President Nicolás Maduro speaks to supporters after registering his candidacy for the July 28 presidential elections, March 25, 2024. Photo: Presidential Press.
By Misión Verdad – Mar 26, 2024
During his second term as the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro has achieved fundamental milestones to overcome the crises generated by the far-right opposition and the United States. These achievements have led the country towards political, economic, and social stability. They have strengthened his leadership within Chavismo and have positioned him as the natural candidate to represent the Bolivarian Revolution in the presidential election scheduled for July 28 this year.
The following are five milestones, five strategic achievements, which have made Nicolás Maduro the only political and electoral option for Chavismo.
Controlling hyperinflation
Economic, financial and trade sanctions are illegal instruments of pressure widely used by the United States to pressure non-aligned governments and force changes in their internal administrative or political systems.
In the case of Venezuela, although the unilateral coercive measures have failed to achieve their political objectives, their impact on the national economy is undeniable. The sanction policy has been implemented by the US government since 2015. It began with Obama issuing the executive order qualifying Venezuela as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US national security, and it reached its peak with Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy in 2017. These shocks have hindered economic growth and restricted the flow of goods and capital in Venezuela, generating structural failures that the media propaganda machine attributes to alleged government mismanagement and inefficiency.
In total, 930 unilateral coercive measures have been imposed on Venezuela, more than half of them directed against the Venezuelan State, especially against its main economic engine, the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The highest inflation peaks in Venezuela were recorded between 2018 and 2019, coinciding with the most aggressive US measures against the country.
In this context, during President Nicolás Maduro’s second term, Venezuela has been implementing a plan that has managed to reverse the hyperinflation process. In the last stage of his current term, positive and clear results are evident. Currently, the inflation rate in Venezuela is the lowest it has been in the last 12 years, with a reduction of 1.2% in February with respect to January and an annual inflation rate of 75%, it is still high but far from the levels observed in recent years.
The economic policies implemented by the Venezuelan government are diverse and respond to a multifaceted aggression. These policies range from those of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) to control the exchange rate, to policies aimed at strengthening tax collection and fighting corruption in order to protect national income from plundering and looting.
The eradication of hyperinflation in Venezuela represents a significant milestone achieved by President Maduro, which is also the starting point for his second achievement.
Creating the base of a new model of productive economy
President Nicolás Maduro has proposed the construction of a diversified economic model of his own. One of the major elements improving social welfare has been the focus on boosting food production, bringing the country closer to self-sufficiency in many items in Venezuela. This increase is reflected in the availability, in markets and supermarkets, of both domestically produced and imported products that are consumed by Venezuelan families.
The industrial sector has also experienced a significant rebound in 2023, with a growth of 3.93% in the third quarter of 2023, while in the same period commercial activity grew by 3.49%. The government has established the National Council of Productive Economy to design economic strategies at the national level, fostering collaboration between public and private companies.
The diversification of the Venezuelan economy does not imply the abandonment of the oil sector. The government understands how crucial this industry is to Venezuela’s economic revenues, and its approach to economic recovery is reflected in recent data. In 2023, Venezuela experienced a significant 12.3% increase in crude oil exports, generating revenues totaling US$6.23 billion, underpinning organic economic growth supported by diversification and real wealth creation.
Despite the challenge imposed by the US blockade and sanctions, which continue in spite of specific and temporary licenses, Venezuela’s economic recovery is on course and the economy continues to grow, driven by the government’s strategy. The year 2023 closed with a GDP growth of over 5%, one of the most significant, comparatively speaking, in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
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Strengthening relations with China, Russia, and India
Significant transformations are taking place in Eurasia in the political and financial spheres, with concrete initiatives aimed at challenging the hegemony of the US dollar and thus putting an end to US blackmail and coercion. BRICS+ countries such as Russia, China, and India are playing a crucial role in creating a new financial structure independent of Western control.
During his second term, President Maduro has strengthened Venezuela’s position as a member nation of this growing multipolar dynamic. During this presidential term, he has made two official visits to China, traveled to Russia, and on several occasions received the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Additionally, he has made international tours to Eurasian and West Asian countries. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has made official visits to India. Venezuela has participated in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and the Eurasian Economic Union, and President Maduro took part in Venezuela’s first participation in the 15th BRICS+ Summit.
These relations have led to bilateral agreements that promote progress in key sectors for Venezuela, such as energy, agriculture, technology, industry, trade, finance, and tourism. With its potential, especially in the energy field, Venezuela also makes significant contributions to these countries that are building new platforms for diplomatic-economic relations.
In this context, it is essential to highlight the importance of the request made by President Nicolás Maduro to the BRICS+ countries for Venezuela’s admission to this group, a request that has been taken into consideration. The president has not allowed the country to remain on the sidelines of the global panorama, and instead is committed to its integration in a multipolar world, based on respect for sovereignty, self-determination and non-interference.
Maintaining the unity of Chavismo
Chavismo has learned how to become a bastion of resistance against internal and external political attacks and destabilization attempts that intend to undermine the country’s foundations. Unity has been key to standing firm amid these adversities, strengthening popular participation and social cohesion in times of crisis, and demonstrating collective learning in the face of a clearly identified enemy.
The political serenity and adaptability that President Maduro has been able to forge in the Chavista rank and file during more than a decade of unconventional warfare against Venezuela have become essential in this path filled with adversities, and these qualities are also essential for the political, economic and social transformations necessary for the country.
At this crucial moment in the history of Chavismo, the ability to reinvent itself and adapt to new times will be decisive for its relevance in the future. Therefore, it is essential that the Venezuelan head of state continues to exercise his leadership in order to maintain the solidity within the Chavismo bloc and achieve these objectives.
Institutional peace and political normalization
Even more important than preserving the cohesion of Chavismo, President Maduro’s government has been the guarantee of institutional peace and political normalization that the country enjoys today.
Economic wars, threats of invasion, assassination attempts, coup plots, promotion of color revolutions, fabrication of fake governments and institutions—all these tools used by US imperialism covertly or overtly in the last decade have been effectively dismantled by the Venezuelan government to safeguard peace and national stability.
President Maduro’s insistence on political normalization has been such that he has even achieved a change of approach in some sectors of the opposition, which currently distance themselves from extremism and absentionism and are adopting the processes of political participation, dialogue and negotiation. This has reduced the capacity for action of the extremist opposition aligned with Washington, which has been the source of sanctions and the various regime change attempts in the last decade.
This has also had a reflection on the strategic defense of sovereignty, as was demonstrated at the end of last year with the escalation of the conflict with Guyana, fueled by ExxonMobil and the US government. In this context, President Maduro proposed a series of actions to defend the Guayana Esequiba. The consultative referendum on the Essequibo held in December 2023 exemplified President Maduro’s commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Defending the achievements of Venezuela requires that we recognize the leadership that has made it possible—the leadership of Nicolás Maduro. That is the essence of his presidential candidacy for July 28.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
