President Maduro Signs Decree Creating Constitutional Reform Committee (+Annual Message to the Nation)

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has signed a decree to create a committee for the reform of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The committee will be chaired by Attorney General Tarek William Saab, which, in his opinion, will allow the nation “to expand democracy, define the profile of society, and provide the bases of the new economy.”

This Wednesday, January 15, President Maduro was received by an enthusiastic crowd at the iconic Teresa Carreño Theater, where his annual address to the nation was held, in accordance with Article 237 of the Bolivarian Constitution.

The ceremony was attended by numerous representatives of the state, including international Diplomatic Corps accredited in Venezuela, governors, members of the ministerial cabinet, as well as military leaders and the High Military Command. The annual message to the nation not only serves as a formal act of public audit, but also as a reaffirmation of President Maduro’s transformative leadership and a call to action to continue advancing in the consolidation of social justice and the defense of the homeland against the attacks of imperialism.

President Maduro also took the opportunity the political life of Tarek William Saab, explaining that the head of the Public Ministry was asked “to be the president of the commission for constitutional reform due to his experience as a legal expert, defender of human rights, and drafter of the Constitution.”

An executive secretariat
The head of state detailed that the constitutional reform committee will have “a primary nucleus,” requested to make consultations on community, regional, and countrywide levels, “so that everyone can be heard and so that we can make grassroots constituent consultation committees,” he said, “including with the Venezuelan migrant population that wants to participate in our democracy from where they work and live for now.”

He further explained that Attorney General Saab will be accompanied by an executive secretariat, which will be made up of the deputies Delcy Rodríguez, Hermánn Escarrá, and Cilia Flores.

“The foundations must be laid more clearly,” continued President Maduro, “because we are not finished with the Constitution, I believe, and Commander Chávez believed that too. There was still a lot to do, we were just starting in 1999, when neoliberalism was the dominant and hegemonic thought.”

He added that “the great challenge is to continue advancing in the consolidation of a new political model, which will allow us to move towards the development of a new State, for a new society. Our people want change and transformation,” said Maduro, who added that the administration taking this historic step is “the legitimate constitutional government of the people.”

The president said that Venezuela “is now in a position” to carry out these transformations, and urged his government and its officials to “walk and govern with the people, from across all the 5,297 communal circuits, and work harder. A year of great self-demand, discipline, work, and truth is coming.”

State of Venezuela’s Far-Right Opposition: Leaders and Supporters Blame and Insult Each Other

Election year
“This year we have 10 elections,” the head of state noted during his speech. He detailed that the first national communal projects consultation will be held on Sunday, February 2, alongside six elections for consultation on “direct democracy; one [consultation to be held] quarterly for community and youth culture projects.”

President Maduro further showed how the Chavista “great historical block, across 31 elections, we have won by a landslide, we won 29 of them.” He explained that, in addition to the renewal of the National Assembly, there have also been elections for governorships, legislative councils, mayorships, and municipal councils.

“Let us prepare for all 38 parties to nominate their candidates, and very soon we will once again be back to our typical democratic practices,” he added.

We have defeated hatred, coups, and fascism
“If we have a country at peace, it is because we have defeated hatred, coups, and fascism,” said the head of state, adding that victory belongs to the people of a free Venezuela. He added that the country is in a state of tranquility, and that the plans to lead the nation through chaos and unhinged ideas, enabled by the Venezuelan far-right and backed by the US empire and its allies, have not been fruitful, reported Últimas Noticias.

President Maduro stated that January 10 was the definitive consolidation of the popular-military-police union, having overcome all threats, all psychological warfare, and all lies posited by the opposition and its imperial allies.

“Those who act without reason, the Venezuelan fascists, together with the Colombian paramilitaries, are calling for a military invasion,” he said, “they do not know what they are saying! I join the united call and the powerful voice of the entire Venezuelan society that has collectively rejected the hatred called for by Álvaro Uribe, Iván Duque, Leopoldo López, and María Corina Machado.”

President Maduro recalled that more than 150 mercenaries of different nationalities have been convicted “thanks to the patrolling, preventative methods, and intelligence work of our security forces,” and some have already confessed to terrorist acts that were intended to be carried out in the country during 2024.

Also during his speech, the Venezuelan president recalled how a cyber-fascist coup d’état was carried out for the first time against Venezuela, on July 28, 29, and 30 of 2024, during the July 28 election period, attacking “all social media platforms and numerous electronic systems used in popular infrastructure.” He took the opportunity to highlight the strength of the people, in a popular-military-police union, in refusing to allow the victory of violence against Venezuela and its sovereign processes.

(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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