"There will be no shortage of those who try to take advantage of difficult situations to maintain that commitment to the restoration of capitalism, neoliberalism, to end with the country" -Hugo Chávez, 2012

Since 1998, once the triumph of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela was known, a process of destabilization against his government began.

Distinct domestic sectors in partnership with international economic and financial groups initiated a plan of opposition-destabilization in the country. This is for several reasons; one of them being that a revolution would be established in Venezuela that would address the social and economic problems of the majority of the population.

Hugo Chávez's win meant for the local bourgeoisie losing hegemony, losing political power, to be displaced from the privileges that they had long usurped. Losing several economic and political privileges was another reason that they undertook a set of adverse plans against the revolutionary and democratic government that was installed in Venezuela in 1998 by popular mandate.

From 1999 at national level, President Chávez dismantled one by one the various neoliberal programs that agencies like the IMF and the WB had been implementing since the decade of the 1980s.

There was no doubt that Venezuela began a series of transformations where the people play a leading role. Chávez inspired by the Bolivarian thought claimed the sovereign character of the Venezuelan State, reaffirmed the independence and emphasized the will to define a new relationship with the world. A human development project was launched inspired by values rooted in our independence historical process. A cycle that stopped the coveted exploitation of natural and energy resources by some imperialist corporations began.

Chávez established as a strategic priority boosting international relations to strengthen South-South cooperation in the framework of solidarity and complementarity. These ideas were left by Chávez as a legacy. The Bolivarian Revolution claims its right to exist by discontinuing projects defined by colonial doctrines of hegemonic and imperialist governments, for programs inspired by the emancipatory dimension of Simón Bolívar. Chávez formulated a roadmap to support the stimulus to integration processes fundamentally between Latin America and the Caribbean ALBA-TCP, PETROCARIBE, UNASUR and CELAC.

No doubt Chávez's strategic vision would propitiate a geopolitical architecture that would strengthen links beyond North. In this manner, a feat to strengthen ties with China, Russia, India and others began, besides reaffirming the historical links with Africa, relaunching the Africa-South America (ASA) dialogue table.

Anyone keen on international relations can understand that these new parameters of the Venezuelan foreign policy worried the hegemonic US policy that historically has destabilized those who try to impede the expansionist plans of its power groups. A variety of financial and military groups in the world are concerned about the existence of any model that represents an alternative proposal to the capitalist model, especially if it comes from a country like Venezuela which holds the main oil reserve in the world. These groups try to prevent at all costs the sovereign and emancipatory processes in Latin America and the Caribbean. These groups aim to choke and stop the Venezuelan Revolution.

THE DESTABILIZING PLANS AGAINST VENEZUELA ARE INCREASING

These plans are not new; there were the attempts of the oil strike of 2002 and the 2003 coup attempt against President Chavez. There was the coup attempt in February 2015 against President Maduro, plus all the constant interventionist actions favored by foreign governments, hundreds of NGOs (USAID, NED) and the whole structure of communication corporations that daily with perversity and lies run campaigns from different countries of the world to misrepresent the progress and achievements of the Venezuelan revolution in public and social policies.

Discrediting Chávez's legacy and the legitimacy of President Nicolás Maduro is now the main objective of these destabilizing plans against Venezuela. The communication campaign tries to demoralize the Venezuelan people that play a leading role in the transformation of Venezuelan society. This vicious media campaign seeks to ignore the legitimate government of President Nicolás Maduro who is guarantor with the people of the legacy that President Chávez left us. They have been 16 years of constant aggression to undermine the Venezuelan political process.

The aggression plans against Venezuela do not stop; there are international logistical and economic plans to encourage internal opposition that triggers various conspiratorial actions that accrue daily.

The campaign of information matrices to attack Venezuela overflows its limits. Use of lies to defame, to misrepresent the Venezuelan reality, they do not tell the truth they are only left with lies to use. The Venezuelan people despite the particular problems faced every day strive to build an inclusive, humanistic and revolutionary society.

A communications war trying to discredit the Venezuelan democratic process and portray it as a government that does not respect the rules of international coexistence is encouraged. They persist in representing Venezuela as a threat to its neighbors in terms of security.

Remember Obama's statement as part of the security strategy of the United States to signal Venezuela in the month of February 2015 as a threat. This statement meant aggression and disrespect for international law and our sovereignty.

They have used all kinds of plans against Venezuela, they have resorted to all sorts of blackmail and pressure against sister nations of Latin American and Caribbean region to hinder the progress of integration that every day strengthens the independence process that the Latin American and Caribbean people deserve.

They have raised from Colombia since August 2015, encouraged by national and international financial sectors, a campaign against Venezuela for having decided to stick to our constitutional right, defend our territorial integrity. The Venezuelan government issued a set of measures, including the decree on state of emergency (closure of an area of the Colombian Venezuelan border), to dismantle networks of fuel smuggling, illegal business practices and deviation of food that severely affects the Venezuelan economy. The Venezuelan government justified the application of the decree a state of emergency to deal with the presence of Colombian paramilitary groups that propitiate violent actions against the Venezuelan people.

Venezuela has the legitimate right to establish constitutional measures to avoid any destabilizing actions. As a democratic state and respectful of permanent dialogue, we trust in regional bodies to propitiate agreements and decisions that promote the principles of peace held by the Bolivarian government. In the belief that they will guarantee the stability required in the border between Venezuela and Colombia to the integral development of both nations.

* Jhonny Balza Arismendi is the Venezuelan Ambassador to Kenya.

* THE VIEWS OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE PAMBAZUKA NEWS EDITORIAL TEAM

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