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.
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