U.S.-backed opposition Guarimba plan a failure in Venezuela

By Cort Greene


The opposition-announced /Guarimba/ plan for April 26th to close streets and avenues with vehicles and burning tires, to have violent confrontations with the public and create havoc, failed to materialize. This was the same strategy that was employed this past March to disrupt the economy and life of the country, and similar to psychological warfare tactics used by the CIA before the U.S.-backed coup against the government of President Salvador Allende of Chile in 1973. An extensive internet and flyering campaign this past weekend failed to rouse a fractured and demoralized but still dangerous opposition, in part due to last week's revelations that segments of the Coordinadora Democratica are still planning more attempts at a coup and economic sabotage.

Venezuelans are becoming increasingly tired of the shenanigans of these terrorists and the continued policy of trying to destabilize the government because it affects the poor – the vast majority of Venezuelans – the hardest. Many supporters of the opposition have expressed disappointment in these leaders and have stated that they will not even come forward to confirm their signatures at the appeals process that would have triggered a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez. Further bad news for the opposition came when it was reported this weekend that the independent research firm, Alfredo Keller and Associates, released polling data that says President Chavez would survive in an recall election. Observers believe the reason for this is the internal divisions inside the opposition and a growing economy after a period of sabotage-induced decline.

The Venezuelan economy is now recovering from a two-year contraction because of many new government programs. Projections are for a 9 to 10 percent growth rate for this year. Even the International Monetary Fund has an optimistic forecast of 8 percent, all this despite of the destabilizing efforts by the radical right-wing, "fifth columnists", and powerful economic groups and their U.S. handlers. Venezuela's Finance Minster, Tobias Nobrega, said this past Sunday that Latin American governments need not follow IMF policy recommendations. "Venezuela is overcoming its difficulties independently of the IMF and is doing this by applying the opposite of what is recommended by the well-known but limited IMF recipes."

But let's not be fooled, the opposition will come up with more intrigues against the Bolivarian Process. The only way to safeguard what has been won is a revolutionary program and the construction of revolutionary assemblies and defense committees linked up across the country. Nationalize the large corporations and banks, purged the Ministries and the state apparatus that are full of reactionaries who have constantly tried to hold back and sabotage the process, and begin a movement towards Socialism, appealing to the rest of the Latin American and North American Workers to follow the same road.

No to U.S. intervention in Venezuela!
Defend the Venezuelan Revolution!
Forward to Socialism!

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