Venezuela

Just like CLACSO Working Group For years, we have focused on defending nature and the rights of peoples throughout Latin America and the Caribbean—in essence, on defending life in its broadest sense—through constant collaboration with social actors. At the same time, we have sought to offer reflections and contributions that aim for emancipatory transformations, capable of responding to the multitude of crises that characterize our world today, and that emerge from the voices, autonomy, and sovereignty of the people, from below and in harmony with the Earth.

The activist and intellectual members of the Working Group, concerned about the current vulnerability of the Venezuelan population given the context of crisis and political instability in the country, express our deep concern over the severe increase in repression and prosecution of protesters who are dissatisfied with the omissions and failures in the protocols and obligations to ensure transparency in the election results. Official announcements themselves have reported more than 2.200 arrests in several days of protests. We therefore call for respect for human rights in Venezuela and an end to the repression. The discontent of the population deserves to be heard. Respect for popular sovereignty implies an agreement between the parties that respects the will of the people and is for the good of the Venezuelan people.

We urge that detailed, verifiable, and auditable results of the presidential elections held in that country on July 28 be released as soon as possible. This would ensure maximum transparency in the process and clarify the current politically tense situation.

We call for the participation of a wide range of national political actors directly involved in the electoral process in this verification and audit process, for the support of impartial and highly credible international observers, and for the National Electoral Council (CNE) to be the institution that facilitates this, in accordance with its corresponding legal functions. These requests are perfectly feasible, given that the Venezuelan electoral system offers excellent tools for this purpose.

We welcome mediation and negotiation efforts such as those undertaken by the governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico to date, which represent a suitable, accepted, and friendly channel that can contribute both to easing the tensions of this serious situation and to reaching political agreements that safeguard the well-being of the Venezuelan people, regional understanding, and above all, the utmost and faithful respect for popular sovereignty as expressed in the elections. Likewise, we reject interventionist and colonial approaches that seek to exploit this crisis.

As GT, we also believe in the need for a deeper understanding of the Venezuelan crisis, which affects us all and is part of a broader global crisis. We reiterate that our proposal, inspired by Latin American critical thought, will always be geared towards transcending all forms of coloniality, regardless of their political leanings, and the extractive development model that destroys territories, ecosystems, and Indigenous, Black, peasant, and other impoverished communities who are perpetually dispossessed and displaced.

As part of our Latin America and the Caribbean, our Abya Yala, Venezuela pains us and reminds us of other attempts on the Latin American continent to impose the extractive development model under different banners. And we applaud every effort made to defuse the escalating conflict and to pave the way for peace with social and environmental justice.

We call upon the social forces of the region to join this call for peaceful coexistence and Latin American convergence.

August 16th, 2024
CLACSO Working Group
Political ecologies from the South/Abya-Yala

This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.