[Marxism] Re: Venezuela Says Economy to Move Away From Capitalism

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

# I think the "left" everywhere, Trotskyists included, are trying to
find their way around Venezuela, what it all means etc. The mere fact
that the 'traditional left' in Venezuela supports the opposition (Causa
R, MAS, for example) is confusing enough to the outside observer, that
Chavez did make some serious errors...this from his supporters in the
unions, not the opposition...so for what's it worth, I cut some of
these groups here in the US some slack...I think, eventually, they'll
all come up to speed, with the notable exception of the SWP which we
don't need...or want...to go into here.

# Anyway, I think you will find a lot people, myself included, that the
only way Venezuela will ever find it's full sense of sovereignty, true
national independence, is if the Revolution grows over into a socialist
one, and the State there is changed forever, that any semblance of
capitalist power be removed from the scene. That's my unreconstructed
Trotskyist-Leninist sense of the situation. I firmly believe this. It's
HOW to get from this point to that which is so fascinating.

# I've been following what's been going on there very closely, and I
think a trip is what's needed to get the full handle of the movement
there. I lieu of that it means following the different web sites, etc,
reading the statements from the gov't and opposition, etc. For example,
if you look at http://venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1224 you
will find an interview with Ali Rodriguez, the Prez of PDVSA. This
along with the other interviews from the PDVSA management and Oil
Industry ministry will show exactly how Chavez's actions ARE a form of
re-nationalization. I think this is not unimportant, especially as
these interviews show how the "state owned" PDVSA was being privatized.
Additionally you can find news of how the workers and unions at PDVSA
are now exerting both legal and defacto workers control over the
industry. This is a GOOD thing, not a BAD thing.

Does this mean then that the move away from capitalism toward socialism
is occuring? I think yes in terms of the Revolution's commitment to the
working class and poor of the country, even Maria Vargas Llosa,
rightwing libertarian of Peru concedes this. But even continuing the
course Chavez is committed to, does this assure socialist revolution? I
don't know. And, certainly not according the Chavez. But then the
"Bolivarian movement" is far more heterogeneous than Chavez, they are
not puppets and their own internal dynamic has already set in. The UNT
is certainly not on anyone's puppet strings and acts in support of the
Revolution to the degree the Revolution meets the needs of it's
membership specifically and the working class in general. Could Chavez
personally as President have run-ins with the UNT? Yes, and it's
happened already. We need to follow this.

# In San Francisco, I think on September 27th, there will be a report
back from a US Trade Union delegation that visited Venezuela during
it's recent elections, participated with the UNT leadership, etc, in
observing the elections as well as attended many work places and UNT
meetings. I helped financially to send these union members to Caracas,
I think we should all look to do similar kind of things.

# We can start discussing the course of the Revolution so far. It's
history, course, mistakes, gains, etc. As mentioned above, I think
Chavez did make some serious mistakes vis-a-vis the unions up through
2002. I think now he's getting good advice from his own supporters, but
this was not always the case. We can, and should, discuss this, it is
now part of our history.

David


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