This past weekend, Nicolás Maduro, the candidate of the Bolivarian revolution, secured a narrow victory over the right-wing candidate, Henrique Capriles, in the Venezuelan presidential elections. Capriles and the right-wing are alleging fraud and yesterday, attempted to foment a coup to overthrow the Venezuelan government. This shows that now, more than ever, the gains of the revolution must be defended and that the oligarchy needs to be expropriated.

It is a week now since the death of Hugo Chávez and there are still kilometre-long queues of people coming from all over the country to pay their last respects. Presidential elections have been called for April 14 and the mood is turning angry at the provocations of the oligarchy. The deep feeling of pride and dignity, which ordinary working people have gotten from participating directly in the revolution and defending it against the repeated assaults of the oligarchy and imperialism, created a very powerful bond with the president.

Hugo Chavez is no more. The cause of freedom, socialism, and humanity has lost a courageous champion. The human body is a fragile thing. It is easy to destroy with a bullet or a disease. All humans are born to die. But there is no force on earth that can destroy an idea whose time has come. Hugo Chavez the man is no longer with us, but he lives on. We pledge ourselves to do everything in our power to step up the fight for socialism in Venezuela and throughout the world. That is the only way forward; the only way to honour the memory of Hugo Chavez. Carry out the legacy of Hugo Chavez, not in words but in deeds!

Taking advantage of Chavez’s ill health, the Venezuelan oligarchy and imperialism have renewed their campaign of destabilisation against the Bolivarian Revolution. Since the beginning of the year, and even before, the Venezuelan right wing opposition has unleashed a vicious and disgusting campaign of rumours and lies about President Chavez’s real condition with the aim of removing him from office. The aim of this campaign is to achieve what the oligarchy could not get through the ballot box (nor through previous coups, conspiracies, lockouts, etc): the end of Chavez’s presidency which would deal a serious blow to the Bolivarian revolution. They risk unleashing the wrath of the workers and the poor.

On Saturday, December 8, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez announced that he would have to undergo another surgical intervention in Cuba. Adding that “there are always risks in processes like this,” he explained that “if anything happens to me that hinders me [from performing as president]”, vice president Nicolás Maduro is his preference to replace him.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has won, yet again, the presidential elections on Sunday October 7, with a comfortable margin of 54.84% against the 44.55% of his opponent Henrique Capriles. This is another victory for the Bolivarian revolution which should be used in order to carry out the revolution to the end. The turnout was an amazing 81%, beating even the previous record of the 2006 presidential elections which saw a 74% turn out. This showed the extremely polarised nature of this campaign, in which both camps mobilised all of their supporters.

The presidential election due on October 7 represents a decisive moment in the history of Venezuela. The outcome of this election will have a major impact throughout the continent and internationally. It goes without saying that the Hands Off Venezuela campaign is actively supporting the Bolivarian candidate Hugo Chávez and fighting against any attempt of the oligarchy and imperialism to sabotage the elections. The Marxist tendency stands firmly for the re-election of Hugo Chávez. Why have we taken this position?

The September elections have posed some serious questions before the Bolivarian Revolution. The opposition has organized a noisy campaign in the media to present themselves as "winners", despite the fact that they lost. What is the purpose of this campaign? A minority cannot turn itself into a majority, no matter how loud it shouts. But such a campaign can be advantageous to the counterrevolutionaries both inside and outside Venezuela.

The result of the elections to Venezuela’s National Assembly elections on Sunday was greeted by jubilation in the bourgeois media internationally. It is too early to make a definitive judgment about the results, and it has not been confirmed the right wing has overtaken the PSUV in votes. However, the deafening chorus of triumph in the international media is premature.

The mood at the Miraflores presidential palace on Sunday night was one of cautious waiting and one could even feel a slight nervousness in the air as thousands of Bolivarians had gathered to hear the first results of the country's parliamentary elections.