Civil Society

This weekend, pro-Chavez grassroots social movements transformed the reflection after the loss of the constitutional reform into action, and held an unprecedented 2-day long grassroots assembly with the goal of building a unified agenda. 

President Hugo Chavez told over 500,000 supporters at the final campaign rally in favor of the proposed constitutional reform that he will suspend all oil shipments to the U.S if it is behind destabilization attempts in Venezuela.

Violent clashes erupted between pro-government and opposition student groups on Venezuela's Central University (UCV) campus Wednesday after a march of approximately 10,000 opposition students against proposed constitutional reforms returned to the campus.

Over a hundred thousand Venezuelans marched in support of President Chavez and of his constitutional reform on Sunday, which Chavez described as the most important referendum of his presidency.

Violent clashes took place yesterday between opposition students and the police when students tried to break police lines near Venezuela's National Electoral Council building. Students marched on the Electoral Council to call for the constitutional reform referendum to be postponed.

Hundreds of Venezuelan housing activists descended on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), this Tuesday, to demand an end to the forced evictions.

The formation of the new Unifiedd Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), described by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, as “a tool to guarantee the collective direction and continuity of the [Bolivarian] Revolution,” is well underway with most assemblies or “socialist battalions”, expected to elect their spokespeople next Saturday.