Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Workers, communal organizers, students, and other Chavista supporters have marched en masse through Caracas, in order to mark 14 years since Commander Hugo Chávez’s final presidential electoral rally. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) organized the mobilization, which continued despite heavy rain.
The march began at 10 a.m. this Wednesday, October 7, with participants gathering at six assembly points: CANTV headquarters on Libertador Avenue and the avenues Fuerzas Armadas, Urdaneta, Baralt, Lecuna, and Bolívar. The routes converged near the Corazón de Jesús church in downtown Caracas.
The massive Caracas march was accompanied by mobilizations across Venezuela, including in Cumaná, Maracaibo, La Asunción, Mérida, Valera, Trujillo, and Boconó. In Sucre, Governor Jhoanna Carrillo reported activities in all 15 municipalities, while demonstrations took place throughout Trujillo’s 20 municipalities. In Maracaibo, oil workers, campesinos, Indigenous communities, teachers, and students marched to Plaza Bolívar, underscoring the participation of the grassroots sectors central to Chávez’s political project.
Addressing the gathering, PSUV Secretary-General Diosdado Cabello recalled Chávez’s reelection on October 7, 2012, three days after his historic campaign finale under torrential rain in Caracas and his determination to remain alongside the people despite his illness. He said the anniversary demanded recognition of both the electoral achievement and the personal sacrifice behind it.
“Chávez transformed the politics of this country,” Cabello said, recalling the affection expressed by workers, farmers, and communities during the revolutionary leader’s visits. He argued that this relationship broke with political traditions that kept ordinary Venezuelans at a distance from those exercising power.
Cabello also challenged the class and imperialist contempt directed at Chavismo’s popular base. He defended the dignity of working people, Indigenous communities, and Afro-Venezuelans, emphasizing that their struggle sought equality rather than privileges for an elite. He highlighted that opponents who underestimated today’s grassroots movement were only repeating their earlier mistake of underestimating Chávez.
Turning to the younger marchers, Cabello called for sustained political education about Chávez’s life and the Bolivarian Revolution. Many children marching on Wednesday had not grown up under the lead of Chávez, he noted, making the education of that history a significant responsibility for older generations.
He also condemned efforts abroad to distort Chávez’s legacy. Referring to a film recently presented in Colombia, Cabello explained that it sought to shape future generations’ understanding of Chávez’s death by presenting a misleading account as supposed historical truth, Telesur reported.
On the movement’s immediate tasks, Cabello urged Chavistas to strengthen daily organization and lend critical support Acting President Delcy Rodríguez across the different fronts of political work. He called for expanding support so Chavismo would be prepared to win whenever it next faced its opponents at the ballot box.
PSUV Announces March to Commemorate Hugo Chávez’s 2012 Electoral Triumph
Closing his remarks, Cabello recalled Chávez’s October 4, 2012, campaign finale in Caracas. Under torrential rain, Chávez refused to change into dry clothes before addressing supporters who were themselves soaked. Cabello presented that decision as an example of the closeness to the people that revolutionary leaders must maintain.
“Let us be like Chávez,” he said. “That is the path.”
Photo gallery:
‹›Pause
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AU
From Orinoco Tribune via This RSS Feed.