I must admit that I find it equally baffling and amusing how the media/Tories/Some Labour Folk are using Venezuela as a stick to beat Corbyn with! It is not even the equivalent of being absolutely furious at Theresa May for not condemning many of the horrible things done by Capitalist right wing dictatorships. Where is this media coverage? To be clear, I do very much believe Maduro has made mistakes and do not defend some of his actions at all. But this is to do with poor decisions made, NOT Socialism!!! An over-reliance on oil, lack of attempts to diversify the economy and poor decisions taken are to blame.
By the same logic, we should all be being told that Capitalism is an absolute disaster given the financial crashes over the years-especially in 2008. So, to extend this same logic, we should be judging May and Trump and asking them to constantly defend Capitalism. Yet we hear virtually no condemnation of the rioting caused by the right wing, backed by the CIA/USA in Venezuela; how they have murdered people, deliberately manufactured food shortages, are trying to form ANOTHER Coup against a democratically elected leader.
The hypocrisy is quite astonishing. What the media and political elites are trying to do is scare off people from thinking another way of doing things is possible. They are using Venezuela as a proxy to bring down modern Socialism and try and make it so unappealing and link it to the worst kinds of crimes, while those same political figures literally do the exact same things they are trying to smear Socialism with. We hear virtually nothing of how Capitalism in the form of Neo Liberalism has created untold damage, poverty, war, homelessness, increased inequality etc etc.
We are told that this failed system is the ONLY way. It patently is not. We never get to hear of the massive successes of modern Socialism; What Chavez achieved against unbelievable odds and USA-backed coups in Venezuela, the overall brilliant achievements in Ecuador by Correra and now, hopefully Moreno too. Of what has and/or is happening in Nicaragua, Uruguay, Cuba, Portugal, historically with the Scandanavian countries etc etc. Cuba aside, all democratically elected people serving their people-and leading the way in the world on economics, health improvements, education improvements, job security, living standards, environmental and energy issues etc etc.
So, when you next hear someone call on Corbyn to answer for Venezuela, or that Socialism doesn’t work (ironically, a lot of these folk claim to be Christian-Jesus Christ was just about as Socialist as you can get!!!) or can’t work: Don’t listen. Call them out on it. The way the narrative works means you will never get a fair take from the mainstream media. Until ‘The Left’ has more mainstream media and think tanks, this lack of balance will remain. The difference is that now WE can be the media! As many of us backing Corbyn’s Labour party showed during the 2017 UK General Election campaign. Whenever the criticism seems relentless, whenever you feel mentally exhausted trying to take on the tsunami of BS, whenever you feel worn down by it: remember, there are plenty of inspiring examples out there. There is plenty of solidarity. YOU are not alone.
There are millions of us, and, yes, the world is starting to wake up and join us. We are a long way from where we need to be as a society nationally and internationally, but know that the louder the BS and unjustified criticisms & character assassinations get (everything should be questioned, debated and reasoned through-of course I don’t mean this form of comment), the more they are worried.
The more YOU, WE, US are ‘winning’. There are millions who have your back. Don’t let them blame Socialism. Don’t let them blame Immigrants. Don’t let them blame poor people. Don’t let them blame non-white people; or people with a religious faith. Don’t let them blame the disabled, the unemployed or the uneducated. Tell them WE blame THEM; THEIR failed Neo Liberal Free Market Capitalism has wreaked havoc on the people, safety, energy supply and environment of the people of this world. Do NOT let them turn us against each other:
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido – The people united will never be defeated.
In Solidarity.
#JC4PM #BEAPARTOFHISTORY
Adam Samuels
