Episode 53 - Venezuela's Constituent Assembly: Dictatorship or Democracy?

Empire Files

News

4.9 • 784 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2017

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On July 30th, Venezuelans elected a people's body called the "Constituent Assembly." The Empire Files was on-the-ground in the weeks prior. U.S. politicians, press and opposition in Venezuela called the process a "coup" and further proof they need foreign regime-change intervention. Abby Martin addresses the criticisms with Head of the Presidential Commission to oversee the Constituent Assembly process, Elias Jaua, speaks to supporters and participants of the Assembly, interviews historian Chris Gilbert and explains what is at stake in Venezuela if the social programs instated under Chavez are terminated by the opposition. FOLLOW // twitter.com/empirefiles LIKE // facebook.com/theempirefiles

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Empire Files podcast. This is Abby Martin. This is the audio version of each episode of the Empire Files hosted on Telesaur English. You can watch every episode at the Empire Files. TV.
0:15.3	Amidst Venezuela's economic turmoil, the main charge being levied at the government is that it's a dictatorship,
0:25.9	where Maduro shut down the attempt to recall his presidency and is now consolidating power to maintain control. The opposition alleges this power grab is happening through what's called
0:30.5	the Constituent Assembly, a call for a, quote, people's body to rewrite the Constitution
0:35.3	spearheaded by Chavez in 1999. In short, the Constituent Assembly
0:39.8	will consist of elected delegates from various communities with the power to draft constitutional
0:44.3	amendments. The changes put forward by the elected assembly will then be put to a vote by all
0:49.5	Venezuelans. Yet nothing has drawn more ire, condemnation, and panic from imperial powers and the opposition
0:55.7	than this proposal. Opposition leader Freddie Guevada said, if this fraud is allowed to be
1:00.9	established, Venezuela will be lost. What's happened there is the cancellation of democracy. In essence,
1:07.7	a coup d'etat on behalf of the government itself has canceled democracy.
1:11.4	In the U.S., Senator Marco Rubio threatens severe sanctions if the assembly happens, claiming it will
1:17.2	permanently change, quote, democratic order. Organization of American States head, Luis Almagro,
1:23.3	called it a coup and published a personal video warning against it. Maduro is calling for the assembly as a peaceful resolution
1:30.3	in response to the violent protests that have rocked the country for four months.
1:34.3	But many have responded with more violence,
1:37.3	escalating tactics against state forces,
1:39.3	like using an improvised explosive device against the National Guard,
1:42.3	and even targeting participants in the
1:44.7	Constituent Assembly. On July 10, a Chafista running as a delegate, was assassinated, shot eight
1:51.0	times in broad daylight. With street protesters and leading regime change advocates treating
1:56.3	the Constituent Assembly as the end of the line for Venezuela, I wanted to find out what
	...

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