{"id":14184,"date":"2025-08-26T16:20:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T20:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/?p=14184"},"modified":"2025-09-13T00:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T04:58:16","slug":"solidarity-with-venezuelan-intellectuals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2025\/08\/solidarity-with-venezuelan-intellectuals\/","title":{"rendered":"Solidarity with Venezuelan intellectuals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the fraudulent 2024 elections, the Maduro government has escalated repression against critical voices on the left. More than 2,000 people were arrested in the immediate aftermath of the elections, and cases of targeted persecution have multiplied. Human rights activist Martha L\u00eda Grajales was arbitrarily detained and charged after denouncing the brutal beating of over fifty mothers who had gathered to demand the release of their imprisoned children. Mar\u00eda Alejandra D\u00edaz, a Chavista lawyer and former member of the 2017 Constituent Assembly, was stripped of her license to practice law, fined, and harassed at her home after she filed a constitutional appeal demanding transparency in the 2024 vote count. Even after she was granted asylum by Colombia, the Venezuelan government initially refused to let her leave. These examples illustrate a broader pattern of intimidation and criminalization designed to silence dissent, even among former government allies and established human rights defenders.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is within this repressive context that the government has now targeted some of the most respected figures of Latin American critical thought \u2014 Edgardo Lander, Emiliano Ter\u00e1n, Alexandra Mart\u00ednez, Francisco Javier Velasco, and Santiago Arconada. Alongside these individuals, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, among others, has been denounced as part of an alleged \u201cnetwork of foreign interference,\u201d despite its longstanding opposition to US imperialism and US interference in Venezuela and its role in supporting critical scholarship and its ties to Germany\u2019s <\/em>Die Linke.<\/p>\n

This attack on prominent academics and institutions working on issues like the Orinoco Mining Arc and Venezuela\u2019s ecological crisis represents an effort to delegitimize independent research and critical voices. Importantly, some of those now under attack are regular collaborators with Tempest members and part of the broader international left. Signing this petition is a concrete way for Tempest to express solidarity with our comrades in Venezuela and to join the global call to defend academic freedom, human rights, and critical thought in the face of mounting repression.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please sign the petition here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Statement in\u00a0 Solidarity with\u00a0 Edgardo Lander, Francisco Javier Velasco, Santiago Arconada, Emiliano Ter\u00e1n Mantovani, and Alexandra Mart\u00ednez<\/h4>\n

We view with deep concern the serious accusations against university community members by official media sources that attempt to criminalize academic activity in our country. Teachers with a vast national and international recognition, committed to research and critical reflection on the reality of the Venezuelan population and territory, such as Edgardo Lander, Franscisco Javier Velasco, Santiago Arconada, Emiliano Ter\u00e1n Mantovani and Alexandra Mart\u00ednez, have publicly advocated with honesty in the process of recovery of Venezuelan universities.<\/p>\n

Their work on the Orinoco Mining Arc, the environmental crisis and the loss of constitutional rights is a reference for all of us and reflects worries that we share in the context of the global ecosocial crisis.<\/p>\n

We reject any attempt to enforce a climate of fear, censorship and self-censorship in the university community and hope that free and committed expression, essential for the functioning of academic life, will be maintained.<\/p>\n

We call on national, Latin American, and worldwide universities and research centers to show solidarity in the face of the critical situation in Venezuela and reject the official media\u2019s criminalization.<\/p>\n

We say no to the criminalization of academic and research activity in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Comunicado de Solidaridad y Reconocimiento a Edgardo Lander, Francisco Javier Velasco, Santiago Arconada, Emiliano Ter\u00e1n Mantovani y Alexandra Mart\u00ednez<\/h4>\n

Vemos con profunda preocupaci\u00f3n los graves se\u00f1alamientos a miembros de la comunidad universitaria por parte de fuentes oficiales que intentan criminalizar la actividad acad\u00e9mica de nuestro pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n

Docentes con un vasto reconocimiento nacional e internacional, comprometidos con la investigaci\u00f3n y la reflexi\u00f3n cr\u00edtica sobre la realidad de la poblaci\u00f3n venezolana y del territorio como Edgardo Lander, Francisco Javier Velasco, Santiago Arconada, Emiliano Ter\u00e1n Mantovani y Alexandra Mart\u00ednez, se han desenvuelto con honestidad y de manera p\u00fablica como miembros y necesarios para el proceso de recuperaci\u00f3n de las universidad venezolanas.<\/p>\n

Sus trabajos sobre el Arco Minero del Orinoco, la crisis ambiental y la p\u00e9rdida de derechos constitucionales son una referencia para todas y todos.<\/p>\n

Rechazamos cualquier intento de forzar un clima de miedo, censura y autocensura en la comunidad universitaria y, para ello, esperamos que se mantenga la expresi\u00f3n libre y comprometida imprescindible para el funcionamiento de la vida acad\u00e9mica.<\/p>\n

Llamamos a las universidades y centros de investigaci\u00f3n nacionales y de Am\u00e9rica Latina a solidarizarse con la situaci\u00f3n cr\u00edtica en nuestro pa\u00eds y rechazar la criminalizaci\u00f3n de los docentes nombrados por parte de los medios oficiales.<\/p>\n

\u00a1No a la criminalizaci\u00f3n de la actividad acad\u00e9mica y de investigaci\u00f3n en Venezuela!<\/p>\n

\u00a1Solidaridad en defensa del pensamiento cr\u00edtico!<\/p>\n

Please sign the petition here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Tempest Collective. For more information, see \u201cAbout Tempest Collective<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/small>
\nFeatured Image credit: Confidencial<\/a>; modified by Tempest.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A call for solidarity with Venezuelan academics and intellectuals facing state repression. Please add your name to the petition<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,583],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-14184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-solidarity-statement","tag-venezuela"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/feature_card.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}