Dozens of US-based organizations condemn media campaign against Venezuela : Peoples Dispatch

A day before the people of Venezuela head to the polls to elect their next president, 30 organizations in the United States signed an open letter “Beware of Attempts to Discredit Venezuela’s Election and Launch Regime Change”.

The organizations, including Black Alliance for Peace, the ANSWER Coalition, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the People’s Forum, DSA International Committee, CODEPINK, Nodutdol, and dozens of others, warn that “a Western media narrative is already being spun to present the election as inevitably fraudulent – and pave the way for a new regime change operation if the right-wing opposition does not prevail at the ballot box.”

This “cynical, self-serving logic”, seeks to undermine not only the democratic process in Venezuela but also seeks to discredit the 25 year process of social and political change undertaken by the Venezuelan people in the Bolivarian Revolution, the organizations claim.

They have also sharply condemned the campaign led by the United States to impose heavy economic sanctions and back destabilization campaigns led by the far-right opposition.

The letter also warns that the current media narratives have created a justification for possible violent protests after the elections in the case of a left-wing victory.

Finally, the signatories declared: “We demand respect for Venezuela’s independence and the sovereign right of the Venezuelan people to elect their own leaders without outside interference.”

Read the full letter below:

On July 28, millions of Venezuelans will go to the polls to choose between ten presidential candidates, including incumbent Nicolás Maduro and main opposition challenger Edmundo González. The campaign has seen energetic participation all across the country and vigorous, democratic debate over the future direction of the country. However, a Western media narrative is already being spun to present the election as inevitably fraudulent – and pave the way for a new regime change operation if the right-wing opposition does not prevail at the ballot box.

According to this narrative, support for the opposition is overwhelming and the only possible way supporters of the government could win is through fraud. That way, if the vote does not go according to Washington’s wishes, yet another effort to remove Maduro from power by force can be initiated on the basis of the supposed illegitimacy of the results.

We reject this cynical, self-serving logic. Since the process of change called the Bolivarian Revolution began under President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela has held over 30 elections that have been conducted professionally and impartially. The electoral system includes multiple layers of fraud protection, including an extensive auditing process where representatives of all candidates are involved. For years, this system was recognized as fair and democratic by all outside institutions. What changed was that after the 2018 election of Maduro, the Trump administration made a clear decision to discredit the elections and withdraw recognition of Venezuela’s legitimate government so as to overthrow it.

The Venezuelan people have suffered greatly from all this. The crushing weight of U.S.-imposed sanctions caused misery across the entire population and was designed to create an explosive situation that would result in the unconstitutional removal of the government. A study by the Center for Economic Policy and Research found that these cruel sanctions have cost the lives of over 40,000 Venezuelans.

Washington failed in their political aim of instigating regime change. The economy is now in a period of recovery. Instead of turning a new page, the U.S. government has returned to using false election fraud narratives to create their desired crisis. We demand respect for Venezuela’s independence and the sovereign right of the Venezuelan people to elect their own leaders without outside interference.