‘US must accept Maduro’s victory in Venezuela’

The groups chose to write to John Kerry after  US government refused to recognise Nicolas Maduro’s victory in disputed elections in Venezuela.

Secretary of State John Kerry

Department of State

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520

via mcnamarajt@state.gov.

April 19, 2013

Dear Secretary Kerry,

We, the undersigned national, local, and international organizations call on the US government to immediately recognize the election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who was elected by majority vote in a free and fair election on April 14. We further call on the United States government to condemn post-election violence perpetrated by elements of the Venezuelan right-wing and to cut off US “democracy promotion” aid to any group calling for or perpetrating violence in the post-election period which has already taken the lives of at least seven Maduro supporters.

We note that the US government has been quick to recognize US-favored winners of other elections in the hemisphere which had far less legitimacy than the Venezuelan election, most notably the election of Porfirio Lobo in 2009 under a Honduran coup-regime run election conducted during a State of Emergency, and the 2011 election of Michel Martelly in Haiti where the largest party, Lavalas, was not allowed to run a candidate. Former US President Jimmy Carter has called Venezuela’s electoral system “the best in the world” and there is no doubt that President Maduro won the popular vote with 50.66%. With a winning margin of over a quarter of a million votes, Maduro’s victory is far from the closest vote in the history of world elections.

Venezuela, unlike the US, conducts both pre and post-election audits, including 54% of voting machines, before the electoral authority, which is an independent fourth branch of government, certifies a victor. Fraud is nearly impossible under the Venezuelan system because the voting machines produce a paper receipt which is kept and compared against the machine count. All political parties participate in every step of the election audit. There is therefore no legitimate reason for the US government to withhold its congratulations to the new president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

Our organizations further demand that the United States government and the quasi-governmental National Endowment for Democracy, as well as the CIA, US Embassy, and other US entities cease funding opposition forces in Venezuela and cease efforts to destabilize and delegitimize the democratically elected Government of Venezuela. In 2002 the US government backed a failed coup against democratically elected former President Hugo Chavez. We find it fitting and symbolic that his successor, Nicolas Maduro, was elected president 11 years and one day after the people and army of Venezuela returned President Chavez to his elected office.

A response to all the signers may be sent to: Chuck Kaufman, Alliance for Global Justice, 225 E 26th St., Tucson, AZ 85713 or Chuck@AFGJ.org

Sincerely,

Chuck Kaufman, National Co-Coordinator

Alliance for Global Justice

Eugene Puryear, National Organizer

ANSWER Coalition

Kathleen Densmore, representative

Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition (CA)

Jorge Marin, Coordinator

Boston Bolivarians (MA)

James Jordan, Coordinator

Campaign for Labor Rights

Barbara Larcom, Coordinator,

Casa Baltimore/Limay (MD)

Rev. Dan Dale, President

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Carlos Martinez, Coordinator

Circulo Bolivariano del Norte de California (San Francisco, CA)

Lucy Pagoada, representative

Colectivo Honduras USA Resistencia=libre, (D19-NY)

Lisa Fuller, Program Director

Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)

Graciela Breece, Co-Founder

Communities Engaged in Global Justice (CO)

Petros Evdokas, representative

Friends’ League, Lefkosia-Nicosia, Cyprus

Selma James and Nina Lopez, Co-Coordinators

Global Women’s Strike

Andaiye, Coordinator

Global Women’s Strike/Guyana

Maggie Ronayne, Coordinator

Global Women’s Strike/Ireland

Phoebe Jones, Co-Coordinator

Global Women’s Strike/US

Charlie Hinton, representative

Haiti Action Committee (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

Peter and Gail Mott, Co-Editors

INTERCONNECT newsletter for Latin America Solidarity

Teresa Gutierrez, representative

International Action Center

Dr. Suzanne Ross, International Representative and Spokesperson

International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Lance Selfa, representative

International Socialist Organization

Robert Naiman, Policy Director

Just Foreign Policy

Alexy Javier Lanza, Coordinator

La Voz de los de Abajo – Chicago

Bruce Wilkinson, representative

Latin America Solidarity Coalition

Dale Sorenson, Director

Marin Task Force on the Americas (CA)

Jess Sundin, representative

Minnesota\\\’s Anti-War Committee

Azadeh Shahshahani, President

National Lawyers Guild

Alicia Jrapko, Banbose Shango, Cheryl LaBash, Nalda Vigezzi, Sobukwe Shukura,

Co-chairs, National Network on Cuba

Diana Bohn, Co-Coordinator

Nicaragua Center for Community Action (CA)

Katherine Hoyt, Co-Coordinator

Nicaragua Network

Blase Bonpane, Ph.D., Director

OFFICE OF THE AMERICAS

Gunnar & Xiomara Gundersen, Coordinators

Oregon Bolivarian Circle

Gloria La Riva, Central Committee Member

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Eric Gjertsen, Co-Coordinator

Payday men’s network/US

Mike Helbick, representative

Peace Action Wisconsin

Claire Flanagan, Program Coordinator

Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (OR)

Didi Rossi, Coordinator

Queer Strike

Giorgio Riva, Coordinator

Refusing to Kill

Grahame Russell, co-director

Rights Action

Michael Bass, Steering Committee

School of the Americas Watch, San Francisco, California

Robert Nixon, Steering Committee

School of the Americas Watch, Oakland, California

Dominique Diaddigo-Cash, representative

SOA Watch-National

Robin Alexander, UE Director of International Affairs

United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)

Ann Legg, Board of Directors

U.S-El Salvador Sister Cities

Tanya Cole, Director

Witness for Peace Southwest

Margaret Prescod, Coordinator

Women of Color in the Global Women’s Strike/US