UN General Assembly
2004

The principal question for us is now the following: are we building a world of real democracy, equality and justice or a world led by the tyranny of economic and military power? The people of Venezuela were faced with such a decision last month, with a referendum on the presidency. In fact, in the last six years, Venezuelans have participated in eight democratic procedures, including referendums and elections. The 1999 Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela allows for a mid-term referendum on a recall of the popular vote. On 15 August of this year, citizens of Venezuela clearly exercised their constitutional right and, in an historic referendum never before seen in the history of the world, ratified the mandate of President Hugo Chávez Frías, thus confirming the democratic process of structural transformation led by our President. Since the end of the last millennium, we have witnessed tremendous dissent from citizens of the world against neo-liberalism and war. In my country, by the late eighties, a set of structural adjustments, developed under the influence of the main centres of