Analysis | Venezuelans choose priority projects proposed by the communes - video Dailymotion

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To provide an insight into the importance of Venezuela’s Fourth Public Consultation, we interview Arnold August, international analyst, as Venezuelans head to the polls on Sunday, November 23rd, to choose which communal projects will receive funding from the Bolivarian government. teleSUR   These and more stories now!

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00:00And to go deeper into this topic today, we welcome in for this public consultation,

00:05international analyst Arnold August. Welcome, Arnold, here to From the South.

00:11Thank you very much for having me. It's always a pleasure to have a conversation with you,

00:16Belen, and other correspondents from Telesur. Thank you.

00:22It's our pleasure, of course, Arnold. And first, tell us, you know these experiences of popular

00:28power firsthand. Just for anyone that is listening who does not understand why these

00:33public consultations are a key element to strengthen direct democracy, how would you

00:39explain this process to them? Well, in a few minutes, it's difficult to explain. I think we

00:46have to start, in my view, with the concept that the Bolivarian Revolution took place starting in

00:521998, 1999. And everything that is being carried out at this time is in the context of strengthening

01:03the revolutionary political power. So you have this massive consultations going on in a very

01:10difficult situation where the United States is waging a military and cognitive war against the

01:17Venezuelan people. Now, of course, it is a form of participatory democracy, yes. But I would go even

01:25further and say that, as Chavez has mentioned very often, and later Maduro, it's participatory and also

01:33protagonist democracy. And someone who knows a lot about political power, Padrino Lopez, the head of the

01:41Defense in Venezuela, mentioned yesterday that what is happening now is an example of protagonist democracy.

01:48But above all, I would like to highlight a very interesting comment made by a militant that was

01:56interviewed by Telly Sur in one of the barrios in Caracas. He said, regarding what is happening now,

02:03the consultation, it is, I'm quoting from, it is not just about voting, it's about sovereignty, it's about

02:11governance. And that, I think, is a very important point coming from someone who is perhaps not an expert,

02:17but from the ground, from the grassroots, very much appreciating it's about continuing the Bolivarian

02:25revolution. And as one of the main features of it, right from the beginning, is that it is the people who are

02:32the ones who are in the driver's seat of the Bolivarian revolution. And what is happening now is one more

02:39example of how the Bolivarian revolution is governing itself. The people are governing their own revolution.

02:47That is why there's so much participation today. Even from people who may not agree with everything that is being

02:54done by the Bolivarian revolution, they, according to your reports, are participating in this important activity today.

03:02Now, Arnold, precisely in terms of what you were saying, worldwide, we have been seeing signs,

03:10especially among Western liberal democracies, of people losing trust in their systems and

03:16participation turnout overall going down in many, many countries. In this case, as you were saying,

03:22we have a new, different model of participation. What effect do you think that this has on a larger

03:28scale in terms of turnout and in terms of reinstating confidence in democracy?

03:35I was in Venezuela over for the last few elections that took place, the presidential elections a while

03:43ago, and then the local state and governorship elections. And what I noticed then, and now I'm

03:51noticing through your excellent reports, that people participate actively in this. Irrespective of

03:58the percentage of voting, people see this process as part of their own process. And of course, I think

04:06you mentioned, you know, how the West looks at it. You know, there's a lot is being said with regards

04:11of the current war that the United States is waging against Venezuela. Of course, it's for oil, I know,

04:19but in my view, it's only one aspect. I think another

04:23very important aspect alongside oil and natural resources

04:27is that the United States wants to put an end to

04:31this model of a new type of political system, a new

04:35type of economic system that is being developed in

04:39Venezuela that is gaining increasing support from the people

04:43across the country, while on the other hand, the participation

04:46and the interest amongst the people in the Western capitalist countries

04:51is going down. This political system, the economic system is increasingly

04:56discredited, while in Venezuela, it is increasingly popular for people to participate

05:02in their own activity. I mean, you know, one of the slanders is that, oh, this type of

05:08elections, participatory elections, is to have sort of a controlled opposition. Well, how come

05:15the opposition in Venezuela, the so-called opposition, the business people, all the main

05:23business federations do not support the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela? And they,

05:32of course, participate in this activity today. So there's no controlled opposition. What the

05:37United States wants is to control as the opposition. They've lost control of the narrative. They've lost

05:42control of the opposition. And most of the people in Venezuela, even if they may have differences

05:48with the Bolivarian orientation, are participating in this activity today. People from 15 years and

05:55older, that is really an amazing aspect that I have to highlight. People, young people participating

06:01in this activity, seeing through their own daily activity today, what it means in the real world

06:08for people to govern themselves through a political system that responds to their basic aspirations and

06:17dignity.

06:20Now, precisely, Arnold, in terms of what you were saying, of course, we cannot forget to say that

06:26this is happening while the U.S. is weaponizing terms such as the so-called war against drug trafficking

06:33or democracy itself. And this is being carried out while the largest military deployment that the

06:40region has been seeing is stationed there in the Caribbean. How are you viewing this recent escalation

06:46of threats from the U.S. to Venezuela and the way that Venezuela is responding as well?

06:52I've been following it very closely, as you know. I mean, one thing I noticed, when the, you know,

06:57the so-called gunboat diplomacy, violent gunboat diplomacy carried out by the United States

07:05against the fishing vessels in the Caribbean, at that time, when it started, there was around

07:12four million members of the militia, that is, those who volunteer from amongst the citizens,

07:18retired folks, older folks, younger people, volunteer to become part of the militia. That is,

07:24in addition, who the formal armed forces. Now, that four million jumped to over eight million

07:31in a period of several months after the United States started their aggressive activities and

07:37President Maduro called on the people to enlist in the militias. That was a response. That is another

07:43example how Venezuela is a protagonist democracy. People govern themselves. If people do not see the

07:50revolution as their revolution, why would they give up their comfort at home and enlist to be part of

07:57an armed militia to confront the most powerful army in the world, that of the United States? That goes a

08:04long way to show the content of the Bolivarian Revolution and the importance that people see in

08:11defending their own revolution against the United States. And I'm convinced that irrespective of what

08:17the United States does, they will not be able to make Venezuela capitulate or lose in the long term.

08:27Thank you so much, Arnold, for giving us all this context to better understand what is happening

08:32right now in Venezuela. It's a pleasure to have you as always.

08:35It's a pleasure to be with you once again. Thank you very much.

Analysis | Venezuelans choose priority projects proposed by the communes

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