Press release of the European Parlamentary Solidarity Delegation in Venezuela
This Sunday the 15th of August, the people of Venezuela made the historic decision to
say NO to the revocation of President Hugo Chavez Frias, and instead unequivocably
reaffirmed his mandate and the policies of his government. We express our deepest
satisfaction and happiness for this clear expression of NO to neoliberalism, NO to
marketization of everything, NO to foreign intervention, NO to destabilisation of
Venezuela, and NO to the FTAA.
This victory for the people of Venezuela is a victory for people worldwide; it should
be attributed mainly to the political and social reforms undertaken by this government
with a real participation of the population. The outcome of the referendum is due to
the ability to combine social justice and respect for civil liberties and human
rights. It is also due to the political will to use the wealth of the country for the
well-being of all Venezuelans, and to the efforts of the government to build a more
peaceful world with an intergration based on more equal relations between countries.
The very high level of participation to this election is significant, and constitues
for us as Europeans a cruel contrast with the very poor level of participation in
European elections, and is probably attributable to the clear political choices made
by the Bolivarian Project to build alternatives to neoliberalism, and to build bridges
between institutions and popular participation.
We call on all sectors of the opposition to respect the result made public by the
highest electoral authority in Venezuela, to leave behind any attempt to destabilize
the governement, and to answer positively to the appeals for dialogue made by the
government.
- Mr. Vittorio Agnoletto, Italy, Member of the European Parliament for the
United Left Group (GUE/NGL), former coordinator of the European Social Forum of
Geneva, and former member of the International Council of the World Social Forum of
Porto Alegre
- Mr. Josy Dubie, Belgium, Member for the ECOLO party, former president of
the Justice Committee in the Senate
- Mrs. Sahra Wagenknecht, Germany, Member of the European Parliament for
the United Left Group (GUE/NGL)
- Mr. Jaromir Kohicek, Czech Republic, Member of the European Parliament
for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
- Mrs. Sfia Bouarfa, Belgium, Senator for the Socialist Party (PS),
President of the Belgium-Venezuela Committee of the IPU,
- Mr. Athanassios Pafilis, Greece, Member of the European Parliament for
the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
- Mr. Jean Cornil, Belgium, Senator for the Socialist Party (PS),
- Mrs. Ilda Figueiredo, Portugal, Member of the European Parliament for the
United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
- Mrs Isaura Navarro Casillas, Spain, Deputy of the National Parliament
for IUc
- Mr. Giusto Catania, Italy (Sicily), Member of the European Parliament for
the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
Contact: pdupret@europarl.
eu.int Tel : 58 412 9783793