[Marxism] RE: Crushing Victory for Correa in Ecuador referendum

[Greg McDonald <sabocat59@xxxxxxx>]

The news improves.  Official partial results provided by the TSE on  
their website indicate 81.75% vote yes, 12.65% no, .67% blank  
ballots, 4.95% spoiled ballots.

IMHO, Ecuador will soon assume vanguard status in Latin America as  
progenitor of a thoroughgoing social revolution, more so than in  
Venezuela, because the popular movement is cohesive and well- 
organized in both the urban and rural sectors. Ecuador and Bolivia  
benefit from Venezuela as the economic motor of the left, but the  
social situation in Venezuela is chaotic and in danger of spinning  
out of control, and the national government in Bolivia is barely able  
to stand up to the regional separatists. Unless my reading of the  
situation is totally myopic, the social chaos in VZLA. is forcing  
Chavez to push the revolution more quickly than the organization of  
social sectors of the left can assimilate. The unions are in  
disarray, and the political parties of the left have adopted a wait  
and see attitude with regard to their consolidation within a new  
Chavista socialist party, (I know there have been splits and internal  
debates and whatnot, but I don't see a unifying tendency within the  
left at this point). Which is to say, the deepening of the revolution  
is coming more from above than from below. Rather than responding  to  
cohesive demands from organized urban and rural sectors, or knowing  
at what point to push the revolution in a dialectical fashion, Chavez  
seems to be moving things forward at an artificially accelerated  
pace.  (Just the opposite of what you thought I would say, Joaquin).   
Not that he has much choice at this point. He's rolled the dice, and  
is now beginning a purge within the military of those who are not in  
favor of socialism, requesting that they leave the ranks.  Since he's  
a military man, Chavez seems to be going back to his roots to try and  
consolidate the revolution from within the military and then out into  
other sectors. In my opinion, this marks a very dangerous yet  
necessary phase. Let's hope the left truly begins to gel in a more  
organic manner around the Bolivarian project and is not simply  
cashing in opportunistically.  We will soon see when the inevitable  
backlash from the oligarchasaurs begins. Perhaps the bombing the  
other night in Miranda is just the beginning.  Again, I hope I'm  
wrong, but we are discussing social relations here, are we not?

                                       Greg

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