Venezuela Decides 2025. Presidential Inauguration #2

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Special program on the eve of Nicolas Maduro's inauguration on January 10, 2010  🌐Join teleSUR's community and be part of a space where your ideas matter.  Https://chat.whatsapp.com/KLABTE41aSj3ioYabXQQ6K 🗣 Don't be left behind, join teleSUR's Channel Https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va98Z437Noa2tjytCt1N Web💬 https://www.telesurenglish.net/ X🧶 https://twitter.com/telesurenglish Instagram 📸 https://www.instagram.com/telesurenglish/?Hl=es Facebook 📱 https://www.facebook.com/telesurenglishofficial Youtube⏯ https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucmutmply35o3csvhya6vrkg Tiktok👌🏼 https://www.tiktok.com/@telesurenglish?_t=8hmlcy0a6z7&_r=1

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to our special programme Venezuela Decides 2025 in the framework of

00:14the soaring in ceremony of President Nicolás Maduro. I'm your host Alejandra García and

00:18I invite you to stay with us for all the details on this event of great significance not just

00:23for Venezuela but also for Latin America and the global south.

00:53Venezuela Decides 2025

01:23On Friday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros was sworn in by the National Assembly

01:39for his third constitutional term. The ceremony was held at the Federal Legislative Palace

01:45before more than 2,000 international guests, 51 delegations from over 125 countries, including

01:53dignitaries and heads of state. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez performed the leader's

01:59investiture for the 2025-2031 term, stating it represented an expression of the sovereignty of

02:06the people who democratically elected President Maduro on July 28, 2024. During the ceremony,

02:13which was supported nationwide by demonstrations from various sectors of the population,

02:19the head of state vowed this new presidential term would be one of peace,

02:24prosperity, equality and new democracy.

02:36This solemn session starts to express the sovereignty of the people of Venezuela,

02:41to enforce the supreme mandate that the people of Venezuela, its heroic women and men,

02:50granted last July 28, 2024, by electing citizen Nicolás Maduro Moros as Constitutional President

02:59of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. And that is the reason that brings us here today.

03:11Before this great National Assembly, legislative power of the Republic,

03:23before visitors and delegates from 125 countries, before the people of Venezuela,

03:30I swear by Huaycaipuro and indigenous peoples, I swear by Pedro Camejo, El Negro Primero,

03:38and José Leonardo Chirinos, I swear by Bolívar, by Izucre, by Urdaneta, by Manuela Sáenz,

03:46I swear by the eternal memory of our beloved Chief and Commander Hugo Chávez, and I swear

03:53by the historic, noble and brave people of Venezuela, before this Constitution that I

03:59will comply with all its mandates, that I will comply with all the obligations of the Constitution

04:06and the laws of the Republic, and that this new presidential term will be the term of peace,

04:12prosperity, equality, and the new democracy. I swear by history, I swear by my life,

04:21and so I will comply, and we will comply. I swear.

04:37It fills me with emotion to receive my presidential satch made by the hands of

04:44humble women from the neighborhoods of Caracas, made by the hands of artists. It is a special

04:52satch because it brings the blessings of the people, and I say to the people, here is your satch.

04:59This band was made by the people presidents, and now it is carried by the president people,

05:06and I will never fail you. I will never betray you. Know that I'm going forward with the hurricane

05:13and volcanic force of a people that wants a homeland, that wants a future, that wants peace.

05:25And so we're deep into the relevance of this event. I'm not alone, I'm joined by

05:30Ayanda Hollow, president of TV Bricks of Africa. Welcome and thank you very much for joining us

05:36today. Thank you Alejandra for inviting me, it's a pleasure being here. Well delegations from 100

05:42countries came to Venezuela to accompany president Nicolás Maduro in his wedding ceremony.

05:48What does this mean in the context of the far-right's intentions to isolate Venezuela,

05:54and how remarkable it is for president Nicolás Maduro to receive such an international

06:00celebration and greeting. I think people of the global south are well aware of these games of

06:07trying to isolate leaders that are chosen by the people. So I think as media we've come from all

06:16corners of the earth to try and come and witness of what happened today. The will of the people

06:22did take place on the 28th of July, and today with that celebration of putting the president,

06:28someone they want to be to be led by him. Progressive governments are seeing this

06:34integration as a defeat for the US and its westernized attempts to interfere,

06:40not just in Venezuela but also in Latin American internal affairs. On your opinion,

06:45also for Venezuela today, he is arising as an independent state, as a sovereign state.

06:51How, in your opinion, was the path of Venezuela, the path that the country has had to face

06:58over the past decades to reach this achievement? If I can tell you a story, we got our breakthrough

07:05of freedom in 1994 in South Africa, trashing apartheid to the rubbish bins. But we've

07:13since learned that fascism doesn't end. We all need to be working together and making sure

07:20that we never lose sight of what people want out there. So Venezuela will, by its nature of

07:29looking for being sovereign, and most especially being sovereign in its economy, is going to and

07:35has in the past few years been really, really challenged because the powers that be in the

07:41world don't want the people to really have the true democracy of owning their own wealth.

07:47So I would have expected and I'm still expecting that more is still to come. Yes, it has gone

07:53through these challenges, it's winning this round, but I think the people need to stay resilient

08:00and together, like we saw in the streets today, to ensure that fascism is really,

08:06really trashed out like we did in apartheid in South Africa. You took part in the celebrations

08:11of today's inauguration of the President Nicolas Maduro. So what is your perception

08:17of today's event? How did you feel the atmosphere of the people on the streets? What's your opinion?

08:23I think it reminded me of the days when we celebrated our freedom in South Africa. Certainly

08:29people were out there, they really, really worked to first win the election in a democratic space

08:37and giving even the opposition, I mean I saw the opposition as well, been given a space to voice

08:43whatever they wanted to voice and yet the will of the people did come through. People were dancing,

08:48people were singing, people were celebrating. A leader that has promised today that he will do

08:54everything to take care of them, but he also knows that he's not a saint. He's not a saint

09:00who's going to do this alone. He needs to do it with the people. He's come through this far with

09:05the people and I would expect him to carry on on that path of working together with the people

09:09of Venezuela. The soaring ceremony for many countries of the world is a symbolic event,

09:16a protocol event, but for Venezuela it's the opposite. It has a connotation, an international

09:24connotation, a geopolitical connotation and also a great international attention. On your opinion,

09:31why is this happening and what are the real interests behind these intentions of the far right

09:38and its financers and supporters of the hegemonic powers that are trying to interrupt the democratic

09:47process of Venezuela? You know, sometimes we have this term and word called democracy

09:55and we define it down south as it's when the people govern. We say the people shall govern.

10:02We should never move democracy to a space where it's just a decorum of protocol officers and

10:09leaders signing documents and saying and promising this or that, but the people themselves

10:15need to feel free and freedom is not about only just getting prosperity or transforming one's

10:23economy. Freedom is that feeling, is that soul that feeds you for quality to say that I'm a

10:30Venezuelan, I have a full right to determine my own future. Thus we say the leaders are there to

10:36guide the people, but the people should always be the front and the centerpiece of any democracy.

10:43Thus we say the people shall govern. That's right and also I want to highlight that Venezuela

10:51received delegations from many countries worldwide, but especially from the BRICS

10:55bloc like China, Russia, also from countries from Africa, South Africa, and I wanted to

11:04ask for a material that is going to provide us with more information on

11:12what politics has been Venezuela applying to strengthen its international policy that has

11:20allowed the cooperation and also the closeness with emerging economic powers. Let's see.

11:26In this regard, Venezuela and China signed 31 new agreements to increase bilateral cooperation

11:33to the highest level. Ten of these agreements will address priority areas such as economy,

11:40geology, technology transfer in the areas of health, mining, housing, electric power,

11:46and telecommunications. Eighteen other agreements focus on strategy areas that both nations intend

11:53to expand such as politics, economy, trade, education, science, and technology, aerospace,

12:00and communication. In this strategic line, Venezuela and Russia have signed over 340

12:07agreements covering areas such as energy, tourism, industry, agriculture, and technology.

12:13We interrupt our program to go live to Images to Caracas at this hour where President Nicolás

12:19Maduro is holding bilateral meetings with delegations that came to the inauguration

12:24ceremony of today. We are seeing at this hour that the president is holding a bilateral meeting

12:37with the secretary of the OPEB, Haytham, bilateral meetings at this hour regarding the

12:47swearing-in ceremony that was held today. And in this context, the president is already setting

12:53agreements and holding bilateral meetings with countries that are exporters of gas throughout

13:02the world. And let's recall that Venezuela is trying to strengthen its international policies

13:12also in the sphere of the oil. Let's listen to the statements.

13:33We are seeing at this hour that the president is holding a bilateral meeting

13:39with the delegation that came from the country's exporters of oil and gas.

13:49To benefit the peoples that produce oil,

13:56Venezuela is one of the nations that produces oil.

14:02There is a commitment to continue to work in the balance of the energy sector in the world.

14:25This is a dialogue established between the constitutional president of Venezuela,

14:34Nicolás Maduro, and the secretary-general of OPEB. This is a delegation of the organization

14:44of countries that export oil. The secretary of OPEB has said Venezuela has played an important

14:50role for OPEB since its creation. That is why we are here to support you. The constitutional

14:56president, Nicolás Maduro, stressed that Venezuela belongs to the energy sector of the world. And we

15:03are ready to produce and export and carry out contracts and agreements in the oil sector and

15:11gas sector. And with this information, let's take a short break. But we'll be right back. Stay with us.

15:20Welcome back to Venezuela Decides 2025. The Venezuelan people took to the streets today

15:50massively in support of the swearing-in ceremony of President Nicolás Maduro. Let's see.

15:56We arrived today at dawn to support the president in his swearing-in.

16:01And this band also belongs to the people. It belongs to us too.

16:14We are making this beautiful day a popular celebration, a Chavista celebration,

16:18a democratic celebration, so that the world can see

16:22and once and for all understand that we are united and we are with Nicolás.

16:27As we were mentioning, Jolo, the support of the Venezuelan people is not accidental.

16:33The Venezuelan government has been applying a cohesive strategy to evolve, to improve the life

16:40of the Venezuelan people. Despite the economic warfare, despite the unilateral sanctions and

16:45also the blockades, Venezuela is today leading in terms of economic growth, leading America.

16:52I bring you some data. In 2024, Venezuela increased its gross domestic product to 6.2%,

16:59surpassing countries such as Peru, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and also Argentina. Also,

17:05Venezuela is producing today 97% of the food it consumes, marking a path towards agri-food

17:13independence. On your opinion, how Venezuela went from being an economy in crisis, dependent,

17:20to leading suddenly growth in Latin America and also surpassing regional powers? How was that

17:26possible? Well, it has to do with the policies that are centred, as I was saying, to the needs

17:33of the people. Venezuelan people need to not only stay behind the president and celebrate behind

17:41the president. There is going to be hard work ahead. So, it is important that the spirit that

17:48we saw today and the unity we saw today needs to manifest itself in the discipline of getting up

17:55in the morning, going to those factories, getting the entrepreneurs of this country, ensuring that

18:01the needs of the people are adhered to, and as well as improving and transforming the lives of

18:07the people. Yes, people do not only feed on celebrations. They feed on the best policies

18:15that are there to empower them to be able to realise and make decisions for themselves that

18:21can improve their lives. So, I do think that the president and the government of this country,

18:26by joining BRICS, it's a path that is quite clear to a lot of people, that BRICS does have tons of

18:34opportunities for people not to know that the Global South is not a theory path. The Global

18:41South is a practical path that they will be part of it. They might not be a part of it this year,

18:48but I can certainly assure you that Venezuelan people, it's beyond hope. It is something that

18:54is going to happen, and when it happens, they will also be contributing to the Global South

18:59to move forward and release people from the oppressions that people have had for centuries

19:05around this world and as well as in Africa. Precisely in this context, speaking about

19:10economy, let's remark the statements that the president mentioned regarding the economic

19:15growth that Venezuela has had in the past days at this moment. The president stated

19:21precisely on this matter. Let's see.

19:27We went from 80% dependence. We went from 80% of shortages in the street to a 100%

19:34supply of agroecological products, of organic products, finding answers within the productive

19:40movement of the countryside, within the farmers' movement, with the businessmen of the countryside.

19:45And let's take the idea of the importance of Venezuela of being part of the BRICS.

19:55During his remarks today, Venezuela mentioned precisely the importance of Venezuela being

20:01a member of the BRICS bloc. What contributions, in your opinion, can Venezuela make to this bloc,

20:09taking into account that Venezuela holds the most important reserve of energy of the world?

20:16Also, it has values and it has a path of struggles aimed at revoking the current world order?

20:27Well, as we know, I normally tell people that people must know that the new world order has

20:34already begun. It is not something that we wish for. It is, I mean, even with us as BRICS,

20:42TV Africa, this is a station that plays on content of evidence of what is happening in

20:50the global south. The global south and the multipolar world is not some fairy tale that

20:55happens in the convention centers and congresses like the festival we have. It is what people

21:01want. It is happening as we speak. And people will need to be informed by the stations like yours

21:09to know of how can they contribute towards that peaceful world that we all want.

21:18At the aim of it, having clarity in sovereignty so that the neighbor can be your friend,

21:24but your neighbor is not supposed to be taking the decisions of your own home.

21:30Cécile, I want to ask you about Venezuela's intentions to build an integration alliance

21:38also with African countries. They are planning to build this agri-food project that also

21:47could be beneficial for the African countries. What is your perspective on this?

21:51Well, Africa has potentials of not only benefiting from the skills of agriculture,

22:01but also Africa has entrepreneurs that can actually be instrumental in ensuring that

22:09they invest in Venezuela. The ideas are not only in Africa or in Venezuela. There is no

22:15separation within our freedom. Our freedom really, really only will come and improve

22:20much faster when we are doing things together. So I think it is a great initiative and I am

22:25hoping that more agricultural, I mean, South Africa is one of those countries with

22:31agricultural technology that can really, really come and deploy and assist Venezuela in some

22:37parts of where you guys are not so strong, and as well as vice versa, where you guys can

22:42come throughout in other parts of Africa and invest and ensure that we share equally

22:49and we benefit equally, as the Chinese would say, a win-win solution is the best thing for everyone.

22:56Precisely, as the media emporiums and the hegemonic media are trying to portray Venezuela

23:03and isolate Venezuela as an unsafe place, as enclosed on its politics. However, Venezuela is

23:12applying this strategy of building a united community, international community that could

23:19be beneficial for the peoples of the world, not just for Venezuela or Latin America.

23:25Well, those are old age tactics. I mean, I come from South Africa,

23:30the place called Nyanga East, where it's always been purported that someone dies in Nyanga East

23:36every 10 minutes. And I always tell them, why am I still alive? And I'm from Nyanga East.

23:42So I can tell you for sure that Venezuela does need to have a broader access to really,

23:50really attract people. It's my first time here in Venezuela and the trip was very long. So I think

23:57partnering with countries of BRICS like Ethiopian Airways, I think it could be something that can be

24:03done to really, really broaden of how people, especially people from Africa, can access this

24:09place as a part of a tourism destination. You've got great green destination that here people from

24:17South Africa and Kenya and Nigeria will definitely love to visit. I think if you work on those things

24:24of key access, whether you're partnering with South African Airways and as well as Ethiopian

24:30Airways, I think a lot of South Africans and a lot of people on the continent of Africa would

24:34definitely love to come and see your place. You mentioned that this is the first time you

24:39came to Venezuela. What's your perception? What is the idea that you're going to bring back to

24:46your country of Venezuela? You know, South America is always known for its culture,

24:54for its music, the love of dance and I think it's one of the things that we both share. I tell people

25:01that we need an equal world, equitable world that will ensure that we are still around. Otherwise,

25:09who will dance when we die? So I think I will definitely take the warmth of the people and I

25:15will definitely take the resilience and the unity of the people of Venezuela. It is true that you

25:22guys are really inducing new energy in the nations of the Global South. At times we're going to allow

25:30but the energy here really, really says to me that the Global South is active again and the Global

25:37South is going to really, really not only transform the Global South. I think sometimes we need to

25:44emphasize on this that the idea of the Global South is to transform the world, is to transform

25:50the world to be a place of peace, transform the world to be and remind of the world of like it can

25:56be a place of love where we all share. It's not only about just enhancing the Global South vis-a-vis

26:04the North. No, it's to improve the image of the people of the North of what they see in the world

26:11when they look out their windows to say, hey, we are people too and we love you as a person.

26:17You'll do your share, we'll do our share and we'll both live a peaceful life. In this sense, precisely

26:24on the eve of the soaring in ceremony, the World Anti-Fascist Congress kicked off also to accompany

26:32the soaring in ceremony of President Nicolás Maduro and also this Congress is part of the

26:38efforts of Venezuela in the past few months of becoming the epicenter of the fight, of the

26:44struggle, of facing the anti-fascist movement in the world and also it has become Venezuela

26:51the epicenter of the social struggles of the left worldwide. For example, it's giving

26:58voice to the Palestinian struggle against the genocide perpetrated by Israel. On your opinion,

27:04what's the importance of this new mandate of President Nicolás Maduro in preserving

27:11and keeping giving voice to the struggles of the world? Look, I think beyond his own

27:19interest of the people of Venezuela, I think he can definitely really be one of those world

27:25leaders that can cultivate a clear legacy way beyond his time in office because the struggle

27:32of the people of Palestine is not really a struggle of the people of Palestine. It

27:37happens in Palestine and the people of Palestine are the first victims, but we are all victims

27:43in that struggle. We all need to get together that it is our struggle as humanity. We always

27:50need to see that as South Africa, as you know, with the court case, but what Mandela said

27:56that the people of South Africa will never be free until the people of Palestine are

28:01free. So that tries to demonstrate that it is not about the people of Palestine. It is

28:06really, really about us. We are them. As we say in South Africa, I am because you are.

28:14That's so nice. Also, Venezuela is trying to build the socialism of the 21st century.

28:22Do you believe that this determination is sort of a threat for the hegemonic powers?

28:29Look, the kicks of a dying horse will always be dangerous, but as I was saying to you that

28:38ours is to transform the world. It is not only about the visions and ideas. Best ideas for the

28:45world do not reside only in the South, nor do they reside in the North, but it is the battle of ideas

28:52that together as the people of the world can cultivate to have a better life for everyone

28:58leaving no one behind and ensuring that the people of here in Venezuela, the people of Cape

29:04Town, in Nigeria and everywhere else, including the people of Palestine, can feel that they are

29:11on earth and they are protected by other humans that are on earth. Thank you very much, Ayanda

29:17Holo, for your time here with us, for your perceptions on this day and also for joining

29:23us in this debate and analysis of this event that is remarkable, not just for Latin America,

29:31but also for Africa and also for the entire world. Thank you very much for joining us.

29:35Thank you for having me.

29:37And like this, we are going to end our special programme and this second special programme

29:44Venezuela Decides 2025 in the framework of the swearing-in ceremony of President Nicolás Maduro,

29:51who starts today a new constitutional term. I'm your host, Alejandra García, and I invite

29:57you to stay tuned with Telesur for all the details on this paramount event.

30:02Thank you very much for watching.

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