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2009 April 8 - 14 [JCP]

Fuwa speaks about Japanese interest in Venezuelan revolution

Japanese Communist Party Social Sciences Institute Director Fuwa Tetsuzo (former JCP Central Committee chair) on April 7 attended a meeting in Tokyo with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and spoke about Japanese interest in the Venezuelan Revolution.

He attended this meeting, which was hosted by Chavez, along with nine Japanese academics from various fields, including politics, economics, international affairs, and culture.

Fuwa spoke about the Venezuelan Revolution’s aspects that are attracting the attention of Japanese people involved in the struggle for social progress. He said:

“First of all, we must note the impact the Venezuelan Revolution has had on the world.

In the second half of the 20th century, while the collapse of the colonialism swept the world, Latin America remained virtually the last bastion of colonialism. The Venezuelan Revolution became a turning point in Latin American history toward completely removing the chains of colonialism from the Americas. This is how it played an important role in changing the political and economic structures in the world.

The second point of interest is the way in which the Venezuelans are carrying out the revolution.

The Venezuelan Revolution began with the victorious presidential election of Hugo Chavez in 1998. During the past ten years since then, Venezuela held 16 nationwide elections and referendums, including presidential elections, national assembly elections, and local assembly elections. They were political struggles against the opponents of the revolution. They also constitute a process in which the revolution makes progress by making sure that it is supported by the public. It is the world’s first revolution to be carried out in this extremely democratic way.

Thirdly, we understand that the Venezuelan Revolution ‘new socialism’ is what the Venezuelan Revolution is about. We believe that the 21st century presents an opportunity for truly democratic regime change on every continent of the world. In this respect, we will pay close attention to how the Venezuelan Revolution will advance by utilizing the lessons learned from the successes and failures in socialism in the past or more recent deviations from it in the 20th century.”