Re: [Marxism] Chavez embraces socialism (but not the old kind)

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yosef wrote:
> One enterprise in six and a half years -- and, as the Latin American
> expert James Petras has pointed out, nationalizations in Latin America
> have gone hand in hand with continued capitalist rule. The existence of
> the Mexican state oil enterprise PEMEX does not mean that there is
> "socialism" in Mexico, and  the existence of the sole nationalized
> enterprise Venepal does not mean that Venezuela is socialist either.

An interesting but ultimately sectarian comparison. Mexican oil was
nationalized as part of an epochal anti-imperialist struggle led by
socialist-minded workers. This very same upsurge accounts for Leon Trotsky
being given political asylum in Mexico during the 1930s. We welcome any and
all such nationalist and populist turns, even if they fall short of the
October 1917 template. It is interesting to see how the split in the
Militant tendency in Great Britain has led to two different takes on
Venezuela, with Grant-Woods identifying with Chavez and Taaffe adopting a
stance reminiscent of Gerry Healy.



Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org


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