Gerónimo Paz
The year 2020 began with a dizzying political dynamic, as was to be expected in a political framework such as Venezuela’s, marked by the dispute between two antagonistic political blocs, with two anti-podic visions of the country. For those of us in the patriotic bloc, it is worth remembering that the conflict and the battles we are fighting are part of a historical dispute whose axes are matters such as whether we are a nation or a colony, a country designed for the economic and political majorities or the elite, a deep democracy or a grotesque democracy. It is also true that we are facing not a democratic opposition with a national purpose, with political honour, but forces that work under the orders and will of a foreign power that is attacking us. This imparts a character and nature to the conflict that we must consider when we assess the political situation and position ourselves in the face of the emerging dispute. To each his own, but the historical truth remains.
The year 2020 clearly reveals its physiognomy, tensions, challenges and the scenarios of struggle that we will encounter in this battle for national dignity, for our right as a people to self-determination.
New year, new battles
We were awake in the first days of the year and were engaged in the battle for the re-institutionalization of the National Assembly. The forces of the patriotic bloc seek to exploit the successes achieved in 2019 with the defeat of what was a “final offensive” launched against the Bolivarian Revolution under a strategy of maximum pressure. The greatest expression of this defeat is the Guaidó debacle, which has resulted in a deep fracture of the already weak opposition bloc, which has become disorganized and dislocated.
As is right, we must sustain and consolidate our initiative, not give the adversary a rest, not let them reorganize, in order to advance in the strategic purpose of consolidating political stability and, therefore, peace, as a prerequisite to confront the main challenge of the Bolivarian revolution, which is economic recovery. In this sense, the battle for the re-institutionalization of the national assembly is not just another episode in the Venezuelan political dynamic: it is a strategic battle, the main political battle of 2020, which will be fought in two stages, the first in the dispute for a directive open to dialogue within the framework of the current legislative period and the second in the electoral scenario that undoubtedly follows in the immediate future.
We are operating in a favourable geopolitical situation, in which the American government, a strategic enemy, is obliged to concentrate its efforts on dynamics that will largely determine whether or not Donald Trump is re-elected. On the one hand, there is the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East as a consequence of the assassination of General Soleimani, and on the other hand, the impeachment of the US president in the Senate. We have to consider that both the re-election and the impeachment passes through the Republican Party. In impeachment, because the Senate, currently with a Republican majority, either approves or rejects it, and in elections, because it represents the machinery for dealing with the electoral campaign. These variables are influencing the fact that Trump is obliged to maintain very good relations with his party and make concessions to it, among which is the hardening of his foreign policy on his strategic priorities. This could be one of the keys that explains the escalation of the aggression against Iran. In the same geopolitical line of analysis is the situation in Latin America, where the neoliberal restorationist coalition has suffered significant setbacks due to the electoral victories of progressive options in Argentina and Mexico, two key countries in the region, and the quagmire of the political situation in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, caused by the popular rebellion against the neoliberal elites, which has weakened the right wing bloc that was the spearhead of the strong interventionist offensive of 2019 against Venezuela.
In summary, recovering the institutionality of the NA is not only a political problem, it is essential to guarantee peace and stability, it is a necessary and strategic step towards economic recovery. A responsible NA with common sense is needed. It is not a question of being Chavista, but of having a national sense, a democratic disposition, which as part of the National State contributes to solving the country’s great problems; which beyond rhetoric and political diatribe is part of the solutions and not a venue, an outpost to attack the country. The commercial and financial embargo that denies access to international investment, a key component for reactivating the productive apparatus, is aggravated by the absence of an NA that is in contempt and has conspired to prevent the country from being able to manage resources for investment in national production, to import medicines, equipment, machinery, raw materials, etc.
Translation by Internationalist 360°
