The
mood at the Miraflores presidential palace on Sunday night was one of
cautious waiting and one could even feel a slight nervousness in the
air as thousands of Bolivarians had gathered to hear the first results
of the country’s parliamentary elections
The leaders of British trade unions representing more than 5 million
workers sign Hands Off Venezuela appeal in support of the Bolivarian
revolution and the PSUV candidates for the National Assembly elections.
HOV STATEMENT: The National Assembly elections in Venezuela, which will take place on
September 26, will mark a turning point for the Bolivarian revolution.
What is at stake is not only who will have a majority in the National
Assembly, but the future of the revolutionary process itself. We invite you to read this statement and add your name to it.
On September 26 the people of Venezuela will be electing a new
National Assembly. The reactionary Oligarchy, backed by imperialism, is
taking advantage of the shortcomings of the revolution to strengthen
its position and prepare for the counter-revolution. The Venezuelan
revolution has gone a long way, but key economic levers are still in
the hands of the Oligarchy. What is required is to fully carry out the
socialist revolution and expropriate the capitalists and landlords.
That is the only way of making the revolution irreversible
On Thursday, July 22, Venezuelan
president Chávez decided to put the
border with Colombia on maximum military alert, after Colombian
president Alvaro Uribe made accusations that Venezuela was harbouring
FARC guerrillas and demanded an “international commission of enquiry”.
A decisive battle has been going on within the PSUV in Venezuela, a
battle over who are to be the parliamentary candidates for the party in
the elections later this year. The left have been fighting an unequal
battle, where more right-wing candidates have had much more resources
and official backing locally than candidates who genuinely represent
the workers and poor. It is a key battle in the Venezuelan revolution.
The Venezuelan revolution is at a
crossroads – either it proceeds to expropriate the bourgeoisie and do
away with the bourgeois state or the right-wing reactionary oligarchy
will start to gain ground and threaten all that has been achieved so
far. In this context the PSUV is the key. It must adopt a Marxist
programme. That is why the Marxists have launched Lucha de Clases
(Class Struggle) as a tool for the transformation of the PSUV into a
Marxist revolutionary party capable of leading the socialist revolution.
In the build up to the September
elections, the right-wing opposition is preparing on several fronts.
Economic sabotage is one of them, as are the manoeuvres on the part of
right-wing elements within the Bolivarian movement itself. Meanwhile,
all this is having a radicalising effect on the left.
The call issued by President Chavez to
set up a new revolutionary
international, the Fifth International, has provoked a passionate
discussion in the ranks of the workers’ movement in Latin America and on
a world scale. It is impossible for Marxists to remain indifferent to
this question. What attitude should we take towards it?
The call issued by President Chavez to
set up a new revolutionary
international, the Fifth International, has provoked a passionate
discussion in the ranks of the workers’ movement in Latin America and on
a world scale. It is impossible for Marxists to remain indifferent to
this question. What attitude should we take towards it?
Recently we have seen many important events
happening in Venezuela, such as the devaluation of the bolívar and the
nationalisations in the banking sector, which needs to be analysed
carefully. The movement of occupied factories made important steps
forward last year, but still faces sabotage by counter-revolutionary
managers and workers are still struggling for nationalisation under
workers’ control. In order to defend the conquests already made, the
revolution must put the nationalisation of the commanding heights of
the economy on the agenda. Only this can destroy capitalism and provide
the necessary prerequisites for a socialist planned economy.
At a public meeting organized by
various trade union, political organizations, and solidarity campaigns
(including Hands Off Venezuela), more than 3,000 people in Copenhagen
heard President Hugo Chávez correctly point out that a socialist
revolution is the only solution to the problems of humanity.