The orator of order of the solemn session in commemoration of the 212 years of the signing of the Act of the Declaration of Independence, held this Wednesday in the National Assembly (AN), William Castillo Bollé, warned that the Venezuelan Constitution, democracy, the state, the economy and the people are under attack.
The assertion was part of the words delivered in plenary made up of the body of deputies of the Legislative Power, together with authorities of the Executive, Judicial and Moral Power, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and special guests.
The speaker pointed out that the Constitution “democracy, the State, the Venezuelan people, the Venezuelan economy are under attack,” and added that “this aggression has as its raison d’être the ambition of Venezuela’s internal and external enemies to seize their resources and regain control of the political that they lost since 1998”.
He explained that the attack on Venezuela has a very clear objective “it is what in imperial language is known as regime change,” he said.
Given this, the communicator highlighted the strength of the Venezuelan people in the face of the attacks and sanctions suffered in recent years.
“Faced with the sanctions and attacks, we Venezuelans got to work, we have brought out the best in ourselves, we are in combat,” he said.
July 5, 1811: bright day
During his intervention as order speaker in the Chamber, William Castillo described July 5, 1811 as a bright day. “That day we began to leave behind the long and painful colonial night. It was the day we saw our face in the mirror of history for the first time, ”he said.
He indicated that the Act of Independence is a “historical record of a people that since then the only thing they want is to live free, in peace and in their own way.”
He also affirmed that July 5 is the first constituent moment of our history, which changed Venezuelan history forever and referred to the previous independence actions of the Venezuelan people that led from the indigenous resistance.
Continuing with his intervention, Castillo stressed the importance of seeing the lessons of July 5 in light of the complex and challenging present. After which he toured the last years of Venezuelan political history since Commander Hugo Chávez came to power, who proposed to the people the drafting of a new Constitution and a change of direction.
On the legacy of July 5, he commented that the great issues of the homeland, the essential concerns remain, including sovereignty and independence, human rights, land rights, welfare and social happiness, mixed economy, income redistribution , and popular participation and leadership.
A decade of attacks
In his speech, William Castillo Bolé gave a summary of the economic aggression against Venezuela by the United States with the support of the European Union.
“Since 2014, Venezuela has been the target of 930 direct or indirect sanctions against the Government, State authorities, the Armed Forces, public finances and the country’s foreign trade, including access to food, medicines, vaccines, inputs and raw materials. that the national economy needs,” he said.
He added that Venezuela has been the fifth country in the world with the most people sanctioned and the sixth with the most private companies and public organizations sanctioned.
In addition, he indicated that the aggression began in 2013 before they formally imposed sanctions, with measures to suffocate the country.
In this regard, he indicated that due to the sanctions, oil production contracted 72% between 2015 and 2022, pointing to the blockade as the main cause of this drop. He also highlighted that PDVSA had a loss of 232 billion dollars and that the country had a 99% contraction in foreign currency income.
“Venezuela is living with 10% of the foreign currency resources it had eight years ago, he pointed out, adding that this is the reason for the dramatic reduction in the public budget, the collapse of the currency, hyperinflation, the strangulation of wages, and the income of the workers,” he said.
Castillo also made reference to the theft of assets and resources of the Republic. “The objective was to stop the wheel of the economy and for this purpose the State had to be suffocated,” he said while affirming that the sanctions are designed to produce hardship and discomfort in the populations of the countries.
With concrete examples, he highlighted the consequences of the sanctions and the blockade not only on the economy but on the health and nutrition of the people.
