{"id":126856,"date":"2019-01-28T12:01:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T12:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=126856"},"modified":"2019-02-04T11:49:56","modified_gmt":"2019-02-04T11:49:56","slug":"open-letter-by-over-70-scholars-and-experts-condemns-us-backed-coup-attempt-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/01\/open-letter-by-over-70-scholars-and-experts-condemns-us-backed-coup-attempt-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Letter by Over 70 Scholars and Experts Condemns US-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"

“For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

24 Jan 2019 – <\/em>As many American lawmakers, pundits, and advocacy groups remain conspicuously silent<\/a> in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognize<\/a> Venezuela’s opposition leader as the “interim president”\u2014a move that was denounced as open support for an attempted coup d’\u00e9tat\u2014renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, filmmaker Boots Riley, and over 70 other academics and experts issued an open letter<\/a> on Thursday calling on the Trump administration to “cease interfering in Venezuela’s internal politics.”<\/p>\n

“The U.S. and its allies must cease encouraging violence by pushing for violent, extralegal regime change.”
\n<\/em>\u2014Open Letter<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability,” the letter reads. “The U.S. and its allies must cease encouraging violence by pushing for violent, extralegal regime change. If the Trump administration and its allies continue to pursue their reckless course in Venezuela, the most likely result will be bloodshed, chaos, and instability.”<\/p>\n

Highlighting the harm American sanctions have inflicted upon the Venezuelan economy and people, the letter goes on to denounce the White House’s “aggressive” actions and rhetoric against Venezuela’s government, arguing that peaceful talks are the only way forward.<\/p>\n

“In such situations, the only solution is a negotiated settlement, as has happened in the past in Latin American countries when politically polarized societies were unable to resolve their differences through elections,” the letter reads. “For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents that will allow the country to finally emerge from its political and economic crisis.”<\/p>\n

Read the full letter below:<\/p>\n

The United States government must cease interfering in Venezuela\u2019s internal politics, especially for the purpose of overthrowing the country\u2019s government. Actions by the Trump administration and its allies in the hemisphere are almost certain to make the situation in Venezuela worse, leading to unnecessary human suffering, violence, and instability.<\/em><\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s political polarization is not new; the country has long been divided along racial and socioeconomic lines. But the polarization has deepened in recent years. This is partly due to US support for an opposition strategy aimed at removing the government of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro through extra-electoral means. While the opposition has been divided on this strategy, US support has backed hardline opposition sectors in their goal of ousting the Maduro government through often violent protests, a military coup d\u2019etat, or other avenues that sidestep the ballot box.<\/em><\/p>\n

Under the Trump administration, aggressive rhetoric against the Venezuelan government has ratcheted up to a more extreme and threatening level, with Trump administration officials talking<\/a> of \u201cmilitary action\u201d and condemning Venezuela, along with Cuba and Nicaragua, as part of a \u201ctroika of tyranny<\/a>.\u201d Problems resulting from Venezuelan government policy have been worsened <\/a>\u00a0by US economic sanctions, illegal<\/a> under the Organization of American States and the United Nations \u2015 as well as US law and other international treaties and conventions. These sanctions have cut off the means by which the Venezuelan government could escape from its economic recession, while causing a dramatic falloff<\/a> in oil production and worsening the economic crisis, and causing many people to die because they can\u2019t get access to life-saving medicines. Meanwhile, the US and other governments continue to blame the Venezuelan government \u2015 solely \u2015 for the economic damage, even that caused by the US sanctions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now the US and its allies, including OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro and Brazil\u2019s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, have pushed Venezuela to the precipice. By recognizing National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the new president of Venezuela \u2015 something illegal under the OAS Charter<\/a> \u2015 the Trump administration has sharply accelerated Venezuela\u2019s political crisis in the hopes of dividing the Venezuelan military and further polarizing the populace, forcing them to choose sides. The obvious, and sometimes stated<\/a> goal, is to force Maduro out via a coup d\u2019etat.<\/em><\/p>\n

The reality is that despite hyperinflation, shortages, and a deep depression, Venezuela remains a politically polarized country. The US and its allies must cease encouraging violence by pushing for violent, extralegal regime change. If the Trump administration and its allies continue to pursue their reckless course in Venezuela, the most likely result will be bloodshed, chaos, and instability. The US should have learned something from its regime change ventures in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and its long, violent history of sponsoring regime change in Latin America.<\/em><\/p>\n

Neither side in Venezuela can simply vanquish the other. The military, for example, has at least 235,000 frontline members, and there are at least 1.6 million in militias. Many of these people will fight, not only on the basis of a belief in national sovereignty that is widely held in Latin America \u2015 in the face of what increasingly appears to be a US-led intervention \u2015 but also to protect themselves from likely repression if the opposition topples the government by force.<\/em><\/p>\n

In such situations, the only solution is a negotiated settlement, as has happened in the past in Latin American countries when politically polarized societies were unable to resolve their differences through elections. There have been efforts, such as those led by the Vatican<\/a> in the fall of 2016, that had potential, but they received no support from Washington and its allies who favored regime change. This strategy must change if there is to be any viable solution to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the sake of the Venezuelan people, the region, and for the principle of national sovereignty, these international actors should instead support negotiations between the Venezuelan government and its opponents that will allow the country to finally emerge from its political and economic crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n

Signed:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Noam Chomsky, Professor Emeritus, MIT and Laureate Professor, University of Arizona<\/em><\/p>\n

Laura Carlsen, Director, Americas Program, Center for International Policy
\n
\nGreg Grandin, Professor of History, New York University <\/em><\/p>\n

Antonio C. S. Rosa, Editor \u2013 TRANSCEND Media Service<\/em>
\n
\nMiguel Tinker Salas, Professor of Latin American History and Chicano\/a Latino\/a Studies at Pomona College <\/em>
\n
\nSujatha Fernandes, Professor of Political Economy and Sociology, University of Sydney <\/em>
\n
\nSteve Ellner, Associate Managing Editor of Latin American Perspectives <\/em>
\n
\nAlfred de Zayas, former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order and only UN rapporteur to have visited Venezuela in 21 years <\/em>
\n
\nBoots Riley, Writer\/Director of Sorry to Bother You, Musician <\/em>
\n
\nJohn Pilger, Journalist & Film-Maker <\/em>
\n
\nMark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research <\/em>
\n
\nJared Abbott, PhD Candidate, Department of Government, Harvard University <\/em>
\n
\nDr. Tim Anderson, Director, Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies <\/em>
\n
\nElisabeth Armstrong, Professor of the Study of Women and Gender, Smith College <\/em>
\n
\nAlexander Avi\u00f1a, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Arizona State University <\/em>
\n
\nMarc Becker, Professor of History, Truman State University <\/em>
\n
\nMedea Benjamin, Cofounder, CODEPINK <\/em>
\n
\nPhyllis Bennis, Program Director, New Internationalism, Institute for Policy Studies <\/em>
\n
\nDr. Robert E. Birt, Professor of Philosophy, Bowie State University <\/em>
\n
\nAviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State University <\/em>
\n
\nJames Cohen, University of Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle <\/em>
\n
\nGuadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Associate Professor, George Mason University <\/em>
\n
\nBenjamin Dangl, PhD, Editor of Toward Freedom <\/em>
\n
\nDr. Francisco Dominguez, Faculty of Professional and Social Sciences, Middlesex University, UK <\/em>
\n
\nAlex Dupuy, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology Emeritus, Wesleyan University <\/em>
\n
\nJodie Evans, Cofounder, CODEPINK <\/em>
\n
\nVanessa Freije, Assistant Professor of International Studies, University of Washington <\/em>
\n
\nGavin Fridell, Canada Research Chair and Associate Professor in International Development Studies, St. Mary\u2019s University <\/em>
\n
\nEvelyn Gonzalez, Counselor, Montgomery College <\/em>
\n
\nJeffrey L. Gould, Rudy Professor of History, Indiana University <\/em>
\n
\nBret Gustafson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis <\/em>
\n
\nPeter Hallward, Professor of Philosophy, Kingston University <\/em>
\n
\nJohn L. Hammond, Professor of Sociology, CUNY <\/em>
\n
\nMark Healey, Associate Professor of History, University of Connecticut <\/em>
\n
\nGabriel Hetland, Assistant Professor of Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino Studies, University of Albany <\/em>
\n
\nForrest Hylton, Associate Professor of History, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medell\u00edn <\/em>
\n
\nDaniel James, Bernardo Mendel Chair of Latin American History <\/em>
\n
\nChuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator, Alliance for Global Justice <\/em>
\n
\nDaniel Kovalik, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh <\/em>
\n
\nWinnie Lem, Professor, International Development Studies, Trent University <\/em>
\n
\nDr. Gilberto L\u00f3pez y Rivas, Professor-Researcher, National University of Anthropology and History, Morelos, Mexico <\/em>
\n
\nMary Ann Mahony, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University <\/em>
\n
\nJorge Mancini, Vice President, Foundation for Latin American Integration (FILA) <\/em>
\n
\nLu\u00eds Martin-Cabrera, Associate Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies, University of California San Diego <\/em>
\n
\nTeresa A. Meade, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture, Union College <\/em>
\n
\nFrederick Mills, Professor of Philosophy, Bowie State University <\/em>
\n
\nStephen Morris, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, Middle Tennessee State University <\/em>
\n
\nLiisa L. North, Professor Emeritus, York University <\/em>
\n
\nPaul Ortiz, Associate Professor of History, University of Florida <\/em>
\n
\nChristian Parenti, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, John Jay College CUNY <\/em>
\n
\nNicole Phillips, Law Professor at the Universit\u00e9 de la Foundation Dr. Aristide Facult\u00e9 des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques and Adjunct Law Professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law <\/em>
\n
\nBeatrice Pita, Lecturer, Department of Literature, University of California San Diego <\/em>
\n
\nMargaret Power, Professor of History, Illinois Institute of Technology <\/em>
\n
\nVijay Prashad, Editor, The TriContinental <\/em>
\n
\nEleanora Quijada Cervoni FHEA, Staff Education Facilitator & EFS Mentor, Centre for Higher Education, Learning & Teaching at The Australian National University <\/em>
\n
\nWalter Riley, Attorney and Activist <\/em>
\n
\nWilliam I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara <\/em>
\n
\nMary Roldan, Dorothy Epstein Professor of Latin American History, Hunter College\/ CUNY Graduate Center <\/em>
\n
\nKarin Rosemblatt, Professor of History, University of Maryland <\/em>
\n
\nEmir Sader, Professor of Sociology, University of the State of Rio de Janeiro <\/em>
\n
\nRosaura Sanchez, Professor of Latin American Literature and Chicano Literature, University of California, San Diego <\/em>
\n
\nT.M. Scruggs Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa <\/em>
\n
\nVictor Silverman, Professor of History, Pomona College <\/em>
\n
\nBrad Simpson, Associate Professor of History, University of Connecticut <\/em>
\n
\nJeb Sprague, Lecturer, University of Virginia <\/em><\/p>\n

Kent Spriggs, International human rights lawyer<\/em>
\n
\nChristy Thornton, Assistant Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University <\/em>
\n
\nSinclair S. Thomson, Associate Professor of History, New York University <\/em><\/p>\n

Steven Topik, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine <\/em>
\n
\nStephen Volk, Professor of History Emeritus, Oberlin College <\/em>
\n
\nKirsten Weld, John. L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of History, Harvard University <\/em>
\n
\nKevin Young, Assistant Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Amherst <\/em>
\n
\nPatricio Zamorano, Academic of Latin American Studies; Executive Director, InfoAmericas<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

___________________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 commondreams.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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