By Stephen MacAvoy
The right wing opposition to Venezuela’s elected Chávista government has unleashed a wave of violence to try and oust it.
This has left 32 dead and 461 injured – and despite mainstream media suggestions to the contrary it is the opposition violence that is the principal cause of the deaths.
Unable to win recent elections, even following the death of Chávez, these US-backed extremists hope that violence and economic sabotage will force out President Maduro before his mandate ends in 2019.
Venezuela’s revolution is the first successful conquering of power by the working class in the 21st Century. Initially led by Hugo Chávez and now Nicolás Maduro, it has transformed the lives of Venezuela’s long excluded majority and its achievements are providing inspiration to the left across the world.
The current destabilisation campaign echoes previous violent attempts to overthrow the government – such as the 2002 coup d’état – by an opposition drawn from the country’s elites explicitly backed and funded by US imperialism.
Such interventions should be opposed and the Venezuelan government’s calls for dialogue and peace supported.
In Britain that means building the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign; which supports Venezuela’s sovereignty and independence and defends the achievements of its revolution.