United Socialist: Given the catastrophic and humanitarian emergency that Venezuela is going through

A natural catastrophe is superimposed on a prolonged social crisis caused in Venezuela:

An enormous natural catastrophe has multiplied the acute and prolonged social crisis of the Venezuelan nation. Today the country is experiencing one of the worst emergencies in its recent history. The devastating earthquakes that have shaken the country have left numerous victims, that could reach thousands, massive destruction of infrastructure and entire communities left helpless.

But this natural tragedy does not reach a country under "normal" conditions.: overlaps with a social crisis, economic and institutional accumulated over years, marked by the embezzlement of public resources, the collapse of essential services, the extreme precariousness of life, the imposition of sanctions and the loss of sovereignty.

This aggravates the effects of the double earthquake, and vice versa; the occurrence of the natural disaster that affects several cities, aggravates the social drama that already existed: poverty, lack of efficient public services, collapsed health, economic collapse… All this in a framework of authoritarianism and corruption.

Undoubtedly, the first thing is to guarantee relief, emergency assistance and rescue, requirements that the situation to which the Venezuelan State has been brought makes it difficult to meet with due promptness and efficiency. Faced with these great deficiencies, theimportance of solidarity and citizen initiative, as we are already seeing.

As the context in which all this is happening, We cannot ignore the US military intervention of the 3 from January, that has imposed a supervised regime on the so-called Government in Charge chaired by Delcy Rodríguez, with oil resources and revenues kidnapped both by the US and by the incorrigible corruption of the regime. Thus; the arrival of international aid from the United States, seen by some as a guarantee of timely care, may run the risk of becoming an instrument of occupation, greater political control and legitimation of imperial tutelage, instead of serving the urgent needs of the Venezuelan people.

International help is necessary, but it must be sovereign and monitored by the people, since there is also the risk of it being diverted into bureaucratic corruption or serving as an excuse to redouble semi-colonial interventionism..

From Marea Socialista we affirm thatThe emergency must be attended to with solidarity, sovereignty and popular control, not with militarization or external tutelage. The reconstruction of the country, on the other hand, It will only be possible if communities are placed at the center, to workers and organized society.

Some strategic priorities and corresponding proposals

From our point of view, withan approach identified with the interests of the working class and not of the elites or the desire for domination of foreign powers, among the priorities and measures that we consider essential to face the emergency and defend the rights of the Venezuelan people, we can quote the following:

1) Guarantee that immediate assistance and support to the people, with help that really reaches you, with transparency, social control and community participation.

·Organize community committees to receive and distribute aid, with worker participation, Social Organizations, professional unions, volunteering, grassroots movements…Prioritizing child care, older people, women, people with disabilities and most affected communities.

·Publish open inventory records, distribution routes and use of resources, with permanent citizen audit.

·Establish reporting mechanisms and protection for whistleblowers against deviations, corruption or political manipulation of aid.

. Reestablish free and democratic communication It is also essential in these circumstances, Because the blocking of independent media does not favor and rather hinders attention to the existing situation with so many blocked media.

2) Mobilize international solidarity of the peoples of the world, that demand the commitment of their governments to help those affected by the disaster in Venezuela.

·Call on the people of Latin America and the world to demand that their governments send immediate solidarity aid, without military or geopolitical conditions.

·Promote an international solidarity campaign with Venezuela, articulated with social movements, unions, human rights organizations, community groups, etc. Promote international civilian technical support brigades, healthcare, logistics and reconstruction.Facilitate, first, with public funds and means from Venezuela and solidarity countries, the return of Venezuelans who are in the diaspora and who want to come to help or look for their relatives who are victims of the catastrophe.Special measures by governments to support Venezuelan migration in the countries where they are located.

3) Address the immediate humanitarian emergency with a national plan and rapid actions rescue, refugio, food care, basic needs and essential services.

·Activate an effective National Rescue and Care Plan, with participation of firefighters, civil defense, that is really articulated with social organizations and volunteering.

·Create collection centers and decent shelters, with social control and transparent priority criteria.

·Urgently restore services water, electricity, telecommunications, transportation and medical care, prioritizing the most affected areas.

·Ensure emergency medical care, including support from international civilian brigades and access to medicines and supplies.

·Suspend any measure that may hinder or prevent comprehensive assistance to affected families.

4) Address the structural social crisis that aggravates the impact of the natural disaster

·Undertake salary and income recovery measures now, so that the population can face the effects of the catastrophe and the crisis with dignity and preservation of their rights. Immediately decree the increase ofminimum wage as provided by Art. 91 CRBV so that the working population can cover the costs of the basic basket.

·Reactivate public services under democratic management and social control, with participation of workers and communities.

·Reorient public spending towards health, education, housing and reconstruction, eliminating bureaucratic privileges and superfluous expenses.

·Guarantee urgent assessment of damage to infrastructure with institutional and social participation. Make immediate temporary shelters available for people whose homes were affected and are uninhabitable.Develop a policy for emergency housing and reconstruction of critical infrastructure.

·That the Venezuelan oil revenues that the United States has been taking return to the country to address the crisis and national reconstruction.

·Conduct a citizen audit of embezzlement, debt and public resources, including those intended for emergency, in order to guarantee the availability of all necessary resources to face it.

·Stop any foreign debt payments corrupt and illegitimate and dedicate those resources to meeting the needs of the Venezuelan population.

5) Defend national sovereignty and avoid the military instrumentalization of international aid by the US

·Do not allow the tragedy to be used to continue normalizing the US foreign military presence under humanitarian pretext.

·Establish an independent national and international observation mechanism, made up of humanitarian organizations, social and human rights movements, to verify that the aid reaches and is truly destined for the people and has a strictly civil character.

·Exercise supervision of international aid received to prevent corrupt state structures from diverting it and taking advantage of it.

Our call as Socialist Tide to the workers and people of Venezuela

From Marea Socialista we affirm thatThe reconstruction of the country cannot be left in the hands of foreign powers or corrupt elites or protected structures..

The solution to this tragedy must be built from international solidarity between peoples unconditionally., from the truly participatory and democratic popular organization, from transparency and under citizen supervision, with self-determination and defense of national sovereignty, without authoritarianism and without repression, with measures to restore to the people all of their rights and guarantees.

Without ceasing to attend to the emergency imposed by the natural disaster, not giving up an inch in activating the struggles for rights of those that have been stripped from the working class and the Venezuelan people. The participation, Organization and struggle are the best guarantee to face and overcome this moment of tragedy and the situation of national humanitarian crisis.In our perspective is the objective of leaving any government supervised or dominated by bureaucratic and economic elites., aiming at the conquest of a government that gives power to the working class and the people.

It is time for a great convergence of all social organizations, union, community and democratic of the country, together with the solidarity missions sent from other parts of the world to address this tragedy and contribute to the fight for life, the dignity and sovereignty of the Venezuelan people.