Dialogue and Referendum to avoid War and Interventionism proposes the PCDC (Zulia Chapter)

This is a rough translation from an article originally posted in Castilian: Diálogo y Referéndum para evitar la Guerra y el Intervencionismo plantea la PCDC (Capítulo Zulia).

The Platform in Defense of the Constitution (PCDC), Zulia Chapter, held today January 30, 2019 a press conference in which he made his proposal known to the crisis that shakes the nation, consisting of the search for a peaceful way out and constitutional that prevents civil war and the intervention of foreign powers.

Dialogue and Referendum to avoid the Civil War and Foreign Interventionism

Platform in Defense of the Constitution. Chapter Zulia.

Juan Guaidó's self-swearing on 23 January has been the culmination of a political crisis that began with the death of Hugo Chávez and began to unleash when the PSUV lost the elections to the National Assembly in December 2015.

The highlight of the current moment is the immediate danger of situations of violence generated by the brazen interventionism carried out by the government of the United States and its governments allied with Latin America (to which the European Union, Israel and Australia are added), that reaches levels never seen in the South American subcontinent.

The outbreak of violent situations could be avoided if the solution of the political crisis is channeled through dialogue between the National Assembly and the Government of Nicolás Maduro, and the Venezuelan people are consulted to make a binding referendum referendum, if they want or do not renew all public powers. In this direction of promoting dialogue the governments of Mexico and Uruguay have spoken, and Nicolás Maduro himself has said his willingness to dialogue as a mechanism to ward off the crisis.

Venezuela is going through a brutal crisis stemming from the misguided policies of the Maduro government, accentuated by the corruption that prevails in the highest levels of government, and deepened by the economic blockade measures that the United States government has taken over the past two years, crisis characterized by:

• A pronounced acceleration of hyperinflation and a deep economic depression with devastating effects on the living and working conditions of more than 80% of the population.
• Development of neoliberal economic plans in which the multinationals of the United States, China and other countries are given the exploitation of our natural resources under anti-national contracts of the Gomez dictatorship, and where salaries have been depressed to infrahuman levels and unknown all labor rights enshrined in the constitution and laws.
• A severe and distressing deterioration of health services, transportation, telecommunications, electricity and water; of the entire education system and of the public administration in general.
• The repeated failure of all government "economic recovery" plans.
• The collapse of the oil industry.
• The unveiling of an outrageous multimillion-dollar corruption by the high government, which has allowed the looting of a figure close to 500 billion dollars.
• The repeated violation of the National Constitution by the Maduro government from the years 2016-2017, by violating democratic mechanisms for the exercise of popular sovereignty through voting.
• The violation of fundamental democratic rights and the criminalization of civic protest.
• The international economic, political and military pressure exercised by the US and its allies, with the purpose of intervening Venezuela to reaffirm its domination and geopolitical interests in the face of the penetration of Chinese and Russian capital in the region and in the country.
• The location of the crisis within the global geopolitical dispute where Western capitalism is facing a process of decline and emerging capitalism such as China and Russia, reviving scenarios of the cold war and placing the national territory as a possible test site for armaments of each power, where Venezuelans will put the dead.

Beyond the various opinions and legitimate views on the elections of May 20, the reality is that Maduro is in possession of the Presidency, exercises command over the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, exercises the Head of Government and State Venezuelan, and its relief from that responsibility must be given only through the peaceful and constitutional way. Assuming the opposite, is to justify the application of the imperialist doctrine of the "power vacuum" and the "failed state", to give the green light to the so-called "humanitarian intervention" in Venezuela that has mounted the US Southern Command.

The recent popular demonstrations on January 23, carried out in the context of a deep social conflict throughout the country with labor strikes and community mobilizations in the face of the general collapse of public services and the absolute collapse of the population's purchasing power due to the hyperinflation that the government does nothing to control, channeled by the political forces of the pro-Yankee opposition that dominate the National Assembly, reflect in reality the desire for change of the Venezuelan people that it has not been able to channel under mechanisms of democratic participation due to the anticonstitutional manipulations carried out by the Maduro government and its control over the CNE and the TSJ, and also due to the extremist strategies of the pro-Yankee right that originated an irrational street violence in 2017.

Juan Guaidó, as Carmona did on April 11, 2002, surprisingly proclaimed himself President with the immediate recognition of the US and the countries of the Lima Group, thus creating a crisis of dual powers that dangerously sets us on the rise of a scenario of fratricidal violence and civil war with international participation, which compromises the independence and sovereignty of the Nation.

It is increasingly clear that the only way to preserve peace, overcome the institutional political crisis, and address the economic and social emergency, is dialogue and responsible negotiation between the AN and the Government, with the premise of agreeing to advance a a binding consultative referendum so that the people can decide whether or not to re-legitimize all powers, based on what is established in articles 70 and 71 of the Constitution. This dialogue should contemplate the end to the parallel state, full guarantees that allow the realization, in the very short term, of transparent elections, rejection of foreign intervention, economic emergency plan and national recovery, international cooperation to address the humanitarian emergency, law of amnesty, public and citizen audit of the debt and public management, and cessation of international economic sanctions.

The call to the Venezuelan people to manifest itself if it wishes to overcome this dangerous crisis by holding a consultative referendum that approves or not the re-legitimization of all public powers, is an obligation both of those who control the National Assembly and the government of Nicolás Maduro . In this regard, we urge all social organizations and democratic forces to collect 10% of the electoral roll signatures contemplated in article 71 of the constitution for the convocation of said binding referendum.

In Maracaibo, on the 30th day of the month of January 2019.

THAT THE VENEZUELANS SOBERLY DECIDE OUR PROBLEMS

NO TO FOREIGN INTERVENTION

FOR AN IMMEDIATE PROGRAM TO SOLVE THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CRISIS

PLATFORM IN DEFENSE OF THE CONSTITUTION. CHAPTER ZULIA

Roberto López Sánchez, Johnny Alarcón Puentes, Ismenia Brito, Juan Carlos Barrios,

Karina Navarro Jiménez, Nilio Parra, Jesus Zambrano, Cecilia Montero, Carlos Añez.