President Maduro – Black First Land First

US, Hands Off Maduro and PSUV Government!

Black First Land First (BLF) condemns the United States (US) recognition of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s president and applauds the legitimate President Maduro’s move to cut all ties with the US. Guaidó’s call yesterday on Venezuela’s military to work with him is in furtherance of the US led regime change agenda in Venezuela.

Maduro’s election as the President is in line with the revolutionary constitution of Venezuela. He was chosen by the progressive people of Venezuela. The US wants to replace Maduro and the PSUV government with its puppet administration led by Guaidó. This is in line with its assassination attempt on Maduro’s life in August last year, and its crippling economic embargo and diplomatic isolation of Venezuela. It did the same in Brazil when it replaced Dilma Rousseff with Michel Temer, and jailed Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva so as to place Jair Bolsonaro in power. In South Africa (SA) too US led imperialism replaced the progressive President Zuma with the pro West Ramaphosa as president.

Significantly, President Maduro won the votes of over 2/3rds of the electorate in the 2018 presidential election. From the voter turnout of 9,389,056 Maduro obtained 5,823,728 votes, being 67.8 % of the total votes. This was a wondrous victory for Maduro and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

We note that Venezuela has the most advanced people-centered automated electronic voting system in the world. Moreover in the past 24 years 19 elections were conducted via this system using the fingerprint of the voter. BLF hails this system of voting as a precedent to follow in eliminating the theft of votes and electoral fraud.

The US wants to restore the status it enjoyed prior Hugo Chavez taking power. It wants to coup Venezuela’s legitimate President and government so that capitalist imperialist interests can resume looting the country’s rich resources including oil and reverse all the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution.

BLF further denounces the counter revolutionary regimes of Latin America who toe the line of US led imperialism to effect regime change in Venezuela. As an anti-imperialist movement we maintain our defence of President Maduro, the PSUV government and the Bolivarian Revolution.

We call on Maduro and the PSUV Government to deal appropriately with Guaidó and other US lackeys in government. The US must get its filthy hands off Venezuela. BLF shall continue with its project to popularize the ‘Hands Off Maduro and PSUV Government’ campaign – including engaging in protest action at the USA embassy and countering the lies told by the white owned media about what’s going on in Venezuela.

Issued by the National Coordinating Committee of Black First Land First (BLF NCC)

26 January 2019

Contact details

Black First Land First Email:[email protected]
Facebook: Black First Land First

Twitter: @black1stland1st
Website: www.blf.org.za

International Relations Secretary: Shantha Balakrishna
Cell number: +27 72 114 3670

Deputy President: Zanele Lwana
Cell: +27799867225

National Spokesperson: Lindsay Maasdorp
Cell: +27 79 915 2957

Head of Media & Communications: Brian Tloubatla
Cell: +27 82 216 7664

BLF welcomes world meeting in Venezuela to address reparations, recognition & justice for Afrikans

Black First Land First (BLF) welcomes the signing of the decree on “International Decade for People of African Descent” this past Saturday in Caracas by President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. We are encouraged by Maduro’s acknowledgement of the struggles of black people the world over. Moreover his commitment to facilitate execution of the objectives of the decree, namely; reparations, justice and recognition of people of Afrikan descent via the establishment of a Non Aligned Movement (NAM) team is most inspirational.

Like Venezuela and the rest of the oppressed world, we are saddened by the assassination of Rio de Janeiro’s people’s leader, Marielle Franco. Countless black leaders (Steve Biko, Thomas Sankara and Chris Hani are a few examples from Africa) are systematically murdered at the hands of the forces of capitalist imperialism and colonialism who in turn act with impunity. To this end the assassination at the hands of the Colombian government of 15 black leaders in just one month (January 2017) and of the countless black political activists and other leaders everywhere else is of no coincidence. The past and continued persecution of political leaders and other activists for their radical beliefs also cannot be ignored.

The forces of capitalist imperialism by necessity have no consideration for reparations for blacks as this will compel their own destruction if they had to truly pay for all their sins against our people. In this context the initiative of Maduro towards a NAM team to realize reparations, amongst other things, for people of Afrikan descent is groundbreaking. BLF supports this initiative.

BLF believes that the envisioned process for black reparations, justice and recognition requires a thorough conceptualization (as well as elaboration) of colonialism which is based on the historical theft of black lands as well as the destruction of the African belief systems, values and identity.

BLF would in due course be making submissions towards the establishment of a reparations process to address the historical and contemporary injustices suffered by black people. In this context we would, at the appropriate occasion, elaborate on the establishment of an Anti Racism Council to lead such a process and to quantify black loss resulting from colonialism. We believe that our elaboration of our political line and ideological perspective will add value to realizing the strategic objective of the NAM team initiative and to this end help to inspire the translation of programs into political actions.

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF THE BLACK FIRST LAND FIRST MOVEMENT (BLF NCC)

30 March 2018

Black First Land First Email:[email protected]
Facebook: Black First Land First
Twitter: @black1stland1st
Website: www.blf.org.za

Zanele Lwana
(Deputy President)
Cell: +27799867225

Lindsay Maasdorp
(National Spokesperson)
Cell: +27 79 915 2957

Brian Tloubatla
(Head of Media & Communications)
Cell: +27 82 216 7664