[Marxism] Stalin Borges article - read the bottom half

[David Walsh <davidrail68@xxxxxxxxx>]

David W. made a good point, however, the bottom half of the page has the up to 
date article I wanted comrades to see. It says April 30th interview,but, no 
year.

`This year May Day is very special'

By Stalin Perez and Marcos Garcia
As May Day approaches once again,( I assume this means last May Day 2009 - DW) 
Federico Fuentes on April 30 from www.greenleft.org.au interviewed Stalin 
PÃrez Borges (SPB), national coordinator of the National Union of Workers 
(UNT) and member of the editorial board of the newspaper Marea Socialista and 
Marcos Garcia (MG), national coordinator of the public sector federation, 
FENTRASEP and member also of Marea Socialista. Both are militants in the new 
United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
How is Marea Socialista preparing for May Day?

SPB: We believe that this year May Day is very special because a historic 
change has been produced in the country. The re-nationalisation of Sidor has 
changed the political map for various reasons. President Chavez understood that 
the nationalisation was a fair demand of the Sidor workers and the 
revolutionary people of Guayana and Venezuela. And the struggle, without 
quarter, of the workers and comrades of Sidor was an example of unity and 
commitment for the entire workers' movement around the country. In this manner 
a new opportunity has been opened; for the workers so that we can be 
protagonists of the first order in the changes that are necessary to be carried 
out; for the government to reunite with the workers and for the revolutionary 
process it has ignited a powerful motor and gives more strength to the famous 
five motors that many have spoken of recently.
MG: The political change that this measure signifies has given a new boost to 
the working class and now the increased involvement of the workers is notable 
in the sense of fighting for the deepening the revolutionary process. This is 
why this May Day is different. For us the change that has been produced is 
truly historic. I donât want to say that everything is assured. Of course 
not, but yes, today the conditions to achieve our demands and political 
objectives are much better. I can now say that in my sector in particular, the 
public sector, we have been injected with more energy to continue fighting for 
our collective contract for which we have been waiting for more than four years 
and we see that now this could be fulfilled soon, as well as the elections in 
our federation.
SPB: To answer your question, in regard to how we in Marea are preparing 
ourselves for this historic date, I can say to you that we are 
internationalists and are very worried about the situation in Bolivia. It is a 
fact that the Bolivian bourgeois is extremely racist, and retrograde, the child 
of North American imperialism, and has the intention to destroy the 
revolutionary process in Bolivia and the government of Evo Morales using 
whatever type of violence.
We are ready for any campaign and solidarity action to defeat the Bolivian 
rightwing, which is to defeat the North American rightwing and the rightwing of 
the entire continent. And as May Day comes around we look back to remember once 
again, that the 1st of May is a very important day for workers around the 
world. This year we commemorate 122 years since those heroic fighters, the 
martyrs of Chicago, were assassinated. Their crime was to demand the 8-hour day 
in a world in which even women and children suffered the worst slavery. They 
did not lower their banners, they did not capitulate and they made history.
This demonstration of consistency clearly shows that when your struggle is just 
sooner or later you will win. The proof is that this year in Colombia, in the 
United Status itself, where they were assassinated, they established the 8-hour 
day for all public employees and those of private companies that contract with 
the State. Without doubt it is necessary to commemorate this date, but we in 
Venezuela also commemorate what we have achieved and what we are still fighting 
for. This May Day we are going for those victories that are still outstanding.
What can you tell us about what has been achieved and what remains unresolved?
MG: For us this May Day is very important and we consider it the first step to 
renew the struggle for the demands that the workers' movement still has not 
obtained. First a general increase in salaries for all workers is necessary. 
The basic increase announced by President Chavez every year is not enough, 
today we, together with many others demand a general emergency increase, higher 
than the indices of inflation. This is an increase that will serve to relieve 
millions who have not yet been able to discuss their collective contracts, 
their socioeconomic necessities. That is the first thing.
The second is the issue of casualisation. We cannot continue tolerating these 
contracts; continue allowing the bosses, the national government itself and the 
state and municipal governments to fail to comply with the law and without any 
sanction. It appears that this will change with Sidor, we hope this is so. 
Until now, the previous minister of labour and the inspectors (of the labour 
ministry) did nothing to stop this. And in the case of Sidor we hope that the 
government understands that we cannot repeat the same failed experiences of 
co-management or aim to implement the same type of management they are doing in 
CAN TV or Electricidad de Caracas. The steel plant must have a new productive 
model, truly socialist.
SPB: For us, the reduction of the work day is very important also. The 6-hour 
day can and should be established by presidential decree, this is an issue not 
only of work conditions, but a political issue of the highest important. We 
need a working class with the time to dedicate themselves to the management of 
affairs of state and government. That has time to participate democratically in 
the planning and implementation of the socialism that we want.
The reduction of the work day is more time to rest and live and care for nature 
and our environment, it is the possibility of creating more sources of 
employment, with salaries that satisfy the basic food basket. And the president 
can do it, he has all the tools to carry it out at his hand and the workers 
also can win this right. For this reason we will also march on May 1, to win 
the reduction of the working day.
Can you talk about the situation of the workers' movement, the union movement?
MG: Together with the nationalisation of Sidor, another fundamental step that 
we won was that the president has thrown out the ex-minister of labour, as he 
deserved, this was a demand of the majority of workers. Josà RamÃn Rivero 
dedicated himself, while he was minister, to strengthening his own union 
current, of course he did not achieve it, as it is not representative, neither 
is this phantom of a new union federation that he is proposing.
The two acts, the nationalisation of Sidor and the dismissal of the minister, 
open up a great opportunity to overcome the dispersion of the union movement. 
From Marea Socialista we are calling for everyone to take the necessary steps, 
we call all the union currents that defend the revolutionary process to unite. 
To leave aside the differences that have us so divided and to put forward the 
points that unite us, there are many and they are very important. And this way 
give the workers the union organisation that they need. In this sense on May 1, 
we are going to march in every place, in Caracas and around the country, under 
these banners. We call on all the workers to take over the streets on May 1 and 
make it a great day of struggle.
Translated by Kiraz Janicke for Venezuelanalysis.com
 




      

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