, in the face of the blackmail of murderers, terrorists, and criminals.
It is necessary to adhere to the consciousness expressed in original and spiritual Chavismo. To call on our intelligence and to love, as the poet Mario Benedetti would say, in our own defense, in these times when hate is out of control. May our rage and indignation become a creative force, a revolutionary impetus to work towards building a possible horizon, that of a new society, one in which the peaceful Venezuelan people can be increasingly freer, prosperous, and in solidarity.
We declare ourselves defenders of the true change, that of a free, empowered, organised, constructive, and socialist Venezuela. It would be nothing new in our historic times for power to be returned to the economic elite, which held national political power for more than two centuries. From this comes our deepest commitment to the idea of popular organization as a necessary horizon to build something new, socialism. For these and other causes, Jesús Sulbarán, lost his life on Monday, April 24th. This is why we recognize him as a brother fallen in combat. This is why we remember him and will remember him in our struggles.
To Jesús Sulbarán’s nearest friends and family, and those of Luis Márquez, we send out solidarity and affection. May these unfortunate hours be of use to you to gather together and find the necessary strength and knowledge in family to overcome these circumstances. There are no words we can say to calm the pain that hangs over you, but take heed that those blows fall upon all of us and are a sign of the tragedy of these times, times in which those who die for life are those who have taken to the streets in its defense.
To the entire community of Merida and the national community of Venezuela, to our friends in the world who are watching, we send a strong and clear message: there are people resisting in Venezuela, and it is the Chavista people struggling for their homeland against the gendarmerie of hatred. We will not allow our destiny to be snatched away. History will be made by those of us who were born from the womb of this people and we will continue to struggle, for the recognition of that possible horizon.
From the House of the Dream Weavers, we make a call to dry our eyes and stand firm. Firm. Follow the example of father Chavezand his children, who never shirked even one day, and gave their whole lives for our right to history, for our right to revolution.
- The Foundation of the House of Emancipatory Dream Weavers, Eulogio Paredes “The Sewing Man”
- The Communications Solidarity Exchange Group “The Sewing Man”
- Communal Council Santa Elena
- Communal Council Maestro Heriberto
- Communal Council Bellavista
- The Robert Serra Youth Brigade for the Homeland in Santa Elena
- Local Committee for Food and Production Nicolas Maduro
- Local Committee for Food and Production Eulogio Parades
- The Bicentennial Commune House of the Weavers
- The Bicentennial Commune House September 16th
Translated by Rachael Boothroyd-Rojas for Venezuelanalysis.com.
