The
Next Battle Of Venezuela Begins
By Chris Kerr
Znet
29 July, 2003
The
government of Hugo Chavez has faced many tests in its attempt to transform
Venezuela. So far, the Venezuelan government has been able to rely on
the popular classes in order to win a number of key battles against
the corrupt ruling elite.
This included support
for a far more democratic constitution, a US coordinated military/big
business coup in April 2002 and an employer shutdown of the economy
combined with a technocrat sabotage campaign of the oil industry.
Each victory for
the government was the fruit of mass organization and mobilization of
the working class. The effect was to empower and embolden the revolutionary
movement while radicalizing the government. Simultaneously it demoralized
the social base for the mass mobilizations organized by the ruling class
and further split the fragile unity of its political leadership.
However, the next
battle for Venezuela is looming as the situation polarizes further.
This battle will not take place on the streets but rather in the ballot
box: a referendum on the rule of President Chavez.
This project is
a gamble for both the government and opposition. A victory for the government
would see the fragile unity of the opposition totally disintegrate,
while a victory for the opposition would see it one step closer to unseating
the government an objective which couldnt be achieved through
a military coup and nation-wide employer/manager shutdown.
A victory for the
government would force the Venezuelan and international corporate media
and US government to accept the Bolivarian revolution for the popular
and democratic process for what it is - while a victory for the opposition
would fuel claims that Chavez is an authoritarian dictator, which would
be used by the US government for its own purposes.
The post-referendum
situation will also see a further polarization of society. A victory
for the government would put the opposition in the same place as it
was in Chile under the Marxist government led by President Allende.
This would mean that the ruling class must ensure the destruction of
democracy through another military coup or even civil war to ensure
its rule. Former President Carlos Peres has already openly called for
another business/military coup as the only solution to the crisis. (
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=9650 )
The return to power
of the opposition would see a neo-liberal austerity program implemented
with the resistance of millions of people organized through neighbourhood,
womens and land reform councils. Such resistance could only be
put down through brute force, something which the large radical left-wing
sections of the military would oppose. Again such a situation may also
lead to civil war.
Whatever the outcome,
there will be no going back to the way things were before President
Chavez came to power.
The focus of the
opposition referendum strategy is sabotage - in the hope that the consequent
anarchy will prove that the government cannot govern. The forms of sabotage
have been numerous.
Sabotage
The political sabotage
must been seen in context. As the situation in Venezuela polarizes,
this is reflected within parliament as well as the ruling coalition.
The more opportunist and bureaucratic elements of the original government
parliamentary alliance have switched to the opposition as many politicians
flocked towards Chavez in order to ride on the wave of his popularity
and then switched sides as his political program became increasingly
radical.
Inside of parliament
itself, the opposition will use every bureaucratic measure to paralyse
parliament and therefore nullify the government majority. In response,
the government planned to reform the rules of parliament. The opposition
reacted by blocking governments MPs from taking their seats and
even resorted to violence to do this. ( http://www.vheadline.com/
readnews.asp?id=7929 ) In response, the government held the next session
of parliament in a park within a radical working class area the
opposition refused to come arguing that it was enemy territory.
However, that session
wasnt ratified by parliament as more members of the Chavez camp
refused to support the government despite that was the reason why they
were elected in the first place.
In other forms of
political sabotage, their has been a series of terrorist bombings of
different targets including power stations, (http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=4912
) diplomatic housing of governments both friendly and unfriendly to
the Chavez government (Algeria, Spain, Colombia), (http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=6080
) the Group of Friends (of Venezuela) headquarters, and more recently
the President of the state oil company has said a campaign of
more open and violent sabotage" has begun against oil and energy
infrastructure to disrupt production. (http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=9663
)
Other acts of sabotage
have been aimed at demoralizing the poor. These have included the hoarding
of food and medicines. Vheadline reported (http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=7566
) that the Venezuelan Consumer Protection Agency (INDECU) officials
have swooped on an illegal storage unit in southwestern Apure State
to seize some 40,000 tonnes of illegally hoarded frozen chickens and
again in Tejerias (Aragua State) in cooperation with units of the National
Guard (GN) to seize and sell 60,000 tonnes of hoarded foodstuffs. According
to the same Vheadline article the action has caused furor among
wealthier members of Venezuela's opposition who see the INDECU operations
as repressive government action against what they claim to be free trade
principles and private property. The watchdog, is investigating
over 1000 different complaints of hoarding and speculation.
The fact that the
strategy of the opposition is so focused on sabotage rather than providing
a political alternative reflects the fragile opposition unity - which
lacks a political program and leadership that has creditability.
Consolidation of
working class support
In order to combat
the hoarding and price hikes of food by big business and speculators
Chavez has undertaken a number of measures. According to Vheadline (http://www.vheadline.com/
readnews.asp?id=5653 ), the government has begun a program where it
will invest US $836 million to find a secure food supply for the population
but in particular the working class. The program also includes the establishment
of government-subsidized supermarkets which ensure food supplies to
the poor at a cheaper price. (http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=4068
)
The government has
also began the implementation of land reform which promises to have
settled 100 000 people by the end of August. (http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR25505.shtml)
More recently, the Chavez government has launched the Into the
Neighborhood program. (http://www.workers.org/ww/2003/venez0724.php)
This is a highly ambitious program which seeks to address the lack of
quality education and health-care to the poor of Venezuela by sending
doctors into the slumbs free of charge, and mobilizing 50 000 volunteers
to eradicate illiteracy among 1 million people. The two projects have
expert assistance and personnel from Cuba, universally recognized for
its quality health and education programs.
The Venezuelan media
have called this a Cuban invasion (Caracas newspaper El
Universal) and have decried the Cubanization of Venezuela.
When confronted with this allegation, Cuban President Fidel Castro noted:
This is the equivalent of saying that to save a life or contribute
to a young person obtaining a gold medal for his or her homeland is
to Cubanize the Venezuelan people
We should thank those stupid
people for such a great honor.
Already, as the
July 25 Associated Press reports, (http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml
?type=ourWorldNews&storyID=3159875) , the Cuban doctors are
a big hit with local residents who say few Venezuelan doctors dare to
venture into the teeming hilltop slums that ring this sprawling South
American capital. "Everybody is happy about it ... We've never
seen Venezuelan doctors climbing up here," said 63-year-old Liboria
Espinosa.
Class struggle continues
The battle for Venezuela
is also taking place on the streets. The left-wing UNT and right-wing
CTV struggle for support from trade unionists, while the opposition
parties hold provocative rallies in radical working class slumbs to
provoke violence between the armed sections of each movement. Alfedo
Pena, the right-wing mayor of the capital city, shutdown Catia TV (http://www.narconews.com/
Issue30/
article808.html), a popular community media source which operated outside
of the heavily monopolized media framework. Workers have occupied a
Pepsi factory and have received support from the local government. Bolivarian
Circles continue to spread and Land Committees are hard at work redistributing
land to the poor.
It is a race against
time for both the government and opposition to mobilize enough support
for the referendum. The opposition would rather have it sooner than
later with the economy still in heavy recession as a result of its economic
sabotage. However, the Commander in Chief of the Armed forces, a Chavez
ally, has confirmed (http://www.vheadline.com/
readnews.asp?id=9642) that the referendum will not happen this year
and will most likely occur 6-7 months after the August 19 mid-term date,
as selection of the CNE is still being delayed by the opposition and
the electoral list needs to be updated to avoid corruption