Press release of the European Parlamentary Solidarity Delegation in Venezuela

Chávez won, we all won

This Sunday the 15th of August, the people of Venezuela made the historic decision to say NO to the revocation of President Hugo Chavez Frias, and instead unequivocably reaffirmed his mandate and the policies of his government. We express our deepest satisfaction and happiness for this clear expression of NO to neoliberalism, NO to marketization of everything, NO to foreign intervention, NO to destabilisation of Venezuela, and NO to the FTAA.

This victory for the people of Venezuela is a victory for people worldwide; it should be attributed mainly to the political and social reforms undertaken by this government with a real participation of the population. The outcome of the referendum is due to the ability to combine social justice and respect for civil liberties and human rights. It is also due to the political will to use the wealth of the country for the well-being of all Venezuelans, and to the efforts of the government to build a more peaceful world with an intergration based on more equal relations between countries.

The very high level of participation to this election is significant, and constitues for us as Europeans a cruel contrast with the very poor level of participation in European elections, and is probably attributable to the clear political choices made by the Bolivarian Project to build alternatives to neoliberalism, and to build bridges between institutions and popular participation.

We call on all sectors of the opposition to respect the result made public by the highest electoral authority in Venezuela, to leave behind any attempt to destabilize the governement, and to answer positively to the appeals for dialogue made by the government.

– Mr. Vittorio Agnoletto, Italy, Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL), former coordinator of the European Social Forum of Geneva, and former member of the International Council of the World Social Forum of Porto Alegre.
- Mr. Josy Dubié, Belgium, Member for the ECOLO party, former president of the Justice Committee in the Senate
– Mrs. Sahra Wagenknecht, Germany, Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL)
– Mr. Jaromir Kohicek, Czech Republic, Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
- Mrs. Sfia Bouarfa, Belgium, Senator for the Socialist Party (PS), President of the Belgium-Venezuela Committee of the IPU,
– Mr. Athanassios Pafilis, Greece, Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
– Mr. Jean Cornil, Belgium, Senator for the Socialist Party (PS),
– Mrs.Ilda Figueiredo, Portugal, Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),
– Mrs. Isaura Navarro Casillas, Spain, Deputy of the National Parliament for IUç
– Mr. Giusto Catania, Italy (Sicily), Member of the European Parliament for the United Left Group (GUE/NGL),