Regional journalists visit Venezuela

The Bolivarian Revolution, which was initiated by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez Frias is here to stay.This sentiment was echoed by politicians, diplomats and other Venezuelan officials last week to Caribbean journalists who were in the country on a three-day visit.{{more}}

The officials, some whom stated that they are neither supporters of the Nicholas Maduro government nor the country’s opposition, told journalists that despite a number of protests and violent clashes over the past months, the country is still stable, and is in a better position than before Chavez, who died last year, took control in 1998.

Aristobulo Isturiz, Governor of the state of Anzoategui, told journalists that the clashes between opposition supporters, and supporters of the government are being instigated by internal and external forces who are seeking to topple the administration.

He predicted that these forces would fail in their efforts, since the revolution was not just an act, but also a way of life for the majority of Venezuelans.

“This is a very revolutionary state. There is no way that democratically the revolution can be defeated, and that is making other people very desperate, and a number of large international groups to go to the extreme right which have made investments to mercenaries and paramilitary trying to destabilize the Bolivarian Republic,” Isturiz said, through and interpreter.

“A violent fascist minority who want to provoke the majority for the majority to react. They want to sell this as a confrontation between two groups; they want to say there is a civil war going on and the government is being taken over to justify a foreign intervention into Venezuela.

“We will not fall into provocation…. This is why all of us, we are in command of this revolution and today we have handled this whole situation and we will overcome this and if we have to respond, we have the majority which is willing to defend this.

“But I am pretty sure that that would not be necessary.”

The popular governor said that the revolution’s opposition believed that when Chavez died in March last year, that the movement would have died with him, but because the revolution is in the hearts of the people, it lives on under the leadership of Maduro.

He said that under the revolution, poverty, extreme poverty and malnutrition has dropped.

He also pointed out that the Human Development Index has increased in the country, and that Venezuelans are living better lives under the revolution.

“Only in a revolution can you be the owner of your own home. Before the revolution we [had] 300,000 university students and now we have over two million university students. Universities have multiplied.

“We found only 300,000 retired persons with pension, now we have close to three million people retired with pension. Now pension can apply to housewives and fishermen.

“96 per cent of Venezuelans have direct drinking water,” he added.

“It was Chavez’ dream; he not only loved his people, he made a design for people all over the world to realize part of that dream….

“People are trying to create internal hate to say that Chavez is giving away all the oil, but it will be a crime to sell to Haiti the oil at the same price we sell it to the United States, so he transformed a relationship between the peoples of the Caribbean; instead of trying to make a profit, Chavez decided to exchange and complement each other.

“That is the spirit we defend…. Chavez did what was a dream by uniting the people without the United States.

“I feel proud to be a part of the revolution; Chavez taught us that no country by itself can reach total happiness, only united with our neighbours when we share what we have with the people….,” he said.