On 3 July 2025, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) Oscar Figuera gave an interview to Eva Luna Gatica of the Chilean newspaper "El Mercurio".
In the interview, which you can read below, Figuera refers to the recent primary victory of Communist Party of Chile's candidate Jeannette Jara, as well as to the position of the Chilean comrades on the situation in Venezuela:
"The Chilean Communist Party's controversial stance on Nicolás Maduro's regime—which denies that a dictatorship exists in Venezuela or that there are political prisoners—has become one of the main sources of criticism against Jeannette Jara. And although the candidate has distanced herself from her party's leadership and has declared the Chavista government "an authoritarian regime" where "human rights are violated," the issue promises to continue to be a thorn in the side of the leftist's campaign ahead of the November presidential elections.
"We are aware of the different opinions expressed within the Chilean Communist Party regarding the Maduro-led government," said Óscar Figuera, secretary general of the Communist Party of Venezuela and a critic of Chavismo, in this interview with El Mercurio . "We respect what they think, but we don't share it, and we urge them to reflect, because we are the ones who live here, not them, so they should take into account our opinion on what is happening in Venezuela," said the congressman, who asserts that opposition political leaders are kidnapped in that country and that due process is lacking.
—How do you assess Jara's victory in the primaries?
“Comrade Jeannette Jara's victory is a truly significant event for the workers and the Chilean people, first and foremost. We also understand that it is significant for the Communist Party of Chile, which is part of a broad alliance, and also for the communist parties of the world. It is a historic event that a member and leader of a Communist Party, in this case a woman, is elected in a primary process to represent broad sectors of society. We in the PCV value this decision positively and congratulate the Chilean people, and particularly Jeannette Jara.”
—What do you think of the Chilean Communist Party's view of the Maduro regime?
"His opinion is a constant situation at the international level and has to do with the way Nicolás Maduro's government presents itself: as an anti-imperialist government, a government of workers, he has even been labeled a worker president (...).
In that sense, we call on all sister parties that hold a favorable opinion of Maduro to discuss the issue with us in depth, because we are the ones in Venezuela, not them.
We are the ones experiencing the reality of a government that disrespects the Constitution, that has made labor relations more flexible, that has eliminated social benefits, where workers receive a pittance for vacation time, and where union elections and the organization of autonomous and independent unions are not permitted. Where laws restricting the social, political, and labor rights of our people and our workers have been passed. Where dissent is persecuted, where due process is violated, where homes are raided without a court order, where cases are created and fabricated to imprison people, and where social and political leaders who hold opinions different from the government are kidnapped.
If there are sectors within the Chilean Communist Party or within its own leadership that collectively believe this is not the case, we respect that, but obviously, we do not share it. We are the ones who are experiencing this reality, which includes the assault on political parties through administrative and judicial means. In our case, the party was handed over to PSUV militants, without the Communist Party being able to defend itself.
—What position should the candidate take regarding the Chavista regime?
“We, the Communist Party of Venezuela, dare to welcome Jara's election, to welcome her and the Communist Party of Chile. (…) Regarding the position you adopt on Venezuela, we are not going to tell you what you should do. What we do ask is that you take into account the opinions of the popular and revolutionary currents, not only that of the PCV, which have been objectively affected by what is happening in our country, not only by the coercive measures, but by the class nature of Nicolás Maduro's government, which expresses the interests of a fraction of the national and transnational bourgeoisie, as well as the sector represented by María Corina Machado.
We respect the autonomy and independence of each Communist Party and we dare not lecture them, but we ask them to objectively analyze what is happening in our country, to take our opinions into account, and to decide based on the defense of workers' rights, which is the very reason for the existence of every Communist Party, regardless of the country to which they belong."
"We are aware of the different opinions expressed within the Chilean Communist Party regarding the Maduro-led government," said Óscar Figuera, secretary general of the Communist Party of Venezuela and a critic of Chavismo, in this interview with El Mercurio . "We respect what they think, but we don't share it, and we urge them to reflect, because we are the ones who live here, not them, so they should take into account our opinion on what is happening in Venezuela," said the congressman, who asserts that opposition political leaders are kidnapped in that country and that due process is lacking.
—How do you assess Jara's victory in the primaries?
“Comrade Jeannette Jara's victory is a truly significant event for the workers and the Chilean people, first and foremost. We also understand that it is significant for the Communist Party of Chile, which is part of a broad alliance, and also for the communist parties of the world. It is a historic event that a member and leader of a Communist Party, in this case a woman, is elected in a primary process to represent broad sectors of society. We in the PCV value this decision positively and congratulate the Chilean people, and particularly Jeannette Jara.”
—What do you think of the Chilean Communist Party's view of the Maduro regime?
"His opinion is a constant situation at the international level and has to do with the way Nicolás Maduro's government presents itself: as an anti-imperialist government, a government of workers, he has even been labeled a worker president (...).
In that sense, we call on all sister parties that hold a favorable opinion of Maduro to discuss the issue with us in depth, because we are the ones in Venezuela, not them.
We are the ones experiencing the reality of a government that disrespects the Constitution, that has made labor relations more flexible, that has eliminated social benefits, where workers receive a pittance for vacation time, and where union elections and the organization of autonomous and independent unions are not permitted. Where laws restricting the social, political, and labor rights of our people and our workers have been passed. Where dissent is persecuted, where due process is violated, where homes are raided without a court order, where cases are created and fabricated to imprison people, and where social and political leaders who hold opinions different from the government are kidnapped.
If there are sectors within the Chilean Communist Party or within its own leadership that collectively believe this is not the case, we respect that, but obviously, we do not share it. We are the ones who are experiencing this reality, which includes the assault on political parties through administrative and judicial means. In our case, the party was handed over to PSUV militants, without the Communist Party being able to defend itself.
—What position should the candidate take regarding the Chavista regime?
“We, the Communist Party of Venezuela, dare to welcome Jara's election, to welcome her and the Communist Party of Chile. (…) Regarding the position you adopt on Venezuela, we are not going to tell you what you should do. What we do ask is that you take into account the opinions of the popular and revolutionary currents, not only that of the PCV, which have been objectively affected by what is happening in our country, not only by the coercive measures, but by the class nature of Nicolás Maduro's government, which expresses the interests of a fraction of the national and transnational bourgeoisie, as well as the sector represented by María Corina Machado.
We respect the autonomy and independence of each Communist Party and we dare not lecture them, but we ask them to objectively analyze what is happening in our country, to take our opinions into account, and to decide based on the defense of workers' rights, which is the very reason for the existence of every Communist Party, regardless of the country to which they belong."
—Should a future Chilean government condemn human rights violations in Venezuela?
“We believe it is important for social and political organizations, and even governments, to express their opinions on what is happening in the social reality of the continent, without these political decisions implying coercive measures or direct intervention in the lives of these countries. We do not support any call for intervention by foreign powers in Venezuela. But positions of solidarity with the arbitrarily detained social and political leaders, and rejection of the violation of the social, political, human, and labor rights of our people, are actions we demand and support.”
“We believe it is important for social and political organizations, and even governments, to express their opinions on what is happening in the social reality of the continent, without these political decisions implying coercive measures or direct intervention in the lives of these countries. We do not support any call for intervention by foreign powers in Venezuela. But positions of solidarity with the arbitrarily detained social and political leaders, and rejection of the violation of the social, political, human, and labor rights of our people, are actions we demand and support.”
—What do you expect from Chile and Venezuela's relationship in the future?
“We would expect a government led by Jara and this broad leftist alliance to thoroughly assess the reality of the Venezuelan people and to develop an assessment that contributes to solidarity with these struggles. But that doesn't mean we're adhering to a policy that would dissolve relations at the state level. We're not asking for a severance of diplomatic relations between governments.”
