The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a left wing political party in Venezuela that is in the process of being founded. It was initiated by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez after he won the Venezuelan presidential election of 2006 in order to merge all parties which support the Bolivarian Revolution.

On 18 December 2006, the Minister of Communication and Information Willian Lara announced the preparation of a letter addressed to the National Electoral Council, regarding the proposal to formally disband the Fifth Republic Movement. Chávez has stressed the need for a single, united Bolivarian party.

The party held its founding congress in early 2008.

Participants

Of the twenty-four parties which supported Chávez in the 2006 presidential election, eleven are in the process of joining PSUV. On March 7 2007, Chávez presented a phased plan for founding the new party until November 2007. For Social Democracy, Fatherland for All and the Communist Party of Venezuela have stated they will wait until PSUV has been founded and decide their membership in the new party based on its program. On March 18 2007, Chávez declared in his programme Aló Presidente that he had "opened the doors for Podemos, Patria Para Todos, and the Venezuelan Communist Party so that if they want to go away, they may do so and leave us in peace". He declared that in his opinion those parties are almost in the opposition and added that they had to choose well the way to go, "in silence, hugging us or throwing stones". Patria Para Todos decided at its annual congress from April 10 to April 11 not to dissolve, while re-affirming its support for Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution.

Parties joining PSUV	Parties not joining PSUV
Fifth Republic Movement (MVR)	For Social Democracy (PODEMOS)
People's Electoral Movement (MEP)	Fatherland for All (PPT)
Everybody Wins Independent Movement (MIGATO)	Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV)
Venezuelan Popular Unity (UPV)	Revolutionary Middle Class (CMR)
Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro (MRT)	Emergent People (GE)
Socialist League (LS)	National Socialist Group of Liberation Pro Venezuela (PROVEN)
Movement for Direct Democracy (MDD)	Communitary Patriotic Unity (UPC)
Union Party	New People Concentration Movement (MCGN)
Militant Civic Movement (MCM)	Active Democracy National Organization (ONDA)
Action Force of Base Coordination (FACOBA)	National Independent Movement (MNI)
Independents for the National Community (IPCN)	Labor Power (PL)
	Venezuelan Revolutionary Currents (CRV)
	Action Networks of Communitary Change (REDES)

Activities of PSUV

On 24 March 2007, the first 2,000 party members took their oaths on a party ceremony. 10,000 more members were sworn in on 19 April 2007, and the party held its first formal meeting on 15 August 2007.

References

External links

• News about the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and Hugo Chavez