"They have pushed Venezuela to the precipice": Intellectuals publish a letter against the coup to Maduro
Among the more than 70 signatories is the philosopher, political scientist and linguist Noam Chomsky, and warn of the consequences of recognizing Juan Guaidรณ as "president in charge", deepening the crisis towards unnecessary violence and suffering that will repeat the tragic results of previous companies of change of regime of the United States in other countries like Iraq, Syria or Libya.
A group of 70 intellectuals, historians and experts in Latin American politics published an open letter in which they criticize the US government in harsh terms and urge it not to interfere in Venezuelan internal politics and support a dialogue between Chavism and anti-Chavism. The text points out the consequences of recognizing the self-proclaimed "president in charge" in the midst of the political crisis in Venezuela. "By recognizing the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidรณ, as the new president of Venezuela, something illegal under the OAS Charter, the government of Donald Trump has accelerated the political crisis in Venezuela in the
hope of dividing the Venezuelan military and polarize the population even more, forcing them to choose sides, "says the article published by various intellectuals. The signatories, including the philosopher, political scientist and linguist Noam Chomsky and the independent rapporteur of the UN Alfred de Zayas, affirmed that the coup orchestrated by the United States and its allies will only worsen the situation in that country and will generate "an unnecessary human suffering, violence and instability. " The text, which was also signed by heads of professors, emeritus professors and school directors, recalls the tragic results of previous regime change companies in other countries such as Iraq, Syria or Libya or the historic interventions in the coup d'ĂŠtat in Latin America in the twentieth century. "The United States and its allies, including the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, and the far right president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, have pushed Venezuela to the precipice", they assured and maintained that the only solution for a peaceful solution The crisis is "a negotiated agreement, as it happened in the past in Latin American countries when politically polarized societies could not resolve their differences through elections." Read the full text below: The government of the United States must stop interfering in the internal politics of Venezuela, especially in its attempts to overthrow the government of that country. It is almost certain that the actions of the Trump administration and its regional allies will worsen the situation in Venezuela, which will lead to unnecessary human suffering, violence and instability. The political polarization of Venezuela is not new; The country has been divided for a long time in racial and socioeconomic terms. But polarization has deepened in recent years. This is partly due to the support of the United States for an opposition strategy aimed at dismissing the NicolĂĄs Maduro government by extra-electoral means. While the opposition has split into this strategy, US support It has backed the hardline sectors in their goal of overthrowing the Maduro government through often violent protests, a military coup d'ĂŠtat or other routes that bypass the electoral path. Under Trump's administration, aggressive rhetoric against the Venezuelan government shot to a more extreme and threatening level, with Trump administration officials speaking of "military action" and condemning Venezuela, along with Cuba and Nicaragua, as part of of a "troika of tyranny". The problems resulting from the policies of the Venezuelan government have been made worse by the economic sanctions of the United States, which would be illegal under the parameters of the Organization of American States and the United Nations, as well as the United States and other treaties and laws. international conventions. These sanctions curtailed the means by which the Venezuelan government could have escaped its economic recession, and at the same time caused a dramatic drop in oil production and the worsening economic
crisis, causing the death of many people who could not access medicines that could have saved their. Meanwhile, US governments and its allies continue to blame only the Venezuelan government for the economic damage, including that caused by US sanctions. Now the USA and its allies, including OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro and far-right president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, have pushed Venezuela to the precipice. By recognizing the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidรณ as the new president of Venezuela something illegal under the OAS Charter - the Trump administration has drastically accelerated Venezuela's political crisis with the hope of dividing the Venezuelan military and still polarizing more to the population, forcing it to choose sides. The obvious, and sometimes explicit objective, is to expel Maduro through a coup d'etat. The reality is that despite hyperinflation, scarcity and deep depression, Venezuela remains a politically polarized country. The United States and its allies must stop encouraging violence by pressing for a violent and extralegal regime change. If the Trump administration and its allies continue their reckless course in Venezuela, the most likely outcome will be bloodshed, chaos and instability. The United States should have learned something from its "regime change" initiatives in Iraq, Syria, Libya and its long and violent history of sponsoring "regime changes" in Latin America. Neither party in Venezuela can simply beat the other. The army, for example, has at least 235,000 front-line members, and there are at least 1.6 million in the militias. Many of these people will fight, not only on the basis of the belief in national sovereignty that is widely maintained in Latin America, in the face of what appears to be an intervention led by the United States, but also to protect themselves from possible repression if the opposition overthrows the government by force. In such a situation, the only solution is a negotiated agreement, as happened in the past in Latin American countries when politically polarized societies could not resolve their differences through elections. There have been efforts with potential, such as those led by the Vatican in the fall of 2016, but they did not receive support from Washington and its allies focused on regime change. This strategy must change so that there is a viable solution to the current crisis in Venezuela. For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region and the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents that will allow the country to finally emerge from its political and economic crisis. Signed: Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus, MIT and Professor Laureate, University of Arizona Laura Carlsen, Director, Program of the Americas, Center for International Policy
Greg Grandin, professor of history, New York University Miguel Tinker Salas, professor of Latin American History and Chicano / a Latino Studies at Pomona College Sujatha Fernandes, professor of political economy and sociology, University of Sydney Steve Ellner, associate managing editor of Latin American Perspectives Alfred de Zayas, former independent expert of the UN on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order and sole UN rapporteur who visited Venezuela in 21 years Boots Riley, writer / director of Sorry to Bother You, musician John Pilger, journalist and filmmaker Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Jared Abbott, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, Harvard University Dr. Tim Anderson, Director, Center for Studies Against Hegemonics Elisabeth Armstrong, professor of the study of women and gender, Smith College Alexander AviĂąa, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Arizona State University Marc Becker, history professor, Truman State University Medea Benjamin, Co-founder, CODEPINK Phyllis Bennis, Program Director, New Internationalism, Institute for Policy Studies Dr. Robert E. Birt, professor of philosophy, Bowie State University Aviva Chomsky, professor of history, Salem State University James Cohen, University of Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Associate Professor, George Mason University Benjamin Dangl, PhD, editor of Hacia la libertad Dr. Francisco Dominguez, Faculty of Social and Professional Sciences, University of Middlesex, United Kingdom Alex Dupuy, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology Emeritus, Wesleyan University
Jodie Evans, Co-founder, CODEPINK Vanessa Freije, assistant professor of international studies, University of Washington Gavin Fridell, Research Chair of Canada and Associate Professor in International Development Studies, St. Mary's University Evelyn González, Counselor, Montgomery College Jeffrey L. Gould, Rudy Professor of History, Indiana University Bret Gustafson, associate professor of anthropology, University of Washington at St. Louis Peter Hallward, professor of philosophy, University of Kingston John L. Hammond, professor of sociology, CUNY Mark Healey, Associate Professor of History, University of Connecticut Gabriel Hetland, assistant professor of Latin studies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States, University of Albany Forrest Hylton, Associate Professor of History, National University of Colombia-Medellín Daniel James, Bernardo Mendel Chair of Latin American History Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice Daniel Kovalik, Associate Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh Winnie Lem, professor, International Development Studies, University of Trent Dr. Gilberto López y Rivas, Research Professor, National University of Anthropology and History, Morelos, Mexico Mary Ann Mahony, history professor, Central Connecticut State University Jorge Mancini, Vice President, Foundation for Latin American Integration (FILA) Luís Martin-Cabrera, Associate Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies, University of California San Diego Teresa A. Meade, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture, Union College Frederick Mills, professor of philosophy, Bowie State University Stephen Morris, professor of political science and international relations, Middle State State University
Liisa L. North, Professor Emeritus, York University Paul Ortiz, Associate Professor of History, University of Florida Christian Parenti, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, John Jay College CUNY Nicole Phillips, professor of law at the University of the Foundation, Dr. Aristide FacultĂŠ des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques and assistant professor of law at the Faculty of Law of the University of California at Hastings Beatrice Pita, professor in the Department of Literature at the University of California at San Diego Margaret Power, professor of history, Illinois Institute of Technology Vijay Prashad, Editor, El TriContinental Eleanora Quijada Cervoni FHEA, facilitator of staff education and mentor of SAI, Center for Higher Education, Learning and Teaching at the National University of Australia Walter Riley, lawyer and activist William I. Robinson, professor of sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara Mary Roldan, Dorothy Epstein Professor of Latin American History, Hunter College / CUNY Graduate Center Karin Rosemblatt, history professor, University of Maryland Emir Sader, professor of sociology, Rio de Janeiro State University Rosaura SĂĄnchez, professor of Latin American literature and Chicano literature, University of California, San Diego TM Scruggs Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa Victor Silverman, professor of history, Pomona College Brad Simpson, Associate Professor of History, University of Connecticut Jeb Sprague, professor at the University of Virginia Christy Thornton, assistant professor of history, Johns Hopkins University Sinclair S. Thomson, Associate Professor of History, New York University Steven Topik, history professor, University of California, Irvine Stephen Volk, professor of history emeritus, Oberlin College
Kirsten Weld, John. L. Loeb Associate Professor of Social Sciences, History Department, Harvard University Kevin Young, assistant professor of history, University of Massachusetts Amherst Patricio Zamorano, academic of Latin American studies; Executive Director, InfoAmericas