With Harris on the ballot, Democrats work to build momentum for bigger youth vote

 By Shauneen Miranda

WASHINGTON —  Democratic and left-leaning youth organizing groups have seized on a new opportunity to rally younger voters now that Vice President Kamala Harris is their party’s presidential nominee.

Young adult voters — including millions of Gen Zers — could be pivotal in determining the outcome of the race in which the 59-year-old Democrat vies for the Oval Office against former President Donald Trump, 78, the GOP presidential nominee. Members of Gen Z eligible to vote are 18 to 27 years old this year.

These groups say young voters are excited to possibly elect someone who more closely represents their demographics, as Harris would be the first woman to serve as president, the second Black president and the first president of South Asian descent. About 45% of the Gen Z generation eligible to vote are young people of color, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

Democrats nominated Harris after President Joe Biden, 81, gave up his reelection bid following a disastrous performance in a June 27 debate and intense pressure on him to drop out.

The organizing groups are also highlighting Harris’ connection with young people on issues that have historically been important to this demographic, such as protecting reproductive rights and climate action.

Battleground states

With less than three months to go until Election Day, these groups are in full swing as they target battleground states in which the presidential contest has historically been particularly close and utilize their state and local chapters for youth voter outreach.

Kati Durkin, western vice president of Young Democrats of America, said they have a “pretty targeted campaign plan” that narrows in on traditional swing states — such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin— to reach out to YDA members in those states and help members contact their peers.

“We’re really looking at: How do we mobilize the young vote using our network of chartered units across the country? So how do we get in there and go tell folks on a college campus in Nevada, ‘Hey, here’s how you register to vote, here’s why voting is so important and here’s why we’re really excited about Vice President Harris’?”

YDA, directly affiliated with the Democratic Party, is the largest youth-led, partisan political organization in the country and has over 20,000 members across all 50 states.

Durkin said the group makes sure that “as our folks on the ground are doing the work, we are bringing in the people from the Washingtons and the New Yorks of the country and getting them to help make calls in a state like Nevada, but also making sure that, as the DNC does youth-targeted outreach, we’re bringing our members to that, we’re helping with that infrastructure.”

Similarly, College Democrats of America — the official collegiate arm of the Democratic National Committee — communicates with its local chapters that are working on the ground in their respective areas to get out the vote.

“We’ve seen a lot of local organizations really do a lot of heavy lifting, especially in districts that might be historically red, to get the youth vote out, make sure that people on their campuses or in their states are actively registered to vote (and) are excited about voting,” Gia Iyer, deputy communications director for CDA, told States Newsroom.

CDA is also collaborating with other youth organizations to get their messaging spread beyond the confines of who their individual accounts follow on social media.

“It’s a lot of just outreach and making sure that we can get as many young people to be excited about this election,” Iyer said.

Youth and advocacy groups unite behind Harris

Shortly after Harris announced her intent to win the Democratic nomination, a coalition of youth organizing groups, including YDA and CDA, endorsed Harris.

“As a champion of reproductive freedom, climate action, economic justice, and gun violence prevention, Vice President Harris is uniquely equipped to build a coalition of young voters who will lead her to victory,” 17 youth and advocacy groups said in a late July statement.

The organizations highlighted Harris’ historic presidency if elected, as she would be the “first woman, first Asian American, and second Black president.”

“As members of the most diverse generation in our nation’s history, a Kamala Harris presidency would be one in which we see ourselves,” the coalition said.

Volunteer sign-ups

Voters of Tomorrow — one of those 17 organizing groups backing Harris — had more people apply to join its chapter network and more volunteer sign-ups in the three days after Harris’ announcement than it did in the two months prior.

The left-leaning organization aims to increase youth voter turnout and has a chapter network across more than 20 states.

Part of the group’s key efforts, according to deputy press secretary Jessica Siles, include running an organizing boot camp to train young people and having weekly text banks and phone banks.

Siles said the group’s chapter network “will also be organizing on different college campuses, whether that’s voter registration drives or town halls with local candidates, just trying to meet young people where they’re at, whether that’s on a campus or online, and trying to get them the resources they need to protect our future.”

Recent polling shows Harris holding a lead over Trump, particularly among young voters. In a Morning Consult poll conducted Aug. 9-11, 48% of voters ages 18-34 say they would choose Harris, compared to 41% who would pick Trump.

Durkin of YDA said “not only is (Harris) the right candidate for the job, but she has generated so much excitement. I have not seen it in years, I mean just this morning, my friend was texting me: ‘Is this what hope feels like?’”

Harris is “somebody that has put her effort, historically, into backing up her values, which are our values, and showing up for young people, and I think that is a lot of what’s generating this excitement,” Durkin added.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom Harris tapped to be her running mate, has also generated enthusiasm from young voters.

Iyer of CDA said Harris is “really catering to a younger, more progressive audience, which is great,” adding that “Walz, himself, is an incredible governor who’s done great things for people across his state, and it’s just a really great combination to see someone who actually is advocating for issues that matter to young Democrats, like the members of CDA.”

Uncommitted voters

Though Harris is gaining momentum among young voters, pro-Palestinian organizers are putting pressure on both the Biden administration and Harris, as she campaigns for the presidency, to enact an arms embargo on Israel. It’s not yet clear how much of an effect opposition to the Israel-Hamas war may have on turnout among young Democrats.

The “Not Another Bomb” national campaign is the latest initiative from the Uncommitted National Movement, where a wide swath of organizers, including young and progressive voters, have protested Biden’s policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

Organizers are urging Harris to “shift away from President Biden’s disastrous policy on Gaza,” saying a “call for a ceasefire and arms embargo is a moral and human imperative.”

Activists are also holding a “Not Another Bomb Day of Action,” with rallies across the country during the weekend leading up to the Democratic National Convention.

This article originally appeared in Michigan Advance on August 5th, 2024

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

How Sinclair Sneaks Right-Wing Spin Into Millions of Households

By Peter Tucker 

With the presidential contest in full swing, the Sinclair Broadcast Group appears to be ramping up its right-wing propaganda again.

While millions of Americans are subjected to the TV network’s electioneering, few know it. That’s because, like a chameleon, Sinclair blends into the woodwork.

Turn on your local news and you may well be watching a Sinclair station, even though it appears on your screen under the imprimatur of a major network like CBS, NBC or Fox.

Lack of eviction data obscures extent of the affordable housing crisis

By Robbie Sequiera  

Court records on eviction filings vary widely, don’t include the outcome and miss informal actions.

Evictions are a window into America’s rental housing crisis: In 2022, more than half of all renters spent over a third of their income on housing, and millions of tenants who miss rent payments are evicted each year.

When renters are kicked out of their homes, the consequences can be disastrous. Families might lose their possessions when they are piled on the sidewalk, or can’t afford the fee to get them out of storage. Children might have to switch schools, and studies show that evictions often lead to job loss and depression.

Louisiana asks judge to toss lawsuit against Ten Commandments law

By Piper Hutchinson

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday she will ask a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit parents have brought to stop a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom.

Murrill is expected to file a brief arguing the lawsuit is premature, as schools are not yet displaying the religious text. She argues that means the plaintiffs cannot yet show they are harmed. 

According to Article III of the U.S. Constitution, to bring a federal lawsuit, a plaintiff does not have to prove that they have been harmed if they can prove that harm is imminent. 

The plaintiffs in the case, who are Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist and non-religious, assert the new law will violate their First Amendment rights.

“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom – rendering them unavoidable – unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” their lawsuit reads. 

The law, which the Legislature approved earlier this year and  Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law, requires a specific version of the Ten Commandments, one that’s popular among evangelical denominations, be posted prominently in every public K-12, college and university classroom.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a similar law in Kentucky in 1980. 

Along the way, Republicans have argued they want the scripture in classrooms not for religious reasons but because they believe American law is based on the Ten Commandments, referring to Moses as the “original lawmaker.” 

The Ten Commandments are religious directives in the Bible’s Old Testament from the book of Exodus. Scholars disagree about when the commandments were written and by whom. Various versions of the text appear in different translations of the Bible and the Torah.

The rules come from the story of the Hebrew prophet Moses, a key figure in the Abrahamic religions who was said to have been given them by God after he led the Israelites, a religious and ethnic minority, from enslavement under an oppressive Egyptian pharaoh. 

When asked about the impacts of the law on members of religious minorities, Landry advised students not to look at the poster. 

“I think we’ve forgotten in this country that democracy actually means majority rule,” Landry said. 

Murrill revealed posters at Monday’s press conference that she believes comply with the new law and pass constitutional muster.

 Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stood among several examples of posters she argued would comply with the law and pass constitutional muster (Piper Hutchinson / Louisiana Illuminator)

One such poster displayed the Ten Commandments and an image of actor Charles Heston portraying Moses in the movie “The Ten Commandments” alongside a picture of Broadway actor/writer Lin-Manuel Miranda playing Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical “Hamilton,” over lyrics from a song in the musical, “The Ten Duel Commandments.” 

The song, which is sung right before Hamilton is shot and killed by Vice President Aaron Burr in the musical, gives advice for partaking in a flintlock pistol duel. The lyrics seem to violate one of the Biblical Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not kill.” 

Others posters feature pictures and quotes from figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson. Others depict memes and other references to the Ten Commandments in law, government and culture. 

Murrill noted her office is handling the litigation internally and is not paying an outside law firm to represent the state. 

Both Murrill and Landry have expressed that the displays could improve discipline in schools. 

Landry made headlines last month when he suggested that if the Ten Commandments were displayed in Thomas Crooks’ classroom, he may not have attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one attendee and seriously injuring two others. Secret Service agents returned fire, killing Crooks. 

Louisiana schools, except for those in a handful of districts where the law is temporarily blocked, have until Jan. 1, 2025, to post the Ten Commandments displays.

This article originally appeared in Louisiana Illuminator on August 5th, 2024

Photo credits: Piper Hutchinson

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

Cori Bush Loses Reelection Bid to Democrat Backed by $8.5 Million From AIPAC

 By Jake Johnson

"Tonight's results should be a warning sign to anyone who cares about our democracy," said one advocacy group.

Rep. Cori Bush lost her reelection bid in Missouri's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday to a Democratic primary candidate backed by a massive influx of spending from AIPAC, which targeted the progressive incumbent over her early calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, enjoyed a huge cash advantage over Bush, with nearly two-thirds of his campaign money coming from fundraising efforts by AIPAC's super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP).

UDP, which has been bankrolled by ultra-wealthy Republicans, spent around $8.5 million to oust Bush, the second Squad member to lose to an AIPAC-backed primary opponent this election cycle. AIPAC pledged earlier this year to spend $100 million attacking progressive candidates, and the organization has thus far been the largest source of Republican money flowing into competitive Democratic primaries this year.

The Intercept's Akela Lacy reported that in Tuesday's race, AIPAC's money was spent "on voter engagement efforts and phone banking in addition to digital and mail ads."

"One of the mailers, first reported by The Intercept, included images that distorted Bush's features," Lacy added.

Bell, who also raised money directly from Republican billionaires and previously served as campaign manager for a GOP candidate, narrowly defeated Bush, winning 51.2% of the vote compared to the incumbent's 45.6%—a margin of fewer than 7,000 votes.

In a fiery speech to supporters following her defeat, Bush said that by "pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take some of the strings off."

Bush, who was elected to the House in 2020, went on to directly address AIPAC's role in what became one of the most expensive congressional primaries in U.S. history.

"AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down," said Bush. "And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I'm coming after you too. But I'm not coming by myself. I'm coming with all the people that's in here, that's doing the work."

Justice Democrats, a progressive organization that helped propel Bush to victory in 2020 and backed her reelection bid, said following Tuesday's contest that "no matter what a singular super PAC can spend to try and buy an election, nothing can take away from the transformational effect Cori Bush has directly had on the people of St. Louis."

"That power—of everyday people to transform what we can expect from our political system—is such a threat to right-wing power, corporate interests, and AIPAC's influence, that a coalition of GOP-funded Super PACs had to spend over $12 million to even have a chance at defeating it," the group said in a statement posted to social media. "As AIPAC's influence in Congress wanes and the right-wing network propping it up is exposed, AIPAC has to spend historic amounts to continue advancing their interests at the expense of the Democratic mainstream that overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire and an end to genocide in Gaza."

Bush was one of the original sponsors of a congressional resolution calling for an end to Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, which has dragged on for 10 months and left nearly 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to official tallies that are likely a vast undercount given the number of people missing under ruins and in mass graves.

"We can't bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom," Bush said as she introduced the resolution alongside her progressive House colleagues on October 16. "With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a cease-fire now."

"Cori Bush had the moral courage to speak out against her constituents' taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza."

Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said Tuesday that "without the deluge of misleading advertisements" attacking Bush, she "would be headed to Congress for another term next year."

"Tonight's results should be a warning sign to anyone who cares about our democracy," said Shiney-Ajay. "If Democratic Party leaders don't stand against AIPAC and right-wing billionaires, they undermine our democracy and risk disillusioning the young voters and voters of color we need to defeat the far-right."

Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese echoed that message, saying in a statement that "tonight's outcome puts the blatantly undemocratic nature of Democratic Party primaries on full display."

"Cori Bush had the moral courage to speak out against her constituents' taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza. As a result, AIPAC and its MAGA Republican-funded super PAC spent more than $8.4 million to buy her congressional seat," said Geevarghese.

"Democratic Party elites have spent years decrying Trump as an existential threat to democracy," he added, "yet they are resoundingly silent when wealthy conservative donors unseat a true working-class champion who was among the first federal lawmakers to endorse Kamala Harris in her historic candidacy for president."

This article originally appeared in Common Dreams on July 25th, 2024

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

Crime Is Way Down—But NYT Won’t Stop Telling Voters to Worry About Crime

 By Jim Naureckas

In a piece fact checking Donald Trump’s claims in his acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican convention, the New York Times‘ Steven Rattner (7/24/24) responded to Trump’s claim that “our crime rate is going up” by pointing out:

Crime has declined since Mr. Biden’s inauguration. The violent crime rate is now at its lowest point in more than four decades, and property crime is also at its lowest level in many decades.

The Times illustrated the point with this chart, which shows violent crime decreasing by 26% since President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and property crime going down 19%:

In a rational world, voters would be aware that crime went down sharply during the Biden/Harris administration, continuing a three-decade decline that has made the United States of 2024 far safer than the country was in 1991. To the extent that voters see national elected officials as responsible for crime rates, Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris would benefit politically from these trends.

One thing polling tells us is that leading news outlets do a poor job of informing voters about the crime situation (New York Times, 7/23/24).

But we don’t live in a rational world—so in the days after Harris became the apparent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, she got a series of warnings from the New York Times.

“Today, many Americans are worried about crime,” David Leonhardt wrote in the Times‘ popular Morning newsletter (7/23/24). “Many voters are concerned about crime and public safety,” lawyer Nicole Allan wrote in a Times op-ed (7/23/24). “Ms. Harris, especially, will run into problems on immigration and crime,” Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson wrote in another op-ed (7/23/24).

“Ms. Harris was a constant target last week at the Republican National Convention,” Jazmine Ulloa reported in a Times news story (7/21/24). “In panels and onstage, speakers tied her to an administration that they say has led to increases in crime and inflation.”

In none of these mentions did the Times‘ writers attempt to set the record straight on the actual crime situation in the country—that crime rates are low and heading lower. In the case of the news report, such an observation would likely be seen inside the Times as editorializing—a forbidden intervention into the political process.

But most people don’t get their ideas about how much crime there is by personal observation; with roughly 1 person in 300 victimized by violent crime over the course of a year, you’d have to know an awful lot of people before you would get an accurate sense of whether crime was up or down based on asking your acquaintances.

As with immigration, and to a certain extent with the economy, people get the sense that crime is a crisis from the news outlets that they rely on. If they’re being told that “many Americans are worried about crime”—then many Americans are going to worry about crime.

---

Research assistance: Alefiya Presswala

This article originally appeared in FAIR on July 25th, 2024

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

Venezuela’s far-right refuses to recognize electoral results, violent protests break out across Caracas

The day after the Venezuelan people voted in their presidential elections, a number of seemingly coordinated protests broke out across Caracas

Violent protests have broken out in places across the Venezuelan capital Caracas on July 29, in the aftermath of the country’s presidential election. Far-right mobs have attempted to block major roads, including the road next to the Simón Bolívar International Airport, and have attacked buses, police cars, and members of the country’s security forces. The protests seem to be in response to calls by the defeated far-right opposition that on Sunday evening refused to recognize the victory of Nicolás Maduro.

In response to these incidents, different Venezuelan officials have called for a return to peace and an end to the violent protests. The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez declared in a press conference on Monday evening, that the proposal of the right-wing was always to provoke violence and disturb the rule of law faced with the impossibility of winning at the polls. He also stated that the Venezuelan government had foiled several attempts to attack vital infrastructure on Sunday.

                                                      

The right-wing opposition candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado also held a press conference on Monday night to declare that they had their own data which confirms that they in fact won the elections with 73% of the votes. This supposed exclusive data that they collected comes from a New-Jersey based company Edison Research. According to a report by journalist Ben Norton, the company which did an exit poll on Sunday is “closely linked to the US government and does work for US state propaganda outlets that were founded by the CIA.” The apparent political nature of the exit poll company has led many to question the veracity of the data, especially given the wide difference with the official results and other leading pollsters.

Progressive organizations and platforms from across the world have denounced the destabilization attempts, with many alleging that the protests are coordinated and likely backed by the United States.

A statement released by the Party for Socialism and Liberation reads, “Nearly every major corporate media outlet based in the United States and other western countries covered the story based around the same basic narrative – a result that couldn’t possibly be true. If any evidence at all is being cited to back up the right-wing’s claims of fraud, it is ludicrously biased pre-election surveys conducted by opposition-aligned polling companies that suggested González had higher support. What we are witnessing is a familiar pattern in the U.S. campaign to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution – the process of socialist transformation that began with the election of Hugo Chávez in 1998. When the U.S. government thinks that the right wing opposition has a chance of succeeding at the ballot box, then they participate in elections. When they lose the vote, they turn back to street violence and coup attempts.”

US-based organizations The People’s Forum and the ANSWER Coalition, wrote in a statement, “Democracy is under attack as the far-right mobilizes violent protests to attempt to overthrow President Maduro who won yesterday’s elections. History shows us that these coup attempts are often orchestrated directly by Washington and by allies of US imperialism. Stand on the side of the people and for democracy! HANDS OFF VENEZUELA!”

On Monday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil announced that the country’s diplomatic personnel in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic and Uruguay would be withdrawn in response to the attempts by the governments of these countries to attack and undermine the electoral process. The ministry stated, “Venezuela expresses its strong rejection to the meddling actions and declarations of a group of right-wing governments, subordinated to Washington and committed openly with the most sordid ideological positions of international fascism, attempting to revise the failed and defeated Lima Group, that are attempting to disregard the electoral results of the Presidential Polls carried out this Sunday July 28, 2024.”

Chavista movements and organizations have called for people to mobilize to the center of Caracas to defend their vote and peace in Venezuela.

This article originally appeared in People's Dispatch on July 29th, 2024

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

Nicolás Maduro wins the presidential elections in Venezuela

 By People's Dispatch

As predicted, the right-wing opposition has refused to recognize the results and affirms that they won “with 70% of the vote”, the US government meanwhile has called for a recount

Nicolás Maduro was re-elected for a third term in Sunday’s presidential elections, winning 51.2% of the vote. In a press conference just past midnight on July 29, the president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, Elvis Amoroso, announced that with 80% of the ballots counted, there was an irreversible trend pointing towards a Maduro victory. Amoroso also announced that 59% of the electorate had participated in the elections. Right-wing candidate Edmundo González came in second place with 44% of the vote.

Thousands were gathered at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Sunday evening to celebrate the birthday of the father of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chávez, and to wait for the results of the elections. After the results were announced, Maduro, accompanied by other leaders of chavismo, addressed the supporters to celebrate the victory.

“I can say before the people of Venezuela and the world: I am Nicolás Maduro Moros, re-elected president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” he declared, adding, “There will be peace, stability and justice. Peace and respect for the law.”

Both Amoroso and Maduro mentioned that there had been a hacker attack on the country’s electoral system. “The Attorney General’s Office and the Public Prosecutor’s Office will investigate and prosecute those responsible. But we already know which country it came from.”

In his speech, Maduro thanked the various political, economic, and social sectors which came together under the Great Patriotic Pole electoral alliance to elect him and to carry out the grassroots struggle against right-wing, regressive forces in the country, represented by Machado and González.

Maduro also stated that his priorities are to advance the economic recovery of the country, to strengthen ongoing social projects, and to build spaces of national dialogue and unity amongst the diverse political and social forces in the country. Another key priority is to continue fighting for an end to the blockade and regime of sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and the European Union and to pass the Anti-Blockade Law.

Read more: Mainstream media scales up attacks against Maduro ahead of Sunday’s elections

Meanwhile, the far-right opposition led by the former presidential candidate Edmundo González and political leader María Corina Machado, has refused to recognize the results of the elections. Machado assured in a press conference that González had won the elections with 70% of the votes, and Maduro with 30%. She called on her supporters to mobilize in order to “continue affirming the victory of Edmundo in all of Venezuela…In the next few days we will continue announcing actions to defend the truth.”

Read more: Dozens of US-based organizations condemn media campaign against Venezuela

The US Embassy in Venezuela, which is not located in Venezuela but in Bogotá, Colombia, released a statement after the results were announced where it expressed “serious concern that the result that was announced does not reflect the will nor the vote of the Venezuelan people.” In the statement, the US called for a recount and for the ballots to be made public.

However, across Latin America and the Caribbean, political leaders and progressive movements have saluted Maduro’s victory.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X, “Today the dignity and valor of the Venezuelan people triumphed over pressures and manipulation. I send to my brother President Nicolás Maduro our affectionate congratulations for this historic victory and the commitment of Cuba to being alongside the Bolivarian and Chavista Revolution. Brother Nicolás Maduro, your victory, which is of the Bolivarian and Chavista people, won cleanly against the pro-imperialist opposition unequivocally. In this way you also beat the regional, meddling, and Monroe-ist right wing. The people spoke and the Revolution won.”

Bolivian President Luis Arce joined fellow regional leaders in the congratulations. “We congratulate the Venezuelan people and President Nicolás Maduro for the electoral victory of this historic July 28. Great way to remember Commander Hugo Chávez. We have closely followed this democratic celebration and we salute that the will of the Venezuelan people has been respected at the polls.”

Honduran President Xiomara Castro who is also the pro-tempore president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), stated, “Our special congratulations and Democratic, Socialist and Revolutionary greetings to President Nicolás Maduro and to the brave people of Venezuela for their unobjectionable triumph, which reaffirms their sovereignty and the historical legacy of the Commander Chávez.”

The Iranian Embassy in Venezuela also released a statement saying, “We congratulate the great people of Venezuela and His Excellency Nicolás Maduro on the successful holding of the presidential elections in a safe, peaceful, transparent, democratic and competitive environment with a massive and broad participation of the people.”

This article originally appeared in People's Dispatch on July 29th, 2024

Please support the news you can use and visit The Brooks Blackboard's website for more news!   

Take a look at my brief bio about my writing life and on social media:

Facebook page: The Brooks Blackboard

Twitter: @_charlesbrooks

BROOKS BLACKBOARD

 

With so much happening in the world today, along with the mistrust we have for mainstream media - clear news analysis is really needed today.