The International Anti-Fascist Festival will take place between January 9 and 11 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela and, as Venezuelans call it, the international capital of anti-fascism. Two thousand international guests from 102 countries are in the city and will also attend the inauguration of reelected President Nicolás Maduro. Popular and political organizations from Venezuela will also participate in the Festival.
Delcy Rodríguez, vice president of Venezuela, was the main representative of the Venezuelan government at the opening ceremony that took place this Thursday January 09. She highlighted the creation of a global left-wing movement.
Venezuela has proposed the creation of an Antifascist International. This process has already included a meeting of parliamentarians from 32 countries and the International Youth Congress, with 77 countries trying to organize the Antifascist International in their territories.
“The great challenge facing humanity is the neofascist network that is expanding mainly in Europe, with more than 700 organizations. This same network is expressed in the Americas, such as in Argentina, which currently has a fascist in power and in the presidency,” said the vice president, referring to Javier Milei.
“We know what Jair Bolsonaro represented and represents the opposition to democracy in Brazil. In several Latin American countries, there are now fascist and neofascist political parties,” she added.
Rodríguez also stressed that “Venezuela has the legitimate right to defend itself and today – not only in Caracas – the people took to the streets to defend our president, our peace and our democracy,” she said, citing the Chavista marches in support of Maduro held in different parts of the country this Thursday.
“We will dig the grave of fascism here because we are going to impose strategic defeats on it, like the electoral defeat,” she said. Maduro’s vice president also cited the presidents of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, who have made strong statements describing the Venezuelan elections as illegitimate.
“Venezuelan fascism believes that, because it has alliances with right-wing figures on the continent, it will be able to destabilize the country,” she said. She also called opposition leader María Corina Machado the “Venezuelan Milei” and blamed her for promoting the blockade against the country in her direct contact with the US, calling for more sanctions.
“Here we are and here we will remain. Have you ever thought about what would happen if fascism took over Venezuela, where one of the largest energy reserves on the planet is located?” asked the vice president.
This article first appeared in Portuguese on Brasil de Fato
