Venezuelan far-right political party Popular Will's (VP) empty conference room with media mics. File photo.
The Socialist International (SI) expelled the far-right Popular Will party (VP) because they “exceeded the organization’s ethical codes” after modifying their ideological line, according to SI.
In Venezuela and other places in the world, analysts expressed surprise when the far-right VP was accepted into the Socialist International despite the long list of parties that are no longer socialist and still are part of this international group.
Socialist International brings together social democratic, socialist, and labor political parties from around the world. It ratified the expulsion of Popular Will because the party “changed its position, directing it increasingly towards the right,” according to SI’s statements.
Popular Will defines itself as a center-left political party with a progressive and social democratic tendency. However, their extremist stance in Venezuela has repeatedly demonstrated that they lean towards the far right.
This party supported an extensive list of coup attempts, destabilization plots, robbery of state assets, treason, and conspiracy, among other crimes. These actions have mainly been directed by its founder, Leopoldo López, and later, Juan Guaidó.
The vice president of the Socialist International, Paulina Lampsa, announced the expulsion of the Venezuelan political organization and the National Unity of Hope (UNE) from Guatemala.
“UNE has changed its approach, and during the last presidential elections, it took a rather strange position. For its part, Voluntad Popular [Popular Will] has changed its positions more recently, directing them more and more to the right,” Lampsa said.
She added that these two parties showed that they did not want to belong to the Socialist International. Therefore, they decided to expel them. Although they will put the decision to a vote, it is expected that the expulsion will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The first member of Popular Will to speak out after the decision was Yon Goicoechea, who stated that “they have been thrown out from better places.”
“They have thrown me out of better places, really? The Socialist International has done nothing but relativize the Venezuelan tragedy for years [with its relevant exceptions]. I am a liberal by training, and I couldn’t wait to get out of there,” wrote Goicoechea.
During recent months, Popular Will has been in the news due to some of its members’ fraudulent behavior while managing state-owned oil giant PDVSA’s United States-based subsidiary, CITGO. This was made possible by US government collusion and its support for Juan Guaidó’s failed regime change operation.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
