Making Sense of Venezuela: A report back from the presidential election

Progressive Democrats of America-San Francisco presents a free public forum.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was recently elected to a second six-year term in office. His victory comes amid a deep economic crisis that is causing hundreds of thousands of people to leave the country. While Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, this wealth has contributed to many of its economic problems.

Maduro is committed to continuing the generous, and deeply popular, social programs of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. But a steep decline in oil prices, accompanied by hyperinflation and lack of basic goods, have created a crisis in Venezuelan society—a crisis compounded by US efforts to discredit the recent election and impose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry.
Rather than providing thoughtful analyses, the mainstream American news media simply parrots official US government positions and refers to this huge country as an actual or potential Latin American “failed state.”

To better understand the complex, contradictory situation of present-day Venezuela, come and hear first-hand accounts by three Bay Area residents who traveled there to witness the recent elections. Don't miss this rare opportunity!

SPEAKERS:

Roger Harris is the immediate past president and current board member of the 32-year-old human rights organization the Task Force on the Americas. He has written for Counter Punch, Dissident Voice, Venezuela Analysis, Truthout, TeleSUR, and Resumen Latino Americano.

Teri Mattson is the founder of The Intrepid News Fund, a group that organized the presidential election observation mission in Venezuela. She has participated in political and educational delegations to Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and (for the seventh time) Venezuela. She is a member of the progressive political action committee Coalition for Grassroots Progress.

Susan Scott is a member of the National Lawyers Guild. In 2006 she led a delegation of attorneys and judges to study the Bolivarian Project in relation to the rule of law. She has organized delegations to observe and report on elections in Venezuela, Honduras and El Salvador, and has brought jurists from Venezuela to meet with US lawyers and labor leaders.