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Venezuelan Masses Takeover Caracas in Defense of the Bolivarian Revolution

Over the last several days, Venezuelans have mobilized to express their solidarity with President Maduro’s administration and in defense of the Bolivarian Process.
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“My life belongs to you [all] and I always will go to bat in this life, under all these circumstances that have touched me, for the Venezuelan people. Do not ever doubt that,” said President Nicolás Maduro at a concentration in downtown Caracas Monday. Thousands accompanied the president to express their unwavering support of the Bolivarian Revolutionary process ahead of opposition marches slated for September 1st.

Maduro emphasized that the opposition chooses violence because emerging economic alternatives such as the Bolivarian Economic Agenda, The Great Sovereign Provision Mission (GMAS) and the Local Provision and Production Committees (CLAP) may indeed remedy certain needs caused by the opposition’s economic war. “We are going to advance toward a miraculous stage of the people’s economic prosperity, for and by the people,” he exclaimed. 

The Venezuelan opposition, specifically right-wing political party Popular Will (VP), has called for national and international demonstrations to take place on Thursday September 1st. Nationally, the opposition plans to caravan to Caracas and reach Miraflores Palace to demand an immediate recall referendum to impeach President Maduro and enter into presidential elections before the end of the 2016 calendar year. Internationally, protests are to take place outside Venezuelan consulates and embassies. Due to the opposition not meeting the timeline necessary to organize a recall referendum by this year, the following stage to assess whether the opposition’s request meets constitutional requirements will happen in late October according to National Electoral Council officials.

Popular movements, communes, community councils and other organized sectors of Venezuelan society will march on September 1st as well in a call to peaceful action.

National Assembly-member Héctor Rodríguez of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) also announced this week the national agenda for party’s youth wing. In honor of the PSUV’s eighth anniversary, the party calls on young people to participate in peaceful takeovers of public spaces such as Av. Bolivar in Caracas as well as street intersections across the country.

Young peopile will also come together for the Great Youth Communes Gathering this upcoming Saturday September 3rd. 

In addition to marches, there will be facilitated discussions about Venezuelan public policies as they relate to youth, assemblies and cultural events. The PSUV accompanied by Venezuelan popular movements will also host two other gatherings focused on women and indigenous peoples among other scheduled activities.