Supporters of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's president, hold Venezuelan national flags during a rally on Avenida Urdaneta in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 3, 2024. Photo: VCG

 
Editor's Note:

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced late last month that President Nicolas Maduro has won the presidential election. However, the US and some other Western countries stepped in to interfere in the election affairs of Venezuela. 
In an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Ma Ruiqian, Venezuelan political analyst Sergio Rodriguez Gelfenstein (Gelfenstein) shared his insights on Western countries interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs, the status of the Global South's voice and US hegemony, and how China contributes to global peace and development.

GT: In 2019, the US incited Venezuela's opposition to refuse to recognize President Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. How do you view the Western countries' latest interference in Venezuela's internal affairs, and what are their motives? 

Gelfenstein: The international system, which has been influenced by the imposition of the Westernized perspective that is intended to give universal characteristics, is undergoing a process of structural transformation that has never been experienced in the last 80 years. This has generated resistance in different countries and regions. An increasing number of people are opposed to accepting the imperial and colonial domination of the US and Europe. Venezuela is one of those countries.

In the past 25 years, since Venezuela made the decision to break away from the control and hegemony of the US, the US has used all types of political, military, economic and diplomatic instruments to overthrow the constitutional governments elected by the people. 

The most fundamental reason is that Venezuela has enormous energy wealth. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world and is also one of the countries with the largest natural gas reserves. Moreover, throughout history, Venezuela's political processes of independence and autonomy have served as an example for other countries in the region.

These two components make taking control of the country highly desirable for the West. Since they have not achieved their objectives, they have increased their levels of interference, leading in 2015 to then US President Barack Obama declaring Venezuela as "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security of the US, initiating a policy of sanctions, still in place today. These sanctions have generated serious alterations in the daily lives of citizens, creating unrest and difficulties aimed at altering the people's support for the government by holding it responsible for this situation.

GT: How do the different attitudes of the US and China reflect their respective relationships and approaches with Latin American countries, including Venezuela?

Gelfenstein: It is precisely reflected in the different ways the US and China relate to Venezuela. This disparity is not limited to electoral dynamics. Unlike the interventionist and arrogant way in which Washington interacts with Venezuela by issuing opinions that do not concern it, China consistently shows respect for the institutions of the Venezuelan State, which is appreciated by both the government and the people of Venezuela. The US, in its relationship with Venezuela, Latin America, and the world, demonstrates a hegemonic spirit, while China has a desire to establish relations based on legal equality and respect for each country's institutions and self-determination, without any form of interference.

GT: In a previous interview, you mentioned that the US is losing its ability to maintain global hegemony. Is the US' influence waning in Latin America, with more Latin American countries increasingly resisting American control? In the current international situation, how do you interpret the status of the Global South's voice and US hegemony?

Gelfenstein: The problem for Latin America in its relationship with the US is that in several countries, local oligarchies still retain significant power and remain absolutely loyal to Washington because their interests align. This is gradually changing, but it is not a continuous process that always moves forward. There is progress and there are setbacks because the people, along with the progressive and democratic sectors, have not managed to build correlations of forces that allow the large excluded majorities to take a leading role in the changes. To that extent, the US can continue to consider Latin America and the Caribbean as its "backyard."

But in terms of the Global South, the situation is much more positive. In Africa and Asia, there are anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements that show the conservative and retrograde positions represented by the West are increasingly isolated. An increasing number of countries reject sanctions against Russia and refuse to isolate themselves from China just because the US demands it.

In an increasingly accelerated process, the Eurasian space is displacing the North Atlantic as the place where major world political decisions are made. The network of institutions created by China and Russia, joined by important countries like India, Indonesia, Iran, and others, shows that the world is moving in a different direction than that pointed out by the West. 

On a global level, BRICS are imprinting a different dynamic on the planet. 

GT: You have visited China multiple times and witnessed its development over the decades. In your opinion, which Chinese characteristics and ideas have contributed to China's development? How do you think these characteristics will contribute to global peace and development in the future?

Gelfenstein: China's strength is rooted primarily in the solidity of its culture and civilization, which has been uninterrupted for over five thousand years. The Chinese people's attachment to their history and heritage provides them with a firmness and stability that makes them practically impregnable.

Moreover, the extraordinary vision of Chinese leaders in merging a Western theory such as Marxism with ancient philosophy to create the concept of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" has been a phenomenal collaboration.

China's example of exercising global leadership - away from hegemonism and protagonism, and in favor of solving the great problems of humanity - shows that it is possible to be a great power committed to cooperation and the use of science and technology for the good of humanity, rather than for domination and war.