Chavez loved the people and knew how to connect with them in a sincere and fruitful dialogue in two directions. They loved Chávez because he opened his eyes to a gigantic sector, plunged into poverty, lack of opportunity and ignorance, because he returned hope and dignity to the people, because he allowed the literacy of the millions of citizens gathered together, provided resources to meet the needs of the whole of society and made a gigantic effort to turn the country into a protagonist. Beyond the thousands of statements for or against his character and style, Chavez was real. There is no doubt.

This was noted in the streets in Chávez's time, the presence of Chávez, the strength of Chávez. When I return to Venezuela a few years later, the situation is not the same. The enthusiasm for this period of construction has greatly diminished, although the tension on the part of Chavism is maintained. Now, when Chávez's physical presence is not present, when he looks back at those times, when the last two decades are analyzed, the size of Chavez's figure is better understood. Chavez was a giant. When the attack of imperialism and its local collaborators resists, one listens to what is at stake, one analyzes what has been built and what has been left pending by many internal and external factors, one realizes Chávez’s measures, yes, as a visionary and strategic one. Chávez did not come to manage a situation or a state. Chávez developed a program for the transformation of the structures of Venezuela and the construction of a new system based on the project of the communal State, the transformation of the nature of the State and the empowerment of the people. For almost a decade and a half, many projects were born and started progressively, with their defects and impossibilities, but with the intention of giving the people as much joy as possible, as Bolivar himself pointed out in his speech of Angostura in 1819.

The originality and value of Chávez’s project were not limited to the Venezuelan people. He looked towards the great homeland (La Patria Grande), like many of his most famous predecessors (Bolívar, Sucre, San Martín, Martí, Sandino, Che, Fidel…). In fact, it made Venezuela the engine of the integration of the peoples of Latin America. Behind ALBA, Unasur, Petrocaribe and Telesur, among others, is the impulse of Chávez. In any case, its projection goes beyond Abya Yala/America to become a benchmark for many oppressed peoples of the world.

Its legacy has been exceptional and remains alive in today’s Venezuela. The references to Chavez and the project are constant in the parties, movements and institutions of the left, in the commons, in the slums.

The deep roots of this transformative project have allowed the Bolivarian project to remain alive and to maintain a high degree of adherence to the Chavista government, beyond the discrepancies with the government in many Chavist sectors. Venezuela ' s situation in this country has been clearly reinforced by the absence of explosions. Of less than what the Venezuelans are suffering, the people have come to the streets angry on other occasions, also in many other states. Some Venezuelans say you can hear "no matter how little Caracazo exploded in 1989." What has recently been seen in Ecuador, Chile or Colombia has not happened in Venezuela, let alone. In these villages, to continue with the example, the streets have been cut off to the humble peoples (workers, people of origin, students…). The events of street violence (Guarimba) that have occurred in Venezuela in recent years have been fed and financed by the right and, although it could have a component of discontent, the criminal and marginal component was very large. The rich did not participate in street struggles, but the young people of the so-called middle class and, above all, many feathers paid for causing disturbances. In these guarimbas, especially in 2017, many people were killed, 27 of whom were burned alive because of their Chavista appearance. Some police officers were also killed. In this regard, it should be noted that police repression has been much tighter than that applied in other States, because the government itself has reduced it and, probably, not to give the picture they wanted to those who provoked the wave of violence.

However, the more modest sectors of the Venezuelan people have not, in general, taken to the streets against the government. These sectors are the main objective of the hybrid war of imperialism. By making the situation unbearable, trying to spread despair, they wanted to give up on Chavism, as they have done throughout history with other peoples. However, even though the situation in Venezuela is very difficult, despair has spread in a large sector, imperialism has not succeeded in overcoming sociological chavism. Despite having sold the opposite of mass media, the crisis in Venezuela has not become social. Faced with the difficulties, the unique character and patience of the Venezuelans, combined with the political conscience of a significant popular sector, have been key to resisting. They are screwed, but they are aware of why and proud of their sovereignty. The expression “Here is a dignified people, Carajo!”, used by Chávez, is demonstrating with great dignity that it is more than just a motto. And that is that this motto is materialized in the daily struggle, in the organization of the people, in the ideological and formative work, in demonstrations on the street and in training for defense. Both political and military defensive training are the only guarantee against the powerful enemy of the world and against the unscrupulous Venezuelan ultra-right. It is therefore essential to be prepared to respond to possible open military intervention and to the irregular war against Chavism (paramilitary groups, Hanpa and crime). Therefore, in addition to the good preparation and equipment of the Bolivarian National Army (FANB) Force (one of Chávez’s concerns), the people are organized in militias and self-defense groups (neighborhoods, entities and public companies, services, collectives and institutions…). It is the people themselves who take the lead in the process, defending the sovereignty of Venezuela and life itself.

Beyond the material shortcomings, there is also a clear indignation in many sectors of Chavism. Since the beginning of Chavism, some vices and erroneous practices have been involved in both the government and the state, as well as in the trends that have hindered the progress of the process, represented in reformist, social-democratic and arribist sectors around Chavism. Corruption and the lack of sanctions, the waste of resources and lack of control, the trafficking of influence, the non-exemplary practices of some positions, as well as the verticalism that the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) has shown on more than one occasion, have created cracks in Chavism, particularly between basic and militant organisations and some professional structural politicians. Aware of its need to move forward, Chavism maintains unity in front of the enemy. However, the distancing between the critical sectors and the officers, as well as the loss of credibility in the eyes of the people, can be more damaging than an external attack. Even though we have to be very careful not to exploit the dust to class enemies, the Chavista movement has to sweep inside the house. Times are not perhaps the easiest to do, but reflection, self-criticism, recovery of radicality and courage to implement the necessary measures are essential to strengthen Chávez’s socialist project, to give a new impetus to an original process in which the people must be protagonists. The liberating process of Venezuela needs it, and the peoples of the world what we need is a liberating process of Venezuela.