The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, highlighted this Saturday in an interview with Radio del SUR (South Radio) the economic recovery that the country has had in the midst of the national dialogue and the sanctions that the country suffers from the White House:
“Last year, Venezuela achieved a recovery of five percent of its economy, we made progress based on national unity, we developed a strategy for each economic engine”, said the president.
At the same time, President Maduro asserted that the dollarization of domestic trade was an escape valve for its revitalization: “We achieved a percentage of over 80 in supply when we were at 20 percent (…) for the first time in 120 years, 80 percent of food is produced in Venezuela,” he said.
“2021 meant for Venezuela a year of consolidation of peace and recovery of the real economy, despite induced hyperinflation (…) with its own effort, teamwork and clear lines, Venezuela managed to streamline production processes and improve indices of the economy”, emphasized the Head of State.
Alluding to the contemporary context, the president recalled that what was written by the former Secretary of Defense of the United States (USA) corresponds to the denounces that the Bolivarian Government has filed: “The White House had direct plans for war and assassination, they wanted to assassinate to the main political and military leaders of the Revolution”, he added.
“We went 14 months without selling a drop of oil after 120 years of being the most prosperous economy in the world, we went from 3 million barrels of oil a day to zero, as a result of attacks, blackmailing oil companies, inability to pay us the Petroleum. In the media they do not get anything out of this information”, recalled President Maduro.
At the same time, the president indicated that the main goal is to overcome dependence on oil revenues, “we are building a circular economy with new factors for development and wealth creation, it is a medium-term goal,” he explained.
Dialogue with the US:
“Our permanent demand is that all sanctions be lifted, the first steps are being taken, the US took some slight but significant steps such as giving licenses to Chevron, Repsol and the Italian Eni company to start the process of negotiations of oil and gas in Venezuela”, said the president.
President Maduro reiterated that Venezuela is willing to continue with the dialogue in favor of respect for International Law, “Venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the world (…) the oil that the world needs is in Venezuela and we in peace and sovereignty have the entire legal framework to accept negotiations”, he added.
“The US has to put aside the policies of sanctions and siege (…) I think the steps we have taken with the US are positive and we will continue to make progress,” confirmed the head of state.
International cooperation:
Amid the unilateral and coercive measures imposed by the US on Venezuela, President Maduro pondered the role of China for cooperation, especially during the context of the Covid-19 pandemic:
“China was fundamental, planes arrived with medicines, antivirals, equipment, China was on the front line (…) With the vaccines, the US called the companies that produced them to threaten them and (tell them) not to sell drugs to Venezuela”, said President Maduro.
Despite the humanitarian impacts that the pandemic brought to the world. The head of state asserted that the sanctions were intensified to besiege Venezuela, “a campaign was carried out in the hegemonic world press to say that Venezuela was going to be the epicenter of the pandemic. They wanted to create conditions for occupation and invasion”, he pointed out.
Likewise, the head of state recognized the commendable work of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) in favor of true regional integration. “In the recent Summit we support the protest of governments for the exclusion of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua from the so-called Summit of the Americas,” he added.
“In ALBA there is a spirit of permanent work, we work on concrete things (such as education, health, sports, energy cooperation) (…) ALBA is in very good health and its recent Summit in Havana was successful,” as stressed president Maduro.
Faced with the new progressive wave that is looming in Latin America and the Caribbean, President Maduro announced that he estimates a reunification in projects such as the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and the consolidation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac ):
“We have absolute faith in the conscience of the peoples and sooner that later, the roads will be retaken. I hope 2023 will be the year to retake Unasur and we can relocate the union for liberation”, said the head of state.
Alluding to the Summit of the Americas and the US claim to exclude sovereign nations, the president pointed out that the White House stabbed its own Summit: “25 of 33 nations, almost 90 percent of the governments of the continent, have had the courage to voice their protest”, he added.
Geopolitics and conflict in Ukraine:
“The USA and the West believed that they could crush Russia with their sanctions, but the opposite is true, Russia is an energy and agro-industrial power”, said President Maduro.
Likewise, the president reiterated that what has happened is only the beginning, a deepening of the crisis in the United States and Western Europe could be looming as a result of rampant inflation, “with the latest decisions that the European Union has irrationally taken against Russian oil and gas, we could see a price of a barrel of oil at 150 dollars”, he said.
“There is hatred and Russophobia (…) The world’s commercial exchange will be occupied by other currencies and cryptocurrencies and we are very optimistic. We do not want war, but we are seeing a political redirection of world geopolitics”, said President Maduro.
Finally, and commenting back on the region, President Maduro asserted that he is respectful of the electoral processes in Colombia, he recalled that the first presidential round showed a resounding defeat of Uribismo (extreme right wing):
«Iván Duque imploded Uribismo, that is what the Colombian press says (…) the people of Colombia will decide autonomously, we do not get involved in the affairs of Colombia, it will be the people who make their decision in a sovereign way, and from Venezuela we say: Amen!” concluded the head of state.
