TRIBUTE
Chavismo - Celebrating the leadership of Hugo Chávez
7 March 2023 - TDS
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has the highest proven oil reserves in the world today with a total of 18% of the world’s combined oil reserves. The indigenous people found many uses for the crude oil that oozed from the ground including medicinal and health, waterproofing their canoes as well as for lighting. The first recorded shipment of oil from Venezuela took place in the 1600's when a barrel was shipped to Spain for the treatment of gout.
For Venezuela, this country in the north of the South American continent, arbitrarily divided by its colonisers, has experienced the turbulence and upheaval that comes with the responsibility of managing a natural resource like oil that this country is abundantly endowed with. This country of 28 million people and a land area of almost one million km2 needs strong leadership dedicated and committed to the country and the people of Venezuela.
President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias died on 5 March 2013. At 58 years of age, Chávez's leadership had a profound impact on Venezuelans as well as the international community. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death, Ambassador Mairin Moreno Merida of Venezuela to South Africa hosted a reception in his memory and a celebration of his life at the Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
In her remarks at the screening of the Oliver Stone documentary ‘My Good Friend Hugo’ Ambassador Moreno spoke of Chávez who took on the responsibility of completing the great and difficult tasks that had been pending since the time of independence, tasks that Simón Bolívar could not complete because of the adverse forces against him. Chávez fulfilled these tasks and made them a reality. The Bolivarian Revolution, the restoration of Venezuelan dignity, social justice, the visibility and power of the people, Latin American integration, national and regional sovereignty, true independence, the realisation of the dream of a greater nation and much, much more. These are all Chávez's achievements.
Millions of people around the world see Hugo Chávez as an inspiration. "Chávez raised his voice without trembling in front of the most powerful; he spoke the truths that others were afraid to say; he never knelt before anyone; he walked firmly with dignity and his head held high. He was always on the side of the people, going ahead with the vision and dream of a prosperous, just and happy homeland," Moreno said.
'Chavismo’, as his ideology became known, was opposed to the suppressive, restrictive and detrimental policies of the US dollar hegemony based on fear, and falsely propagated in the name of democracy and human rights. The Chávez government fostered unity among the Venezuelans, giving them a sense of dignity and belonging through the socialist and inclusive programs and policies. It seems the current shift in the world geo-politic is proving Chavez and the leaders of his ilk correct on the stance they strongly held in the face of false narratives, disinformation and character assassination.
Members of the South African parliament, political affiliations as well as Heads of Missions of the diplomatic corps joined the tribute to Commandante Chávez and the celebration of his life in a gesture of solidarity with the people of Venezuela.
A media statement by Nkosi ZMD Mandela, MP in remembering the heroism of Chavez is below.
The legacy of Hugo Chávez continues to inspire international solidarity with the oppressed people of the world!
Caracas-Venezuela, Tuesday 7th March 2023: The commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the passing of El Commandente President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela affirmed the leading role he played in advancing a progressive agenda in Latin America, the Caribbean and international solidarity with the oppressed people of the world.
His relationship with Cuba and Commandente Fidel Castro in particular was instrumental in advancing the agenda of anti-imperialism in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa in particular. We salute him and the revolutionary people of Venezuela who supported our struggle against the Apartheid regime in South Africa in the United Nations and other multi-lateral forums.
Hugo Chávez will be remembered for championing the unity of the Venezuelans particularly indigenous people and African brothers and sisters in the diaspora who were brought to Latin America through the colonial slave trade.
He was a hero of the Bolivian revolution championing regionalism with a focus on Cuba, Latin America and the Caribbean. His cooperation with Commandente Fidel Castro in advancing health care and social housing will stand as his lasting legacy.
He fostered internationalism, global solidarity with the poor and building strong relations with the international global community especially engendering a relationship with Russia and China. This year July the Russia-Africa Summit will be held and the imperialists are doing everything to prevent it from taking place. We call on the SADC region to follow in the footsteps of Hugo Chávez in building stronger global relations to advance the development agenda.
The Hugo Chávez commemoration in Caracas, Venezuela was attended by the President of Ecuador His Excellency Luis Arce, His Excellency President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and former presidents of Ecuador His Excellency Rafael Correa, former President of Bolivia His Excellency Evo Morales, former President of Cuba His Excellency Cde Raul Castro, former President of Honduras His Excellency Manuel Zelaya and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves from St Vincent & Grenadines, Dominican Republic and others.
We salute this gathering of revolutionaries and in honouring the legacies of our heroes Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, we must continue to mobilise international solidarity with Palestine, Western Sahara and all oppressed and suffering peoples of the world.
We will continue to uphold and advocate the principled stand of our global icon and founding father of democracy in South Africa that "as long as there is a single human being suffering anywhere in the world, our struggle is far from over."
We call on this forum of revolutionaries and all freedom loving people of the world to be voices for the Palestinian struggle and bring an end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian land by Apartheid Israel and the imperialist forces that continue to arm and support the occupation.
We call on the global community to support the struggle of the Saharawi people for the liberation of the last colony in Africa and demand that the United Nations hold the long overdue referendum under international law.
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