Venezuelan presidential election from a Serbian observer’s perspective
August 26, 2024 Drago Bosnic
Bojan Torbica, a lawyer, Vice President of the Movement of Socialists and long-serving Member of the Serbian Parliament, was invited by the government in Caracas to inspect the electoral process in Venezuela.
There aren’t many countries that have been fighting off U.S. aggression for as long as Venezuela. The world’s most belligerent thalassocracy is dead set on destroying the Bolivarian Republic’s much-cherished sovereignty and taking it hostage in order to exploit its massive reserves of natural resources. In line with this, the United States has been trying to weaken Venezuela through subversion and exploitation of its internal divisions. During the first Trump administration, the warmongering elites in Washington DC tried their best to start a full-scale invasion of Venezuela, but this failed thanks to Russia’s decisive support for Caracas. And yet, attempts to enslave the country are still ongoing, with the U.S. escalating its covert aggression on Venezuela during the recent presidential election. Luckily, this failed once again, although the political West is refusing to accept the reality of the election results.
In order to debunk the myth that there’s been a supposed “election fraud”, we asked an expert for a written interview about last month’s events surrounding the presidential election in Venezuela. And who could possibly be better than the one who personally went to the Latin American country as an official election observer from Serbia? Mr. Bojan Torbica, a lawyer, Vice President of the Movement of Socialists and long-serving Member of the Serbian Parliament, was invited by the government in Caracas to inspect the electoral process in Venezuela. Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Torbica graciously accepted our invitation, offering a truly fascinating first-hand perspective of what was going on during the election week. Our special thanks go to Mr. Mile Bajsev for making this interview possible.
First of all, thank you for agreeing to give an exclusive interview for InfoBRICS. Mr. Torbica, in your view, is there any reason to believe the claims of some countries (primarily Western ones) about the alleged “election fraud” by the Venezuelan authorities?
Reasons for believing Western media that there was election fraud in Venezuela are just as many as for believing their shameful propaganda campaigns that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, or that Serbs committed a crime against civilians and not a legal anti-terrorist action in Racak in Kosovo and Metohia [a false flag NATO used as a casus belli to attack Serbia], or that Russia is solely responsible for the armed conflict in Ukraine. Just like in the aforementioned cases, it’s a dirty propaganda campaign that, in line with the old, time-tested American recipe, precedes escalating political pressure, expansion of sanctions or possible military intervention.
I was one of over a thousand international observers who stayed in Venezuela during the last week of the electoral process and, just like my other colleagues, I can attest that the presidential election in Venezuela was conducted fully in line with regulations and that the result, or more precisely, the landslide victory of the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, is a reflection of the mood and support that he and his associates enjoy among the citizens of Venezuela.
Of course, empirical evidence demonstrates that the ruling structures in the countries of the Global South, which work in the interest of their countries and peoples, not the neo-imperialist and hegemonistic global West and their multinational companies, become the target of their constant political attacks and blackmail. As it stands, all sovereign and free peoples and nations have to pay dearly for their freedom. Unfortunately, that’s the fate of Venezuela and its citizens.
Were there any attempts by the Venezuelan authorities to limit your access or in any way prevent and/or sabotage your inspection of the electoral process?
With full responsibility, I can attest that there were absolutely no such attempts toward me or other observers. At least in my experience. So far, I’ve been an election observer in a number of countries around the world, and based on my experience, I have nothing but words of praise for the election process itself, as well as the way we were treated by government representatives. From the first to the last moment, there was nothing but full professionalism of the entire state apparatus and more than just a responsible attitude towards the election.
Before our departure, H.E. Ambassador Ms. Jaidys Briseno hosted a work meeting for us at the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Belgrade. She gave us a detailed introduction to Venezuela’s electoral system, which I can honestly say is one of the best and most reliable in the world. After arriving in Caracas, for the first three days, we participated in several panels where the hosts introduced us to numerous topics related to the electoral process. We were given all the necessary literature and regulations concerning this, and before election day we had the opportunity to participate in two extremely important panels.
The first, where we discussed everything related to the election with the top political leadership, including, among others, the Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez Gomez, Vice President of the PSUV Diosdado Cabello Rondon, as well as the President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez Gomez. The second panel was held on Saturday, July 27, the day before the election, where we discussed all of this personally with the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro. All this shows just how much importance the top leadership of Venezuela attached to our arrival and how much they were ready to assist us and clarify everything so that we would be as prepared as possible.
During the election day itself, we had the right to visit any polling station of our choosing, without any restrictions, and directly verify the regularity of the election process. Due to the language barrier, observers who spoke English and Russian mostly visited polling stations in Caracas and other large cities, while observers who spoke Spanish went to the interior of the country. With full responsibility, I can attest that nobody refused to give us access to anything we asked for, from a free inspection of the entire election material and the voting process itself, to conversations with members of the polling boards and voters who happened to be there.
What’s most interesting is the fact that the members of electoral commissions, where the opposition was more dominant due to the greater number of its presidential candidates, didn’t have a single serious objection to the course of the election process itself, because, according to their own testament, it’s digitized and extremely reliable. The voting process itself can only be accessed after reading a voter’s biometric data, which guarantees one’s identification with 100% certainty.
During the actual voting, everyone first enters their vote into the voting machine, which records the vote and sends it to the CNE (National Electoral Council) where it’s stored in electronic form, and then the machine prints a voting report with a recorded vote for a specific candidate. The voter then inserts that paper into the ballot box. In this way, every vote is recorded in electronic and written form, so it’s always possible to compare and verify the election results in both ways. It should be noted that there are very few countries in the world with such a voting system.
Is there evidence for the involvement of foreign services and actors whose goal was to create an atmosphere of fear and alleged “undemocratic” electoral process?
Let me ask this – is there any evidence that elections have been held anywhere in the world in the last few decades without at least some degree of malign interference by Western intelligence services and their satellites in the form of various non-governmental organizations? Does anyone think that Venezuela, as a beacon of freedom and progress in Latin America, on which the eyes of all free peoples and nations are set, wouldn’t be under such pressure by America and its political vassals? There’s a document proving my claims, as it was published by the Washington-based “Wilson Center” about a month prior to the election.
It acts as an instruction to the opposition not to recognize the results no matter the outcome, although they already agreed to the election conditions with the representatives of the government in an official agreement, as well as to try and get the government officials to switch sides. The opposition was also mandated to start protests and blockades as a prelude to the “color revolution” and chaos in the country. All this is proof that the West never even planned the victory of the opposition presidential candidate, but only the political and security destabilization of the country. For anyone doubting my words, here’s a link to the original document, so they can see for themselves the intentions of the official Washington and the CIA.
I think this is more than enough proof of the global West’s bad intentions. The fact that only during the first half of this year, around a dozen terrorist groups were brought in from Colombia to carry out various sabotage tasks on the territory of Venezuela and cause destabilization of the country is another proof of the involvement of foreign, more precisely, U.S. services. In addition, since the beginning of last year, there have been as many as eight, fortunately unsuccessful, assassination attempts on President Nicolas Maduro. One of the most infamous moments was when they tried to kill him with a kamikaze drone during a military parade in Caracas. Luckily, this was prevented by a bird that attacked the drone and saved President Maduro’s life.
Were the protests really as massive as the mainstream media made them out to be, and were smaller groups of protesters perhaps deliberately resorting to violence in order to make the media effect of the alleged “mass protests” more pronounced?
There were no real mass protests, neither in Caracas nor other places in the interior. As far as I know, there were attempts to organize them in more than 100 places throughout Venezuela, but the instigators’ plan failed, obviously. There are several reasons for that. It’s clear that part of the opposition voters are dissatisfied with the current government, but they are not ready to demolish and destroy their own country for the sake of America’s interests and local tycoons.
It seems that the very intention of U.S. authorities was to use terrorist groups brought in from Colombia to cause chaos in dozens of cities throughout Venezuela. They were to be supported by smaller groups of extremists from the ranks of the opposition, and then, through an orchestrated mainstream and social media campaign, primarily through “X” (formerly Twitter), try to create a critical mass that would cause chaos, which would then lead to a coup in the country. That’s exactly how they started.
During the day, groups of infiltrators tried to sabotage the power grid and cause outages, all in order to disrupt the election process and, aided by the opposition, foment chaos in a number of voting locations. Fortunately, they didn’t succeed, but what’s interesting is how there were always Western reporters with cameras ready to roll in several voting locations where the opposition extremists tried to disrupt the election process by using power outages to cause chaos.
Have you personally had any problems for agreeing to be an election observer in Venezuela and has anyone tried to compromise your safety and personal integrity in any way because of this?
Yes, on the way back from the official announcement of the election results on July 29, our motorcade of about 4-5 minibuses was intercepted by a group of over fifty people on motorcycles who tried to block our way and then attack us, it would seem. Thanks to the timely reaction of the police officers who were escorting us, the drivers managed to stop our vehicles, turn around and, using alternative routes, bring us back to the hotel safe and sound. A team of Russian observers were in a slightly more serious situation and despite all the efforts by the police, they were unable to get back to the hotel.
Fortunately, they later managed to reach the safety of their embassy. I’m convinced that the attackers who intercepted our motorcade and tried to attack us knew very well who we were, as they were clearly instructed to do so. Fortunately, Venezuela is a well-organized country, with police and military that are fully trained and ready for any security challenges, as they proved on this occasion. It took less than 24 hours for most of the riot organizers and perpetrators of violence to be arrested and for order and peace to be restored on the streets of Caracas and other cities.
Thank you for this fascinating insight and I wish you success in your future projects!
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.
Source: InfoBrics
https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2024/ ... rspective/
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The beam and the eye: Is Venezuela's NGO law dictatorial?
Aug 26, 2024 , 7:18 am .
The Law on Supervision, Regulation, Action and Financing of Non-Governmental Organizations and Non-Profit Social Organizations was approved by the National Assembly. This piece of legislation will regulate the operation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which has generated debates and controversies in Venezuelan society.
To get an idea of the extent of funding that some NGOs receive in a specific area, such as "humanitarian aid", Statista offers some data.
According to this portal, the three largest donors in this area worldwide in 2023 (in millions of dollars) were the United States with 9,489 million dollars, followed by the European Commission with 2,114 million and in third place Germany, with 2,008 million. This would be the top 10 of the countries with the largest disbursements:
Largest donors of “humanitarian aid” worldwide in 2023 (in millions of dollars).
Credits: Statista
According to the graph, the flow of funding comes exclusively from the Global North, which in fact conditions the agenda of the recipient NGOs, who will inevitably have to align themselves with the geopolitical and geoeconomic interests of the donors.
The United States, by far the largest financier, provided a larger sum in grants than the combined annual GDP of Belize and Suriname in 2023 would represent. Despite having a significant number of recipients, NGOs based in Ukraine, Israel and Egypt top the list.
To assess the scope of the regulations adopted by the Venezuelan legislature on this matter, let us compare this legislation with the regulations in force in the first three countries that claim to defend freedom of association outside their borders, but which severely restrict it within their own territory.
USA
The United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA ), passed in 1938 in response to Nazi espionage and propaganda infiltration of organizations and media, marked a milestone by becoming the first worldwide regulation aimed at regulating the activities of what would later become today's NGOs.
FARA not only regulates those who represent foreign governments, but also any individual or entity acting on behalf of foreign interests, including non-profit organizations. This law covers any attempt to influence American public opinion on domestic or international issues.
It is important to emphasize that the FARA Act does not operate independently. On the contrary, it is complemented and reinforced by the Federal Campaign Act. Together they establish a detailed regulatory framework that prohibits, at least formally, any type of foreign financing of American political parties.
With a narrative that proposes the defense of the United States against the influence exerted by other countries on its political dynamics, for example, through disinformation and attempts to influence elections, the application of the FARA law has become a weapon to stigmatize and criminalize positions that dispute the official narrative.
Thus, following the 2016 presidential elections and scandals over alleged "Russian manipulation," the FARA criminalized the activities that individuals and organizations associated with countries "hostile" to the United States carried out within their national borders.
With particular emphasis on the operations of Russia Today and expanding the prosecution of Maria Butina , who was sentenced for espionage crimes, to set two notorious examples.
European Commission
On 12 October 2023, the European Commission adopted a package of measures "in defence of democracy" ahead of the European elections to be held in 2024.
The main focus was a legislative proposal seeking to improve the transparency and accountability of so-called "interest representation activities on behalf of third countries", which aim to influence public policies, decision-making and mechanisms for the exercise of citizens' civil and political rights.
Public access is guaranteed to the financial statements of organisations, detailing the funds received from third countries, the identity of these financiers and the specific objectives of each project.
According to the NGO European Civic Forum , this directive would affect the operations of many organisations in various European countries: "This means, for example, that USAID funding, which is a lifeline for civic groups protecting the rule of law and democracy in Eastern Europe, will be covered by this directive."
Other directives adopted by the European Commission that limit or regulate the activities of NGOs in the old continent focus on money laundering , which would regulate access to financial resources for these organizations.
The EU Directive, and specifically the Commission, follows in the footsteps of the US FARA Act by imposing increasingly severe restrictions on certain civil society organisations, requiring selective transparency that limits their ability to operate and silences their demands.
Like FARA, this directive criminalizes those who step outside the narrative fold of the “rules-based order” and ultimately the interests of the establishment, fitting into a broader trend that seeks to restrict civil and political liberties in Europe at will, as recently occurred with the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France.
Germany
The German case is particular because it does not have legislation that directly addresses the issue of NGOs, their regulation and therefore the control that the federal state exercises over them, which is given, instead, through different regulations such as the Companies Law, the Foundations Law or the Lobbyists Registration Law.
Even at the constitutional level , Article 9, paragraph 2 of the Constitution explicitly states that "associations whose purposes or activities are contrary to criminal law or which are directed against the constitutional order or against the idea of international understanding are prohibited."
The Lobbyists Registration Act, for example, ensures transparency by requiring registration and disclosure of funding sources. That is, the identity of donors must be disclosed if contributions received exceed 10 thousand euros and provided that the contributions represent at least 10% of the organization's total annual donations.
The provisions of this law are in line with the initiatives that have been carried out at the European Union (EU) level with the so-called Foreign Agents Law that we mentioned in the previous section and that provides for the establishment of harmonized requirements in the internal market for the transparency of the representation of interests carried out on behalf of third countries.
There is a growing need for states to regulate NGOs
Recently, a complaint made by President López Obrador emerged in Mexico linking an NGO called Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad AC (MCCI) to having received donations in the order of 96 million 740 thousand 613 pesos - from August 29, 2018 to January 23, 2024 - from the United States government.
The head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Pablo Gómez, who was in charge of the investigation, said that NGOs like MCCI benefit from tax-deductible donations, but do not make public any information about the destination of these funds, despite the fact that many of them are dedicated to political activity.
Gomez stressed that Mexicans "are obliged to ask Congress for permission to provide services to foreign governments. Is receiving donations equivalent to providing certain types of services or being under the supervision of foreign governments? A question that must be answered."
Since 2018, MCCI has made its main purpose to attack the government of the Fourth Transformation and all its actions have been directed in that direction, including its financing. This has been the reason why President López Obrador sent a letter to President Joe Biden explaining the case, and asking him to stop interfering through this type of action.
In this context, the Mexican president has indicated that before the end of his term he will submit a bill to regulate and limit the financing of civil society organizations, and to avoid what he considered "abuses" through donations made to them and tax deductions.
A problem for democratic stability
The opacity with which NGOs operate, which includes everything from lists of donors/financiers to work projects, is an issue that concerns not a few States and governments in the world.
Their regulation becomes a matter of national sovereignty when they begin to respond to the interests and agendas of the donor State or entity that, as we saw in the initial graph, are geopolitically dependent on the Global North and its objectives that almost always converge around those of the United States.
The now-passed bill in the Georgian parliament aimed at curbing Western interference and making NGO funding transparent has triggered furious anti-government protests explicitly encouraged by Washington and Berlin. Through these organisations, Georgia's integration into the European Union, NATO and other "Euro-Atlantic" structures has been promoted, despite its historical and geographical conditions.
"NGO rhetoric is a ploy to attack comprehensive public programs and state institutions that provide social services. NGOs side with the 'anti-state rhetoric' of big business (one in the name of "civil society" and the other in the name of the "market") to reallocate state resources."
James Petras says , highlighting the tendency of these NGOs to demobilize and fragment social movements. These organizations, the sociologist says, are deeply dependent on external donations, often serve foreign interests and promote an anti-statist vision that weakens the role of the State, by extension of the public sphere in general.
Under this premise, they pressure for public resources to be diverted to areas where the State loses influence, promoting the privatization of the public sector and aligning national policies with foreign interests .
The issue is the need for the State, the only space with legitimacy to exercise sovereignty, to regulate, as it does with other institutions, the financing, powers and behavior of this type of organization.
In Venezuela, at least in the last 25 years, we have witnessed countless moments where these organizations, which claim to be democratic, have served as a spearhead to promote violent and unconstitutional agendas in the country.
Recently, some NGOs have been linked to the post-election violence observed after the June 28 elections, and behind this action there is a foreign hand that promotes and finances such behavior. In this context, the regulation of the financing of these organizations becomes a matter of national priority, just as in the United States, the EU and Germany.
https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/la ... ictatorial
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In Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the League of Young Peasants of the DRC rally in solidarity with Venezuela (Photo via International Peoples’ Assembly/X)
The world stands with Venezuela amid right-wing destabilization campaign
By Peoples Dispatch (Posted Aug 24, 2024)
Originally published: Peoples Dispatch on August 20, 2024 (more by Peoples Dispatch) |
On August 17, in dozens of cities across the world, people’s movements, left parties and trade unions, participated in an international day of action in solidarity with Venezuela, facing right-wing coup attempts and attacks on its electoral process following the victory of sitting president Nicolás Maduro. The day of action is part of a solidarity campaign “Defend democracy and sovereignty! Hands off Venezuela!” that was launched on August 9 by the International Peoples’ Assembly, ALBA Movimientos, the Simón Bolívar Institute, and the Assembly of Caribbean People.
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) Amilcar Cabral Political-Ideological Training School had an online video-conference on 10 August with Guinean students in various parts of the world expressing solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution of… pic.twitter.com/NMvUDp3mQu
— International Peoples’ Assembly (@peoplesassembl_) August 17, 2024
In Guinea-Bissau, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) held a conference on August 10, in which Guinean students expressed their solidarity with Venezuela.
In Seoul, South Korea, activists mobilize on the International Day of Action “Defend Democracy and Sovereignty”—#HandsOffVenezuela. They call for international respect for the results of the July 28th presidential elections and oppose U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
… pic.twitter.com/1J06ufj8Cs
— International Peoples’ Assembly (@peoplesassembl_) August 17, 2024
In several countries, people’s movements paid visits to the embassies of Venezuela in their cities to show their support for the Bolivarian Revolution and its democracy. During the destabilization and coup attempts in 2019, Venezuela’s embassies were under attack by far-right opposition activists who in some cases were aided by the local governments to take control of the installations, as in Washington DC, in complete violation of the Vienna Convention. Organizations in Vigo, Galicia; in Pretoria, South Africa; in Luanda, Angola; in Oslo, Norway; in Serbia, Egypt, Mali, and Senegal organized solidarity meetings at their respective Venezuelan embassies.
In Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the League of Young Peasants of the DRC (Ljp-RDC) held up signs with the slogan “Hands off Venezuela!” In Seoul, South Korea, activists held up a banner that read “No world war provocations! Down with U.S. imperialism!” In Rome, Italy, activists held a banner with slogans in support of Maduro and “the Chavista masses”.
The people of Mali mobilize in solidarity with Venezuela on this International Day of Action in defense of popular democracy and sovereignty, and in rejection of fascism and U.S. intervention in Venezuela. #HandsOffVenezuela
@EmbaVEMali pic.twitter.com/rRK2wmngfQ
— International Peoples’ Assembly (@peoplesassembl_) August 17, 2024
Activists also held solidarity actions throughout the United States, which has openly called for regime change following Maduro’s victory, in line with its role in orchestrating undemocratic coups in Latin America throughout the past century. On August 9, U.S.-based activists were already mobilizing outside of the New York Times building in New York City, denouncing the so-called paper of record for manufacturing consent for regime change in Venezuela. On August 17, activists in New York City organized a rally at the headquarters of Fox News, and in Boston members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) protested outside of the Boston Globe headquarters in Boston. In San Francisco, activists from the PSL also protested outside the headquarters of the social media giant owned by billionaire Elon Musk, X, to condemn his role in fueling the campaign of hate and misinformation on social media.
August 17 was also a day of mobilization within Venezuela, both the right-wing opposition and chavismo mobilized in Caracas and other cities to showcase the popular support. However, the much expected “Great World Protest For The Truth” presided over by María Corina Machado, was unable to mobilize more than a couple thousand people. Internationally, the right-wing international day of action drew crowds in Madrid, Santiago, Miami, and New York City.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands took over the center of Caracas in a mass march led by Nicolás Maduro and the distinct social and political movements and organizations part of chavismo.
https://mronline.org/2024/08/24/the-wor ... -campaign/
The Cayapo
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) Amilcar Cabral Political-Ideological Training School had an online video-conference on 10 August with Guinean students in various parts of the world expressing solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution of… pic.twitter.com/NMvUDp3mQu
… pic.twitter.com/1J06ufj8Cs
