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Venezuela, a Beacon Against Fascism: A Conversation with Javier Couso

A keynote speaker in the recent World Congress Against Fascism held in Caracas discusses the fascist attacks against Venezuela.

In early September, more than 300 intellectuals, politicians, and grassroots leaders from 90 countries gathered in Caracas for the World Congress Against Fascism. One of the keynote speakers was Javier Couso, a Spanish politician and writer who has been solidarious with Venezuela’s Bolivarian Process since its early days. In this interview, Couso talks about Europe and the fascist tendencies that play a key role in the efforts to destabilize the Caribbean country. 

In light of recent events in Venezuela, it’s important to reflect on fascism. Can you share your thoughts with us?

Venezuela today is a beacon in the worldwide struggle for sovereignty, true independence, and true democracy, and also in the fight against fascism. Venezuela resists the so-called liberal democracies that act in fascist ways, particularly towards the Global South. I’m specifically referring to the United States and other Western powers, which have systematically attempted to overthrow Venezuela’s democratically elected governments over the past 25 years.

In the global battle against fascism, the recent Congress Against Fascism in Caracas was very important. Hundreds of intellectuals, politicians, and grassroots leaders from all continents gathered to analyze and reassess the meaning of fascism today. The Congress also laid the groundwork for a true Anti-fascist International.

Reflecting on fascism is relevant today not only because of Venezuela’s situation but also because of the global one. In the congress, I mentioned that “fascism” can’t be used to refer to anything and everything, but it is crucial to recognize that liberal democracies like those in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union use fascist methods to defend their interests.

I was born during the Franco dictatorship, a classic national Catholic dictatorship. Even though it was in its final years, I experienced life under fascism firsthand. I also grew up in a world shaped by the memory of World War II, which claimed over 50 million lives in Europe alone.

But we must also remember what liberal democracies did afterward. In Korea, for instance, there were up to 6 million dead; in Vietnam, 4 million; millions more died in Africa’s decolonization struggles, in the Pan-Arab and Arab sovereignty wars, and especially in the fight against the neocolonial Zionist project known as Israel. And, of course, we can’t forget the Latin American dictatorships. All this was supported by Western democracies. 

As it turns out, liberal democracies today retain elements of fascism, especially since the Reagan and Thatcher years, but they are not identical to historical fascism, which was anti-liberal, anti-Anglo, antisemitic, anti-communist, and statist.

By contrast, the current version of fascism supports the Anglo-American empire and is Zionist. It seeks to dismantle the state while preserving the state apparatus to protect national oligarchies via social control and repression. Finally, in its current variant, fascism remains fiercely Russophobic and anticommunist, just as before. 

The old forms of fascism haven’t been totally dismantled, however. In Europe, you can see old-style fascism operating in Ukraine. Since the 2014 US-backed coup, Nazi-inspired Ukrainian nationalism has been deployed in the proxy war against Russia. Ukraine’s nationalism is a direct descendant of World War II-era fascism, of those who collaborated with the Nazis and were responsible for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Slavs, Jews, homosexuals, and others. Violent anti-Slavic and Russophobic sentiments persist in Ukraine. Interestingly, liberal democracies now use this nationalist movement as a spearhead. 

The current version of fascism retains, however, some characteristics of historical fascism. It is important to understand how fascism morphed to adapt to the current geopolitical landscape.

The World Congress Against Fascism was held in Caracas on September 11, 12 and 13. (MinCI)

Over the last 25 years, we’ve seen clear fascist aggressions against the Bolivarian Process, including a fascist discourse and paramilitary attacks. However, the 2024 presidential elections were the first with an outright fascist candidate. After the election, the European Parliament passed a resolution declaring that candidate, Edmundo González, as Venezuela’s “legitimate and democratically elected president.” The resolution passed with support from the right-wing European People’s Party block [EPP] and overtly fascist forces such as Alternative für Deutschland. How do the different European political tendencies position themselves in relation to Venezuela?

Every force that has tried to violently overthrow Venezuela’s democratically elected government bears the marks of the new fascism. Clear expressions of these fascistoid tendencies are the EU’s military subordination to the US through NATO and the extreme far-right ideas that have representation in many European countries. But this fascist current is not limited to Europe: it operates on both sides of the Atlantic. The opposition to the Cuban and Bolivarian revolutions, with the main poles being Miami and Madrid, is another expression of it. 

This Miami-Madrid ultra-right axis has evolved over time, receiving generous financial support to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution. María Corina Machado, who is aligned with Spain’s far-right VOX party and leaders like Giorgia Meloni in Italy and Javier Milei in Argentina, is the Venezuelan embodiment of its radical, ultra-liberal ideology. 

While these three figures aren’t identical, they do share important traits: xenophobia and racism, support for US imperialism, military interventionism, and pro-Zionism. There are some variations, though, when you look at the fascist landscape in Europe: Alternative für Deutschland doesn’t support Germany’s participation in the war against Russia, while other ultra-right forces are totally Russofobic.

Nevertheless, all these far-right forces came together to support the so-called victory of González in the European Parliament, which should come as no surprise.

How important is the European Parliament when it comes to criminalizing Venezuela in public opinion? 

I served in the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019, and what I learned is that it’s little more than an echo chamber for the empire’s interests. The Parliament has almost no legislative power, only approving or rejecting the EU budget. Real power lies with the unelected European Commission and the European Central Bank, which is said to operate independently but is deeply tied to the interests of capital. This means citizens have no control over the highest authorities in Europe.

The European Parliament’s role is largely symbolic, shaping public opinion and influencing power structures that remain hidden from the public. I saw this clearly during the war against Libya. The Parliament passed resolutions that rallied media support for the invasion, leading to the destruction of a country that once had Africa’s highest Human Development Index. Today, Libya is a failed state where slavery has resurfaced. The same tactics were used to support the Maidan coup in Ukraine, which sparked a devastating war – the most destructive in Europe since World War II. It’s a proxy war, with NATO using Ukraine against Russia in a situation that could easily escalate into a nuclear conflict.

Venezuela has been treated similarly. From 2014 to 2019, I witnessed the European Parliament issue nearly 30 resolutions and statements against Venezuela. These resolutions had no real power but served as media fodder, creating headlines, endless TV coverage, and social media trends.

At first, it was the EPP and later VOX pushing these resolutions, with other far-right European parties joining in. Over time, however, even liberals and social democrats openly supported the coup attempts. In the most recent vote, the European Socialist group largely voted to recognize González. The vote was mostly symbolic, since the EU itself hasn’t recognized him. However, it does have an impact.

The EU has refrained from recognizing González, because it remembers the disaster of having propped up Juan Guaidó in 2019 – another figure who claimed to be the legitimate president without having been elected. The EU recognizes that there was diplomatic, economic, and political fallout from that mistake.

What the European Parliament did recently is nothing more than political theater designed to manipulate public opinion against Venezuela; it has no tangible political consequences for now, but it is hurtful.

I realized all of this when I returned to Spain after serving as an electoral observer in the July 28 elections. The news I watch here presents Venezuela as a world of chaos, with long lines, unrest, and repression. But what I saw in Caracas and around the country was quite the opposite. I saw that there was stability and that there was gradual economic recovery; the country faces challenges but is moving forward. 

The media portrayal in the Spanish state is a total distortion of reality. We’re witnessing a psychological operation – a propaganda war, with NATO and its allies engaging in cognitive warfare to shape perceptions and construct false realities.

Thankfully, these manipulations are being overcome by the real course of events. In the end, the efforts to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution have failed, thanks to the resilience of the Venezuelan people and their government.

What is the influence of María Corina Machado and Venezuela’s ultra-right in Europe’s political landscape?

María Corina Machado is a product of US soft power factories. She harbors a deep hatred for her own country. She even advocated for an economic war against Venezuela through illegal unilateral sanctions while being fully aware of the suffering they cause. More astonishingly, she has called for a foreign invasion of Venezuela, but somehow the liberal media seems to have forgotten this fact.

In Europe, and particularly in Spain, Venezuela has become a domestic political tool of the right and the far-right. After more than 20 years of media demonization, Venezuela is now used to score political points. If we compare them, we see that the Spanish and Venezuelan far-right factions are practically identical. Interestingly, however, social democrats have also been tacitly supporting Venezuela’s far-right. Yet, the far-right is incapable of acknowledging the support it receives from figures like Pedro Sánchez, who has protected criminal Venezuelan leaders.

I was reflecting on this while thinking about Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro. After the July 28 elections, both refused to recognize Venezuela’s institutions, perhaps believing this would curry them favor with the United States and the extremist factions in their own countries. In fact, they are doing just the opposite: they are making themselves weaker. It’s very unfortunate to see the premises of the US empire and the far-right being adopted by supposedly progressive leaders. This is very troubling.

The far-right went out to the streets on July 29. (NYTimes)

You attended the World Congress Against Fascism in Caracas and served as an electoral observer on July 28, and also lived some time in Venezuela years ago. As a political analyst, what do you think the government and the people of Venezuela have done right in the struggle against fascism, and what do you see as pending tasks?

When we think about what is to be done, one key task is to continue educating Venezuelan society to resist the coordinated spread of hatred through social media. This hatred is being systematically applied to fracture the society and provoke civil conflict. Preventing such a fracture is a critical task.

So far, the Venezuelan people and their government have managed to avoid this scenario. This is partly because of the failure of Edmundo González and María Corina Machado to gain widespread support within their ranks. Many were horrified by the events of July 28, 29, and 30, which left 27 people dead – most of them Chavistas or members of Venezuela’s security forces. 

Reflecting on the events, the anti-fascist law currently under discussion in Venezuela’s National Assembly is another critical step. This legislation aims to provide citizens with the tools to understand the situation and defend themselves against psychological operations and cognitive warfare.

The restraint demonstrated by the Chavista movement has also been important. Despite being provoked, Chavismo has remained calm, placing trust in its political leadership and avoiding direct confrontation. 

It is very commendable the way that the government swiftly extinguished what was essentially a planned terrorist insurrection designed to ignite civil conflict. In just 48 hours, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, the National Guard, and other security agencies dismantled the uprising, preventing further attacks on vital infrastructure and strategic sectors. The Venezuelan government demonstrated restraint and unity, which was critical in countering external intervention and efforts to portray Venezuela as a chaotic state.

That said, the state must deepen its role in this struggle. Why do I say this? Because it is the only entity with the power to confront the oligopolistic mafias that dominate platforms like Meta [formerly Facebook] and other media outlets. These corporations operate outside state authority, promoting private agendas aligned with imperial interests, particularly those of global capital. 

Venezuela’s significance on the world stage stems from its vast natural resources, including oil and, more recently, gas. Other raw materials are also at stake in this broader struggle between multipolarity and the US empire. The United States is determined to appropriate Venezuela’s resources, and it’s clear that these efforts will persist.

Venezuela’s potential integration into BRICS and the bloc’s creation of a new currency backed by natural resources could have monumental consequences. If Venezuela’s oil, gold, gas, and rare earth elements were incorporated into an international trading currency, it could challenge the hegemony of the dollar, which currently allows the US to remain the world’s most indebted nation while continuing to print money without consequences.

Finally, could you offer some closing reflections on the anti-fascist struggle from the perspective of an internationalist committed to the Bolivarian Process?

For those of us committed to the Bolivarian Revolution, it’s essential to stay vigilant. I firmly believe that the Venezuelan people and their government are handling the fight against fascism with great intelligence. We saw this during the elections when the ultra-right attempted something reminiscent of Ukraine’s Maidan Square. It deployed fascist squads – the so-called “comanditos” – in an attempt to seize the country on July 29. It was a mixture of mobs and military or paramilitary leadership designed to wreak havoc and destruction. By provoking civil unrest and widespread conflict, they hoped to weaken the government and present Venezuela as a failed state.

This is not a new tactic. We saw a similar playbook in 2002, when snipers opened fire on both pro- and anti-government demonstrators in Caracas, thus preparing the ground for a coup against Hugo Chávez. It’s the same script later followed in Maidan Square in 2014.

Given these circumstances, anyone who stands against fascism and supports sovereignty must understand what’s happening in Venezuela. All anti-fascists need to firmly oppose the ultra-right’s plot to overthrow a democratically elected government.