Saving the Republic
Former vice-president Elias Jaua discusses how the Venezuelan people can best confront US interventionism.
By Elias Jaua Milano – February 21, 2020
US President Donald Trump ratified his brutal policy of neo-colonial intervention against Venezuela recently [in his State of the Union speech], as well as leaving it very clear that his appointed proconsul is the ineffable Juan Guaido.
This interventionist policy has achieved consensus among the American political class, something which was evident at the country’s congressional session of February 4, 2020.
Trump’s crazy threats to “break” and “crush” the constitutional government of Venezuela are part of an escalation in the aggression against our right to self-determination, a key principle of the Venezuelan Republic.
This aggression is an affront against a free and dignified people. It constitutes a serious and grave threat to our republican life, forcing those of us who feel a deep love for this homeland to put aside illusions, political infantilisms, pride and puny political power plays. The magnitude of the aggression requires us to fly high like eagles.
Today, more than ever, our people require a realistic, conscious, firm, sensitive and responsible leadership in order to overcome the challenges imposed by so much ignominy in a dignified fashion. For revolutionaries, saving the Republic must be the priority.
I believe that in this regard, amid the difficulties created by the interventionist strategy of promoting a fictional parallel state, the leaders of the country, government, opposition and other patriotic actors, have to understand that to save the Republic we must start by firmly complying with the current 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
A first step this year is to advance with transparency in guaranteeing parliamentary elections involving all political sectors and wide popular participation. This will allow for a plural re-composition of the legislative branch of the nation and the restitution of the principle of constitutional cooperation between public authorities. From this point onwards, the restoration of the normal democratic-institutional functioning of the country can begin.
Whatever the circumstances, saving the Republic implies preserving our sovereignty over our natural resources and assets so that they are exploited and managed in an ethical and efficient way which demonstrates patriotism. This must be the lever which drives a productive recovery process with which we will achieve real economic growth.
Saving the Republic also means guaranteeing the political, social, labour and cultural rights of the people.
Today, the logic of capital is re-imposing itself as a hegemonic force in the national economy. As such, the working people need recognition and respect for their right to peacefully and democratically struggle, protest and make demands for state protection against exploitation, exclusion and inequality, something which is embodied in the constitution.
The Venezuelan family must feel that the Republic is capable of guaranteeing a decent life for everyone. Only a people with rights and power has the material and moral strength to contain the foreign intervention which we are subject to, as well as to ensure that our sovereign right to decide our future is respected.
Long live the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela!
Featured image: The Venezuelan flag flies between twin monuments commemorating national heroes in Los Proceres Avenue, Caracas. (Elias Jaua)
Source URL: Venezuelanalysis.com
Elias Jaua Milano
Elías José Jaua Milano is a Venezuelan politician and former university professor who served as Vice President of Venezuela from January 2010 to October 2012.He was Minister of Foreign Affairs since January 2013. Jaua obtained a Sociology degree from the Central University of Venezuela. In 2000 he was part of the Comisión Legislativa Nacional and Minister of the Secretaría de la Presidencia from 2000 to 2001.
He was nominated as Venezuelan Ambassador to Argentina in 2002. Jaua served as Minister of Agriculture in President Hugo Chávez's government before being appointed as Vice-President in January 2010, while remaining Minister of Agriculture. On 15 December 2011, following a major reshuffle of the Venezuelan political leadership, President Chávez proposed Jaua to be the PSUV candidate for governor of the state of Miranda (reported in El Universal).
He resigned the vice presidency on 13 October 2012 to compete in the election and was replaced by Nicolás Maduro. He lost the election on 16 December 2012 to the former governor Henrique Capriles who had stepped down in June 2012 to unsuccessfully challenge Hugo Chávez for President. Jaua succeeded Nicolás Maduro as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 15 January 2013.
