On January 21, 2018 Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs released a statement repeating the government of Canada’s commitment to “democracy” and “human rights” in Venezuela. “Canada is committed to the peaceful return to democracy in Venezuela. The Maduro regime is systematically violating the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people. As members of the Lima Group, and as Canadians, we must do everything we can to restore constitutional order and relieve the unacceptable suffering of the Venezuelan people.”
However, for the government of Canada “democracy” and “human rights” have nothing to do with the will or interests of the mass majority of the people of Venezuela. Instead, this rhetoric has everything to do with overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Nicolas Maduro and reversing the gains made by poor, working and oppressed people by the Bolivarian revolutionary process.
So, Just How Does the Government of Canada Support “Democracy” and “Human Rights” in Venezuela?
Looking at just some of the examples of Canada’s so-called support for the people of Venezuela, it is clear that for the government of Canada, regime change is the actual agenda.
1. Canada has sanctions against Venezuela.
The government of Canada has imposed cruel and unjustifiable sanctions that target 52 government officials in Venezuela, including President Nicolas Maduro.
Canada expelled the Venezuelan Ambassador and the Charge d’Affairs at the Venezuelan Embassy.
On December 25, 2017 the government of Canada stripped the diplomatic credentials from the Venezuelan Ambassador to Canada, Wilmer Barrientos Fernandez and chargé d’affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Canada, Angel Herrera. Two days earlier, the government of Venezuela expelled the chargé d’affaires at the Canadian Embassy in Venezuela, Craig Kowalik for “permanent and insistent, rude and vulgar, interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela; as stated by Delcy Rodriguez, the elected President of Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly. She went on to explain that the Canadian Embassy “persistently makes statements and use Twitter to try to give orders to Venezuela.”
2. The Canadian Embassy in Venezuela gives awards and financial support to Venezuela’s counter-revolutionary opposition.
Each year the Canadian Embassy grants a “Human Rights Award” to a counter-revolutionary opposition leader in Venezuela. As well, the Embassy gives funding to organizations in Venezuela through the “Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.” The website of the Canadian Embassy in Venezuela explains that this funding is for initiatives regarding “Promotion of democratic values” and “Promotion of human development and human rights, specifically in the areas of health, nutrition, justice and freedom of expression.” As Canada’s former Ambassador to Venezuela, Ben Rowswell, who left Venezuela in August 2017, boasted in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen “We established quite a significant internet presence inside Venezuela, so that we could then engage tens of thousands of Venezuelan citizens in a conversation on human rights. We became one of the most vocal embassies in speaking out on human rights issues and encouraging Venezuelans to speak out.”
3. Canada is taking a leading role in the right-wing, pro-foreign intervention “Lima Group.”
The Lima Group is made up of Canada and 11 other right-wing governments, who have aligned with the objective of promoting foreign intervention in Venezuela. In August, 2017 the “Lima Declaration” was released, which included unsubstantiated allegations of the violation of various “human rights” and “democratic” norms in Venezuela, as well as a declaration that the signatories will not recognize the National Consistent Assembly elected by over 8 million people in Venezuela on July 31, 2017. Canada hosted a meeting of the Lima Group in Toronto in October, 2017 which concluded that "If necessary we must put added pressure on the Maduro regime by taking concrete steps to further isolate it from the international community.”
4. The Government of Canada welcomes members of Venezuela’s violent opposition with open arms.
Members of Venezuela’s violent, counter-revolutionary opposition have visited Canada, and been given meetings with Ministers and Parliament. This includes María Corina Machado, who publicly supported the 2002 attempted coup d’état against President Chavez. Her decidedly anti-democratic organization, Súmate, which by the way received at least $22,000 from the government of Canada, was exposed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter because they “deliberately distributed this erroneous exit poll data in order to build up, not only the expectation of victory, but also to influence the people still standing in line.”
5. The Prime Minister of Canada welcomes leaders of the violent opposition too.
On May 16, 2017, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada met with Lilian Tintori, the wife Leopaldo Lopez, who currently in prison in Venezuela for his criminal and violent actions during violent street riots in Venezuela in 2014 that killed 43 people. As Trudeau met with Mrs. Tintori, the violent opposition was once again rioting on the streets of Venezuela, which resulted in the deaths of at least 125 people in the four months from April-July 2017. Mrs. Tintori also published an editorial in the Globe and Main newspaper called “Canada can help save Venezuela’s democracy” – a clear call for international intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela.
6. Canada helped lead a failed campaign in the Organization of American States (OAS) to declare Venezuela in violation of the “Inter-American Democratic Charter.”
The OAS is a regional body based in and largely funded by Washington, DC, consisting of 34 countries, in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the United States and Canada. The current President of the OAS, Luis Almagro has dedicated himself to attempting to implement the “Inter-American Democratic Charter” against Venezuela. The government of Canada has stood by every attempt he has made to convince the OAS to interfere in the internal affairs of Venezuela by implementing the charter. This, however, has failed as a majority of member-states in the OAS have stood with Venezuela during numerous illegitimate meetings and forced debates within the organization.
Why is the government of Canada So Concerned About Venezuela?
Caracas, the capital of Venezuela is more then 4,000km away from Ottawa. Driving, you would have to pass through eight different countries before arriving at the Colombian/Venezuelan border. So, why is it that the government of Canada has taken it upon itself to take leading role in the imperialist campaign against the sovereign country of Venezuela?
With the election of Hugo Chavez in 1998, the people of Venezuela decided to take their country out of U.S. and imperialist control and back into their own hands. In the nearly 20 years of the Bolivarian revolutionary process, the majority of the people of Venezuela have seen great gains against poverty, and in increasing access to housing, healthcare, education and nutrition. These gains have been possible due to a revolutionary government that puts the interests of people before those of profits and has harnessing the power of Venezuela’s natural resources towards improving the lives of poor and oppressed people in Venezuela.
Taking some of these natural resources back meant taking them out of the hands of imperialist corporations through nationalization, a process that has directly affected Canadian mining and resource extraction companies.
The biggest attack on the interests of Canadian mining corporations came in 2011, when the government of Venezuela moved to nationalize gold mines. At the time, both Crystallex International Corporation and Gold Reserve Inc had large gold mining projects underway in Venezuela, which were expropriated. Hundreds of millions of dollars in profit for these corporations were lost.
Throughout the Bolivarian revolutionary process, Venezuela has also joined with Cuba in the struggle to build a stronger and more united Latin America. Through organizations like ALBA and PetroCARIBE, alliances are being built, and goods and services are being exchanged, on the basis of mutual cooperation and solidarity, and, most importantly, without reliance on the US government or imperialist financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF. An independent and united Latin America and the Caribbean is a threat to the government of Canada’s many interests in the region.
People in Canada Must Organize to Defend the Sovereignty and Self-Determination of Venezuela.
This month, the government of Venezuela announced Presidential elections will take place by April 30, 2018. Already, the government of Canada is on the offensive, with Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland sending out tweets stating “We reject this decision by the Gov of #Venezuela to call these elections…” and claiming them to be “illegitimate” before campaigning has even begun. With all of this talk about “democracy” the government of Canada sure is quick to condemn elections in Venezuela!
The government of Canada, the United States, and the European Union, have all been increasing their attacks and rhetoric against Venezuela. This is because Venezuela’s counter-revolutionary opposition is shattered. Despite US and imperialist support, they have been unable to overthrow the revolutionary government. Despite carrying out a vicious campaign of sabotage against the economy, they have been unable to reverse the achievements made by the mass majority of people in Venezuela.
Now imperialists are on the hunt for new allies and different methods to carry out their intervention.
This means that organizing against intervention in Venezuela is at a critical moment, and poor, working and oppressed people in Canada and around the world must unite to counter this imperialist offensive in defense of the sovereignty and self-determination of Venezuela.
In the last year, there have been three elections in Venezuela - for the National Constituent Assembly, governors, and mayors. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the party of President Maduro, has won in each of these elections. The revolutionary government of Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolutionary process are in a position to continue deepening the gains made for the poor, working and oppressed people of Venezuela. It is our responsibility as people living in Canada to get the boot of the government of Canada off of their neck.
Follow Alison Bodine on Twitter: @Alisoncolette
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