Bolivar Law? A lack of respect

Published at: 06/12/2024 05:00 PM

There is no more anti-imperialist Venezuelan than Simon Bolivar, who warned in 1829 that “the United States seems destined by Providence to plague America with misery, in the name of freedom.”

Since that proclamation, in 1823, made by the then President of the United States, James Monroe: “America for Americans” and known since then as the Monroe Doctrine, it has been used to stop the development of the revolutionary processes that were promoted in our continent since the beginning of 19th century with the leading role of the Haitian Revolution and the different independence campaigns that have since taken place at the regional level, justifying their interference with their imperialist vision of manifest destiny.

History evidenced the contradiction that exists in the continental reality: on the one hand, the Monroe Doctrine project that seeks to expand its empire in our region as a place for the control, influence and subjugation of the Peoples of the South to American interests; and on the other, Simon Bolivar with his project of American republics together with the hundreds of liberators and liberators of our Great Homeland, with unity as the fundamental principle of sovereignty and anti-imperialist integration.

To this day, the United States continues its process of imperialist interference with concrete expressions that range from the militarization of our territories, the violent forced displacement of indigenous and peasant communities, the application of sanctions and blockades, the indebtedness of our economies and currently with military bases, institutions such as the Office of Drug Control Administration (DEA) and the presence of the North American Southern Command to control the reserves of lithium, gas, gold, oil and other common goods in our region.

These actions continue to give effect to Simon Bolivar's anti-imperialist thinking, which is reflected in the Letter of Jamaica , written in his own handwriting in 1815, which proposed the liberation of Spanish power and that in order to achieve this, unity was necessary: “We have to be united. We speak the same language, we have a common history, we have the same problems, but we have great wealth.”

Bolívar was the forerunner of Latin American anti-imperialist thinking, using concrete ideas to combat colonialist thinking, which not only used it against the Spanish crown but also predicted the actions of nascent U.S. imperialism.

Years later, in full knowledge of the Bolivarian ideology, Commander Hugo Chávez in 2004 declared that the Revolution assumed an anti-imperialist character, after overcoming multiple attacks and attempts at destabilization, and called for civic-military union to defend the sovereignty and independence of Venezuela.

At the beginning of that year, the former president of the United States, George W. Bush, increased financial and conspiratorial support for his allies and deployed open interference with pressures of all kinds to remove Chávez from power in the short term through the recall referendum or through violent means.

Faced with the imminent attacks, he declared from the Botanical Garden: “Never before, from here, since this Revolution, have we pointed to imperialism as we are pointing it out, that is, I ratify it here, the Bolivarian Revolution, after five years and three months and a little more of government and after having passed through several stages, has entered the anti-imperialist phase, this is an Anti-imperialist Revolution and that fills it with a special content that requires us, yes, that requires us to think clearly and take action not only in Venezuela but in the entire world.”

In this sense, the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution understood that the time had come to face North American hegemony without nuances and nourished his discourse on imperialism and its role in the history of our America, since the time of the Liberator Simon Bolivar.

At that rally, at the Botanical Garden, Chávez also said that: “Almost 200 years have passed since that alert made by the great visionary leader who was Simón Bolívar, 200 years later here we are concentrated in this Bolivarian Caracas to continue saying No to North American interventionism in our land, the prophecy of Bolívar no did nothing but be fulfilled: The United States of America seems destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of freedom”.

Now, in a new disrespect for our country, the U.S. legislature has approved a regulation called the “Bolivar Law”, which aims to pressure our country through the expansion of economic restrictions. The text of the law prohibits U.S. executive agencies from entering into contracts with any entity that maintains business relations with the Government of Venezuela, except those approved by the Secretary of State under criteria of national interest. This provision expands the scope of existing sanctions, increasing uncertainty for international actors operating in our country.

In the same way, when applying this type of sanctions, they establish a series of exceptions: licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are excluded, which allow international companies, such as Chevron and Repsol, to continue operating in Venezuela.

Faced with this new attack, President Nicolás Maduro rated the Venezuelan State 's response positively, since the National Assembly (AN) approved the Simon Bolivar Liberation Organic Law against the Imperialist Blockade and for the Defense of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as a law liberating; a law of justice, in response to the blockade and defense of the Fatherland.

The president said about this new law that “unlike the Venezuelan extreme right, which has put all its efforts into promoting the 'Bolivar' law, an acronym used infamously, which violates the principles, rights and sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”.

President Maduro also specified that the Simon Bolivar Liberation Organic Law against the Imperialist Blockade and for the Defense of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will provide institutionality to democracy in the country; in response to the proposal for a “Bolivar law” promoted in the United States, in turn, in defense of the sovereignty, peace and stability of the Venezuelan people, “The real Simon Bolivar Law , will be the law that will be approved by the National Assembly (AN) and will provide Venezuelan democracy with institutionality, with a constitutional legal weapon, to defend the right to peace, tranquility and to life and development in Venezuela,” he said.

For his part, and in response to this new attack against the homeland, the first vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, applauded the approval of the Simon Bolivar Liberation Organic Law, which in his opinion “will allow decisions to be taken” against traitors to the country.

Cabello said that “those people who celebrate the coercive and unilateral measures against the country will be punished. What they do, promoting sanctions and laws against the nation in the United States, must come at a cost, and they must understand that this cost is high,” he stressed.

Regarding the revision and approval of this Law, the president of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez, said that “ Venezuelans have a duty to honor and defend the Homeland, its symbols and cultural values; to protect and protect the sovereignty, nationality, territorial integrity, self-determination and interests of the nation.”

This new American onslaught should make us reflect, because as Venezuelans, the defense of the homeland must be the common sense of every woman and man born in this land of Bolivar, which is why it is repugnable, incomprehensible and condemnable, when we see the leaders of the radical opposition, inside and outside our borders, encouraging campaigns for military invasion in Venezuela.

That's how it has been and so it will be. Our enemies would have to fight against millions without ever achieving their objectives. Every attempt will find the courage of a people faithful to their tradition of struggle, aware of their rights, respectful of the law and justice, aware of the historic moment, and determined to win.

AMELYREN BASABE/Mazo News Team