Watch working-class Venezuelans explain for themselves why they oppose a US-backed coup

Independent journalists from the Grayzone have been amplifying the voices of Venezuelans that the Western establishment doesn’t want you to hear.

“I came here for peace”

As The Canary has reported, Max Blumenthal recently filmed thousands of people queuing to sign an open letter opposing the ongoing US-led coup in Venezuela. Blumenthal is editor at the Grayzone and a contributor to The Canary.

The letter is written by Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and addressed to “the people of the United States”.

On 10 February, meanwhile, journalist Anya Parampil:

interviewed working-class Venezuelans in Simon Bolivar Square in the capital Caracas.

One woman explains that she is there “for an idealism that the late [president Hugo] Chávez gave us”. And she continues to say:

Things are bad. Yes, it’s true. But we are going to overcome it.

Another woman says:

we are here because we elected a president [Maduro], not [the coup leader Juan] Guaidó, who is over there. No. Here, we elected a president. With votes.

One man says:

[I’m here] supporting my country. I’m not going to let any of that trash [i.e. foreign military forces] come here. No. Our country is sovereign.

Another man, meanwhile, explains:

I came here for peace. I’m signing for peace because I don’t want any intervention here.

The interviewees made it clear that they were there by choice. And the theme of their responses was that they wanted peace, opposed foreign intervention, and supported the overall project of Chávez.

Sanctions and isolation

The letter is worth reading in full, but insists that:

The people of Venezuela have suffered painful social wounds caused by a criminal commercial and financial blockade, which has been aggravated by the dispossession and theft of our financial resources and assets in countries aligned with this demented onslaught.

Establishment bias

The Canary has been regularly highlighting aspects of the coup in Venezuela which are either downplayed or not covered whatsoever by the establishment press. As Dr Alan MacLeod, who has written a book on media coverage of Venezuela, recently explained:

The mainstream media seems to ignore the opinions of everyday Venezuelans. Eighty-six percent are against military intervention and 81 percent disagree with the current sanctions, according to a recent local poll.

And MacLeod suggests that there may be an “ulterior motive” behind “delegitimatizing” the Maduro government:

to undermine and attack the rise of socialist-inspired ideas back home.

That’s a common tactic. And it’s one that falls flat on its face under analysis.

For that reason, and many more, we should all ensure that the voices of ordinary Venezuelans – the majority of whom oppose foreign intervention – are shared far and wide.

Featured images via the Grayzone/YouTube – translations provided by the Grayzone