RE: [AUT] The nature of the Venezuela situation

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www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1479


Notes on the Bolivarian Revolution

Thursday, Jun 16, 2005  

 
By: Roberto Jorquera  Venezuela Solidarity

These comments are my observations of the revolutionary process in Venezuela
during my time here as Green Left Weekly correspondent since late March.
Much of my time has also involved traveling throughout Venezuela to help
organize the first solidarity brigade from Australia. Some comments are
general, some are responses to particular questions asked by activists in
Australia.

Revolutionary Democracy

The Bolivarian revolution, as the Venezuelan process of change is known, has
taken a dramatic turn over the last six months. The political discussion on
a local and national level has moved clearly in a socialist direction. The
solutions posed by Chavez and the masses are increasingly of a socialist
nature. During his speech on May Day this year, Chavez made it clear that to
implement the Bolivarian Constitution (adopted following Chavez's election
in 1998 after a wide process of consultation, and which establishes broad
principles of social justice) the process had to break from capitalism. At
the international solidarity conference held in Caracas in April, Chavez
also said that he had given a lot of thought about what alternative there
was to capitalism, such as a third way between capitalism and socialism, but
had become convinced that socialism was the only alternative for those
struggling against the barbarism of imperialism. In all public discussions,
Chavez raises the issue of a new socialism for the 21st Century.

The two national pro-government TV stations run programs throughout the day
that discuss the question of what Chavez has termed a process of building a
"revolutionary democracy." The National Electoral Council runs
advertisements on television about the "evolving democracy" being developed.
Numerous televised open table discussions are being held on what socialism
means for Venezuela. Local Bolivarian Houses, Endogenous Battle Units (UBE),
and cultural centers regularly discuss the construction of Venezuelan
socialism - how to construct socialism according to local conditions.

This process is not just rhetorical. Chavez, whose role as the undisputed
leader for the process is reminiscent of the role played by Fidel Castro
during the early years of the Cuban Revolution, has not backed away from
directly attacking the private sector. Over the last month, Chavez has
condemned big business for not producing enough, calling on them to hand
over management to the workers. There is increasing discussion about
nationalization of industry that is not being used properly, that is being
sabotaged or not producing enough. Chavez, if not always all government
authorities, has supported peasants when they have used their constitutional
right to take over unused productive land. Chavez has called on all foreign
companies to pay their taxes or leave Venezuela. Businesses are increasingly
forced to pay the minimum wage or face heavy fines. On a state level there
is also a large campaign to combat government bureaucracy. Of particular
importance has been the campaign within the state oil company, PDVSA. Over
the last month there has been a campaign by the opposition, especially
through the opposition-controlled private media, to discredit PDVSA, based
on allegations that the oil industry is in crisis with low production and
high levels of corruption and inefficiency. The government has responded by
exposing those sections of PDVSA that have been responsible for sabotage and
corruption. The government has launched campaign, Black Gold, to combat
these issues within PDVSA. A large part of the campaign is to increasingly
tie sections of the armed forces to PDVSA, so as to keep a better eye on
this resource. A similar mechanism was used by the Cuban Revolution in the
early years when they assigned sections of the rebel army to oversee
sections of industry so as to avoid sabotage and corruption. 

Debates within the Chavez forces

There is no doubt that the Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR) has become
the mass party of the revolution with well over 1 million members and
supporters. It is by far the most organized and visible group at all
political demonstrations and has majority political representation at the
local, state and national level. The MVR makes up about 80% of the
pro-revolution alliance at all levels. All the other parties are fairly
small in comparison. However, the political basis of the party has been
undergoing a dramatic change. It has always been a party that has firmly
supported Chavez and the political project that he has outlined, however
that has also meant that it has attracted a wide range of political
activists - considering that the Chavez project has been somewhat general
since his elections in 1998. It has only been in the last 6 months to a year
that he has raised the issue of socialism. And so the MVR has had to respond
to this political development, and relate to the new direction.

As part of the process, Chavez has called for a consolidation of the
pro-Chavez parties. It is a bit unclear what exactly this means. But there
is no doubt that Chavez is looking at further consolidating and unifying the
revolutionary forces. This might involve a formation under the MVR, or most
likely some new formation that brings together all the different forces.
Once again a similar process that developed in Cuba between 1959 and 1965
when the Communist Party was established.

But political representation and activity is not solely under the direction
of the MVR, the "red party," as it is called. Political organization extends
much further and deeper than any political party. The Bolivarian Houses,
UBEs, local cultural centers (which tend to take the form of local community
organizing centers), the UNT and a large number of other political
organizations all play a role in mobilizing the masses in defense of the
revolution. Though a large section of the population does belong to, or
identifies with, a particular political party, political organization and
activity seems to be done much more through their trade unions, student
unions, social missions, Bolivarian Houses, UBEs etc. It is for this reason
that at May Day 2005, people marched behind their respective work place
banner or student union banner or social mission banner etc rather than
behind the banner of any particular political party. But this should not
confuse people into thinking that there is no political organization or
education happening in Venezuela. In fact political organization and
discussion happens at a local level in all the organized communities in
support of the revolutionary process.

The debate around socialism that was initiated by Chavez has sparked a lot
of debate in the national media and amongst all political activists. Within
the MVR, it is difficult to tell exactly what factions exist or, if they do,
what they stand for. The factions seem to be mainly based upon support of
particular Mayors. For example, there has been a lot of confrontation
between different sections of the MVR - some public such as a dispute
between the mayor of Caracas, Juan Barreto, and Freddy Bernal, the mayor of
the municipality of Libertador (central Caracas). In this case there was a
protest held in central Caracas by the pro-Barreto forces against Bernal.
Rather than taking sides on the issue, Chavez condemned both during his May
Day speech and called on them to listen to the people and govern for the
people or resign. Since then there have been meetings between Chavez,
Barreto, and Bernal which have smoothed things over but large divisions
still exist amongst the different supporters of the two mayors. 

The discussion around socialism will take a while to sort itself out, but it
is developing very quickly. It is clear however that the majority of the MVR
membership has firmly supported Chavez4s call for a socialism of the 21st
century. So far the only ones that have condemned it have been the far right
opposition through their media outlets on a daily level. Chavez himself has
said that this year is the year of building revolutionary democracy while
next year begins the move towards socialism.

Political consciousness

On the question of political consciousness amongst the masses of
Venezuelans, the most striking thing has been how they have taken up the
call for socialism. Within the pro-Chavez camp no one has come out against
such a call, at least not publicly. There is no doubt that you would have to
be very game to come out against Chavez, but it seems to reflect more that
people are actually at that level. In all the discussions that I have had
with activists on the ground they are very happy to talk about socialism and
what it means for the process as well as the close relationship that has
been built up with the Cubans.

The political level of the masses that has developed since 1998 is much more
advanced than what is generally recognized in the international solidarity
movement. This is no social democratic "revolution" or just a fight for
national liberation but a conscious battle for socialism. But even more
interesting is that they have learnt from the past and the problems that
socialism has had and are developing their own formulas to develop it in
Venezuela. They are learning very much from the Cubans and the problems that
they had during the early years of the revolution. Chavez has increasingly
quoted from Che Guevara on how to build a socialist economy. The debate
about socialism is centered around the question of how to build a popular
economy that can also trade in the international arena.

Local cultural centers that have sprung up around Caracas and the rest of
Venezuela function as local political organizing centers where people meet
not only to organize the Missions and cultural activities, but also to
debate and discuss political issues and organize.

The May Day speech was a significant political turning point for the
Bolivarian Revolution. It was along the same lines as the Havana declaration
by Fidel Castro in 1961, which outlined the socialist character of the Cuban
Revolution. It is significant that Castro and Chavez are meeting almost
every month and are in constant phone contact. This not only reflects the
numerous agreements that that they continue to sign but also the dramatic
political similarities that are coming out of Havana and Caracas.

The recent 49 agreements that where signed are a further continuation of the
agreements that where signed in December of last year and concretely brings
into being the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America (ALBA). Similar
agreements have been signed with Brazil and Argentina which brings together
the three largest economies in Latin America. Though these are economies
that have been exploited by imperialism, their increased unity does mean a
significant economic power that puts enormous political and to some extent
economic pressure on the US. Though these agreements can not compete with
the U.S., they do begin to shut out U.S imperialist interest in the region.
It does this by increasing the pressure on other Latin American countries to
join in the ALBA. This process has totally destroyed the U.S push for a Free
trade Agreement with the region.

Industrial workers and the movement for workers control

The question of workers control of industry and what that means is a
question that is increasingly being debated in public. At the moment there
is a law before the National Assembly that looks at the question of
co-management in factories. The law was drafted by the National Union of
Workers (UNT), which will most likely be adopted in its entirety in the next
few weeks. Though the question is posed as cogestion, which translated into
English means co-management, it really means workers control of industry.
This is the way that people pose it in the factories and I think how we
should understand it.

During my visit to CVG Venalum, which is the largest aluminum plant in
Venezuela and where the cogestion process has received national attention,
it was clear that workers are, first of all, part of management, but also
there is no longer so much of a separation between management and the
workers. There are regular meetings to discuss what is being produced, how
it is being produced and what quantity and quality is being produced. So
management is effectively in the hands of the workers. No significant
decision is taken without the active participation of the workers. The
process is also being opened up to the local community. Increasing
discussions are being held between factories and the local community about
the role it plays in the local economy. In the case of CVG in Ciudad Guyana,
they discuss what projects the company should be supporting in the local
area.

A very similar situation is also taking place in INVEPAL, the other main
experiment with cogestion. The other significant aspect of this experiment
is that this was the first nationalization that has taken place. Up until
now the Chavez government has been a bit reluctant to nationalize any
property or industry, but at the May 1 demonstration Chavez specifically
said that from now on the government would nationalize any factory or land
that was not being utilized. The government will also increase pressure on
private factories to produce to their full potential. The government would
also provide the funding to help make this happen on the condition that
workers played a role in the management of the factory. The workers seem
very confident that Chavez will back up their demands, but also workers
constantly talk of their rights that are enshrined in the constitution. In
the face of any attack, they will automatically quote an article from the
constitution that defends their rights. Even on a bus out of Merida state,
where a state official was charging an exit tourism tax, a man refused to
pay based on an article in the Constitution.

Popular Organizations

The UBEs that where initially set up to organise to win the referendum vote
in August, and thus called the Electoral Battle Units, have now being
transformed into local organizing centers. They are now called the
Endogenous Battle Units. Endogenous is a term that is widely used in
Venezuela to describe self-organizing and self sustaining communities.
Though they are not armed, they play a role that is in some ways similar to
that of the Committees to Defend the Revolution in Cuba. The people are
being armed through the reserves, of which the overwhelming majority is also
involved in the UBEs. 

During Alo Presidente in early May, Chavez made a special call for the
continued organization of the UBEs. Together with the MVR, the UNT, and the
Bolivarian Houses, the UBEs seem to be the backbone of the political
organization. Having said that, it is also important to note the role of the
government apparatus and the pro-revolution TV stations VTV and VIVE, as
well as revolutionary newspapers such as Diario Vea. All these means of
communication heavily promote all pro-revolution events with ads, articles,
interviews etc. This can not be stressed enough. VTV effectively runs 24-7
with news and information on what the government is doing and what role
people can play in all the new initiatives. This also includes a TV soap
opera called Amores de Barrio Adentro (Lovers of Barrio Adentro) that is
sprinkled with drama and suspense about love and relationships but is also a
commentary on the revolutionary process.

Another example is in the lead up to May Day, VTV screened ads and
discussions about the rally almost continuously for over a week. This
reflects that the drive for mass mobilization is not just from below, but
being promoted and encouraged from the highest level of government. In all
of Chavez's TV appearances, which occurs daily and in many cases for hours,
he is always stressing the need for people to actively involve themselves in
the revolutionary process and make use of the constitution. During Alo
Presidente, Chavez stresses the need to get involved in local UBEs, and that
mayors need to support them and help them develop into a mass political
organization. This is also part of a plan to begin to activate people for
the August municipal and local elections and then the National Assembly
elections in December and the presidential elections in December of next
year.

But one point about the UBEs is that they are not necessarily a homogenous
group. They vary quite a bit in their composition and political influence.
Together with the Bolivarian Houses, which is what many Bolivarian Circles
have become and whose membership overlaps considerably with that of the
UBEs, they are central to the political, social, cultural organization of
the people. The Bolivarian Circle in the barrio of Guaicaipuro next to where
I am staying organizes everything from women's bowls tournament, a soup
kitchen, cultural events through to political discussions and organization. 

On the other hand massive problems do exist. UBEs and Bolivarian Houses have
had problems with local pro-revolution authorities. In some cases, such as
in Petare, a Barrio on the outskirts of Caracas, local authorities have
blocked some of the activities of the Bolivarian Houses and UBEs because
they see them as less democratic and not the real representatives of the
people. But those in the UBEs and the Bolivarian Houses see themselves as
the true representation of the peoples will. So debates are constantly
happening between these political forces. The other issue is that many of
the UBEs and Bolivarian Houses are composed of people from all the different
pro-revolution forces, so conflict can arise between them and the local MVR
authorities. I would also say that in some cases there exists a certain
anti-party sentiment within the UBEs and Bolivarian Houses which also
creates debates.

There is no doubt there is a lot of frustration amongst the masses, but it
does not seem wide-spread or very deep. The interesting thing is that Chavez
relates to it very well. In fact, Chavez constantly criticizes local and
national authorities for not acting fast enough. Chavez is the first to
condemn bureaucratic problems. It seems the major governmental problem is
with the middle level apparatus. This is due to a large layer of the public
service that is not convinced of change and so plays an active role in
slowing down the process.

There is also the issue that amongst some activists within the UBEs and the
Bolivarian Houses there is a feeling that if you are not a member of the MVR
then you are excluded from a certain level of political access. Though I
would say this is the case, it is unclear how widespread this problem is. 

The ideological discussions are happening in all different spheres, in the
local communities via the Bolivarian Houses, UBEs, within the MVR and in the
national TV stations, newspapers and radio stations. The ideological
formation centers have been formed, but it is not clear what impact they are
having in the broader political discussions. There is no doubt that
socialism has become a major point of discussion. What is particularly
interesting is that, outside the right-wing, the majority of people have
taken it up very positively.

Anyone that has been supportive of the Bolivarian Revolution does not seem
to have any problems with the move towards a specifically socialist road. It
seems very much that the only people that are anti-Cuba or socialism are the
ones that have always been anti-Chavez. It also reflects that some of the
key changes under Chavez have involved Cuba, so for many people a move
towards socialism seems natural. There is an increasing number of people
that have had family members go to Cuba for operations or to study and more
people are coming into contact with Cuban medical personnel and so the
barriers have been broken down. 

Attitudes and organization of the peasantry 

There is definitely frustration within the peasant community. This was seen
with the mobilization of peasants of the South West in Merida in early May
to demand the land reform laws be implemented and that action be taken to
ensure they are defended against landlord-organized repression. Though the
peasant organizations are very much in support of Chavez, they do feel that
things are progressing too slowly. But once again, Chavez backs up their
frustration and calls on them to make their demands and use the constitution
to take over land that has not been used productively. In every case where
peasants have taken over land, Chavez has supported their actions. During
May, a number of peasant activists were killed after a bitter struggle to
take over a piece of land near Caracas. This was condemned by Chavez. There
is a certain amount of self defense but overwhelmingly the peasants are
calling on the national government to take action and use the army and
reserves to defend them against repression.

Bureaucracy and corruption.

This is a major problem for the Chavez government. Similar to the first few
years of the Cuban Revolution, the Bolivarian Revolution has had to deal
with elements of the past. Many in the state apparatus are still within the
framework of the Fourth Republic [as the period from the downfall of the
dictatorship in 1958 until Chavez's election in 1998 is known] and so either
sabotage or at least slow down the process of change. It is for this reason
that Chavez has used the army in most of the social missions and is calling
on the Bolivarian Houses and UBEs to make sure that things are implemented.
A massive campaign has been launched by the government, entitled "The
Evolving Democracy". This campaign is directly taking up this question of
corruption, bureaucracy and peoples participation.

Political parties

The question of how the struggle to create a revolutionary party is going is
one that is harder to answer. On the one hand, you have the further
consolidation of the MVR as a mass party, but on the other hand it is a hard
to define the MVR. Though it is pro-Chavez, exactly what sort of
organization it is, is still an open question. But in the recent debate
about socialism, it seems that there is more discussion within the MVR about
its political line of march. Chavez is calling for the consolidation of the
MVR and for it to take up the question of socialism. Though this is a slow
process there seems a real possibility that the MVR will take up this call
and begin to consolidate itself as a party that is more specifically in
favor of socialism.

All the other political parties are really too small to take into
consideration. However there are members of the Venezuelan Communist Party
that do play an important role in government. And then other groups such as
the Revolutionary Marxist Current, identified with the international group
identified with Alan Woods, that seems to have some sections of the
government that listen to it. Other major parties within the government
alliance include Patria Para Todos (Homeland for Everyone), of which the
current Foreign Minister, Ali Rodriguez, is a member. The Venezuelan
government has also used the issues raised by many Latin American
intellectuals and activists such as Marta Harnecker, who was one of the main
organisers of the Third International Solidarity Conference and appears to
have a lot of influence with Chavez, and writers such as Eva Golinger,
author of The Chavez Code.

Role of the armed forces

The armed forces have been a central pillar of the revolution. They are
firmly behind Chavez with all the pro coup generals and officers removed.
Many of the heads of the armed forces are on TV regularly supporting the
projects and missions. They are very much supported by the people. The armed
forces are also the backbone of the missions. The campaign to recruit two
million people for the reserves will also help consolidate the Armed Forces
as a political force that will defend the revolution. The reserves are part
of the move to arm the masses of Venezuelans to defend the revolution
against any attacks. This process is also part of the process to democratize
the armed forces so that it further integrates itself into society as a
whole.
 


-----Original Message-----
From: aut-op-sy-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:aut-op-sy-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nachie 
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 6:01 PM
To: aut-op-sy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AUT] The nature of the Venezuela situation

To begin with I'd like to send greetings to everyone on the list, as I've
only recently subscribed and will most likely remain a quiet reader for the
majority 
of discussion here. I'm Nachie, and I have to confess that my immediate
purpose in getting involved with the list is to offer up for discussion an
essay 
titled "Bolivanarchism: The Venezuela Question in Our Movement". This text,
obviously directed towards any self-defined (and/or self-confined) 
"anarchists", seeks to improve on the apparently dismal condition of
anti-statist/autonomist discussion on the current trends of class
composition in 
Venezuela. I drafted the essay on behalf of the umbrella group RAAN, (Red &
Anarchist Action Network) and will paste in the first couple paragraphs 
below:

----------------

".We are trying to contribute a different vision from what the media is
giving (even those that call themselves "alternative"). We are neither for
Chavez, 
nor for Fedecamaras or CTV or Coordinadora Democratica... We are for
fomenting autonomy and self-management." - Rafa of the CRA (Commission 
of Anarchist Relationships) of Venezuela 

In the past several months we have noticed a growing curiosity over
developments in the South American country of Venezuela. Everywhere in our
day-
to-day projects, people are talking and asking about the populist government
of Hugo Chavez and his self-proclaimed "Bolivarian Revolution"[2]. This 
is unsurprising due to the accelerating pace of events in the country and
the an increasing amount of negative press about Chavez in the international

media. Through observing and participating in these informal discussions,
however, we became particularly concerned in noticing no corresponding 
increase in anarchist knowledge of the situation. Although as historians
we've dipped our toes into the issue before, for the most part there has
been 
an outright reluctance to engage ourselves in it, this despite the fact that
insomuch as Chavez' reforms represent a national movement and policy, they 
concern the future of millions of people across the entire region. In view
of this and with the goal of expanding the nascent dialogue within our wider

movement, we have prepared the following statement on behalf of RAAN. 

To us it appears that the libertarian tendency has been for the most part
incapable or unwilling to deal with the Venezuela issue in any serious way. 
While the founding principles of our network clearly state our desire to
avoid "[living] vicariously through the movements of oppressed workers in
the 
global South", we also have an obligation to "understand . how our movement
reacts to capitalism in different parts of the world". It is our position
that 
advances towards such an understanding on the question of Venezuela's
Bolivarian Revolution have been woefully inadequate, and we hope to rectify 
this through a serious information drive and campaign of action towards
anti-statist goals on this important question.

The full text is available at:
http://www.redanarchist.org/pn/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=ar
ticle&sid=77&mode=thread&order=
0&thold=0

----------------

I continue by mentioning what I believe to be the two major impotencies of
current analysis; first, that it tends to center on the role of imperialist 
intervention as opposed to the gestating class upheaval that provokes it,
and secondly that North American anarchists often have trouble in
recognizing 
movements that take place outside of their own familiar dialogue.

My goal is clearly not to present a definitive analysis of situation in
Venezuela, but to spark a series of discussions on this important issue so
that 
collectively we can put enough information together to have a clear picture
of Hugo Chavez' government and the negative or positive effects it might be 
having on class struggle there.

Absolutely all comments are welcome, and I would be much appreciative if any
interested parties would help in forwarding the essay to any 
appropriate discussion forums.

- Nachie
communist@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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