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.
The
revolution has been developing in Venezuela over more than a decade and
has now reached a critical turning point. Imperialism and its local
agents, the Venezuelan oligarchy, are hell-bent on putting an end to
the Bolivarian Revolution. It constantly uses the prostitute media to
carry out a vicious campaign of defamation, slander and disinformation.
This campaign has reached unprecedented levels. Chávez has been
variously described as a "barracks populist," a "strongman," a
"firebrand," and "a psychopath”. He is supposed to be an “aggressive
thug” who "flirts with megalomania" and whose behaviour “borders on the
paranoiac." Earlier, they used to describe him as a “dictator” (some
still do), but this language sits awkwardly with the well-known fact
that over the past eleven years he has won more elections than any
other political leader in the world.
In order to accommodate this unfortunate fact, they have been
obliged to invent categories that were previously unknown to the
political lexicon. They speak of an “elected autocracy”. The London
Financial Times sees him as "increasingly autocratic" and presiding
over something called a "rogue democracy." Behind this language is fear
and hatred: the hatred of the rich and powerful for a man who has
roused the masses to fight against their oppressors and their ingrained
fear of the power of these same masses.
There is very good reason for the ferocity of the attacks against
Venezuela on the part of the imperialists and their stooges in Latin
America. They rightly fear that the Venezuelan revolution will not stop
at the borders but will spread to other countries. The nationalisations
in Venezuela set an example that others will want to follow. The
speeches of President Chávez advocating socialism on a world scale have
set the alarm bells ringing in the corridors of power from Washington
to Mexico City and beyond.
The Latin American revolution
At the present time Venezuela is in the front line of the
revolutionary process that is taking hold all over Latin America. The
radical policies of Hugo Chávez, his outspoken opposition to
imperialism and his continued calls for world revolution have become a
beacon of light to all anti-imperialist fighters in Latin America and
throughout the world.
What really worries the imperialists is the fact that, in order to
carry the Bolivarian Revolution forward, Hugo Chávez is beginning to
take measures against private property, nationalising companies and
land belonging to the Venezuelan oligarchy and big foreign
transnationals. He has also called the workers to occupy factories left
idle by their bosses and introduced elements of workers’ control in
state-owned companies.
In the context of the crisis of capitalism, the imperialists are
terrified that this example will be followed in other countries (this
is already happening) and that the workers, not only in Latin America
but also in Europe and the United States will begin to demand similar
measures against big companies that plunder poor countries and exploit
their workers to extract huge profits, damage the environment with oil
spills and other forms of contamination and close factories as if they
were matchboxes in order to earn bigger profits.
It would not be difficult to point to the problems and failings of
the Bolivarian Revolution, which are due to the fact that it has not
been carried through to the end. But despite all its deficiencies and
limitations, the Venezuelan revolution represents a mortal danger for
the ruling classes.
All over Latin America the masses are stirring. In Ecuador we had
the election of Rafael Correa, who is said to model himself on Chávez
and who had the backing of over 80 percent of the people. In Bolivia,
Evo Morales, encouraged by the nationalisations in Venezuela, raised
the question of nationalisation of the country’s natural resources and
was faced with a revolt of the oligarchy, which can only be settled by
the revolutionary action of the masses.
The dilemma of imperialism
The strategists of imperialism have come to the same conclusions as the Marxists: the
conditions are ripe for a general revolutionary movement in Latin
America that will have enormous consequences in the United States and
on a world scale. The eye of the storm remains Venezuela, where, after
a decade of struggle, the revolution is reaching the point of no return. It explains why U.S. Imperialism has taken new steps to control the situation.
The accusation that Chávez is pursuing an aggressive policy towards
Colombia stands truth on its head. The agreement for the use of
military bases in Colombia (which has been temporarily paralysed by the
courts), the coup d’etat in Honduras, the military deployment of forces
in Costa Rica and last but not least the attempt to set up new military
bases in Panama, which will effectively surround Venezuela with a
powerful U.S. military presence, all show who the real aggressor is.
This is what has led to the rapid deterioration of relations between
Caracas and Bogota, which we witnessed in August. Under certain
conditions this conflict, which on the surface seems to have subsided,
could lead to an actual outbreak of hostilities between Venezuela and
Colombia, which Washington has turned into an armed camp. The formation
of a popular militia and the purchase of arms from Russia are not the
expression of an aggressive foreign policy but purely defensive
measures taken by Venezuela to counteract the aggressive policies of
the United States.
All this shows that the imperialists have not abandoned their plans
to overthrow Chávez, if necessary by force. However, the options of
imperialism in Venezuela are now very limited. US imperialism, for all
its wealth and military power, finds its room for manoeuvre severely
restricted. In the past they would have not hesitated to intervene
directly, sending in the Marines. But this is not possible at the
present time. They have been forced to abandon Iraq and are embroiled
in an unwinnable and unpopular war in Afghanistan. After the failure of
the Iraq adventure, public opinion in the USA is turning against the
war. It is therefore unlikely that Washington could launch another
military adventure in Latin America at this time.
The possibility of a direct military intervention may have receded.
But there are many other weapons in the arsenal of US imperialism.
Washington is constantly seeking to isolate Venezuela internationally.
It is constantly applying diplomatic, military and economic pressure to
undermine the government of Hugo Chávez In addition to character
assassination, there remains the option of actual assassination, which
the CIA has undoubtedly been preparing for some time.
The born-again Christian, accomplished swindler and rabid
reactionary Pat Robertson said: "You know, I don’t know about this
doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate
him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it… It’s a whole
lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments
will stop." When he pronounced these words, he was only saying what
others in more powerful positions were thinking. And these thoughts
have not gone away.
Assassination remains a possibility. But despite its obvious
attractions, what the reverend Robertson proposes holds serious risks
for US imperialism. Despite Mr. Robertson’s optimistic opinions, the
first result would be the cutting off of oil supplies to the USA. Such
a step would cause a wave of anger and revulsion in Latin America and
throughout the world. There would probably not be a US embassy left
standing in the region. The bitterness against the USA would last for
generations and lead to further uprisings and explosions.
Preparing a parliamentary coup
For all these reasons Washington is compelled to rely on the
mechanisms of bourgeois “democracy” in an attempt to overthrow the
Revolution by constitutional means. Herein lays the importance of the
September national assembly elections in Venezuela. What Washington is
planning is neither more nor less than a parliamentary coup.
It seeks to liquidate the Bolivarian Revolution, not by external
intervention, but by basing itself on the internal enemies of the
Revolution. In order to do this, it will make use of the internal
contradictions of the Revolution and the Bolivarian Movement itself.
The opposition is calculating on winning a sizeable number of seats
in the new National Assembly, perhaps even an outright majority. If
they were to win a majority in September, or if it were to win a
sizeable number of seats in the National Assembly, this could mark the
beginning of a downward spiral for the Bolivarian Revolution. The petty
bourgeois masses, who have been demoralised and passive in the recent
past, would be encouraged by an electoral victory and go onto the
offensive.
If the counter-revolutionaries are successful on September 26, they
will use their position in the Assembly to sabotage the workings of the
government, mobilise the middle class to come onto the streets and
provoke unrest wherever possible. Even if they were to win only one
third of the seats they would be able to block certain key decisions.
They would engineer a series of clashes between the Assembly and the
President. Their ultimate goal is to destabilise the country and create
a situation where they can get rid of Chávez, be it by parliamentary or extra-parliamentary means. The threat is a very serious one.
Nobody in their right mind believes that fundamental decisions are
made by laws and parliaments. Ultimately, all the important decisions
are taken on the streets, in the factories, in the villages and in the
army barracks. But parliament can play a significant role as a rallying
point – either for the forces of the Revolution or the
counter-revolution That is why the outcome of the September elections
is so important for the future of the Revolution.
If the counter-revolution triumphs, does anybody believe that it
will respect the laws? The Bolivarian Constitution would be abolished
the very next day. All the reforms of the last decade would be
reversed. And what would happen to all those who supported the
Revolution? Does anybody believe that the counter-revolutionary
opposition will embrace them? Would the counter-revolutionaries make
the kind of conciliatory gestures that Chávez has made to them so
often, without any result? No! They would have the same implacable and
vengeful attitude that has characterised every ruling class in history
when they have defeated a revolution, summed up by the Roman saying: Vae victis! – Woe to the vanquished!
The victory of the counter-revolution in Venezuela would represent a
serious blow to the revolution throughout Latin America. Bolivia and
Ecuador would immediately be under terrible pressure. The Cuban
Revolution, which is already threatened by capitalist
counter-revolution, would be in greater danger than ever before. The
effects would be felt on a world scale, with a new ideological
offensive of the bourgeoisie against socialism. It is sufficient to
pose the question concretely to understand what needs to be done.
Can the counter-revolution succeed?
Is it conceivable that the opposition could succeed in its plans?
Every conscious worker and peasant fervently hopes that it will not.
But in politics, as in war, hopes are never enough. There is nothing
more dangerous than the kind of blind optimism that hides behind empty
phrases such as “the Revolution is irreversible”. It is necessary to
proceed on the basis, not of hopes and sugary illusions, but on hard
facts. We are in a war, and in warfare it is always preferable to
overstate the enemy’s strength rather than to underestimate it.
Where does the main danger lie? It lies in the fact that the
socialist revolution has not been carried to its conclusion and that
the bourgeoisie still controls key points in the economic and social
life of the country. This fact was pointed out by President
Chávez at the Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV. He said that there
can be no transition to socialism in Venezuela as long as the bourgeois
state of the 4th Republic is still in place and key parts of the
economy are still in the hands of the oligarchy.
This was one hundred percent correct. The two main obstacles that
stand in the way of the advance of the revolution are private ownership
of the key sectors of the economy, and the continued existence of the
bourgeois state. It is impossible to maintain this situation of a
so-called mixed economy in which the capitalist element prevails,
provoking disruption and chaos, food shortages, inflation, factory
closures and the flight of capital.
All these things have a serious effect on the masses. The survival
of capitalism reflects itself in such things as inflation and food
shortages. It is true that the masses still have faith in Chávez and
are loyal to the Revolution. But this loyalty must not be abused and it
cannot be maintained merely by speeches and exhortations. The fact that
the opposition was able to win the elections for mayors and governors
in poor areas, such as Petare in November 2008, was already a warning.
If the government does not take decisive action to solve the needs of
the masses, demoralisation can spread and manifest itself in the form
of abstention in forthcoming elections.
On the other hand, the survival of the old state and bureaucracy
represents a mortal danger for the revolution. The bureaucracy is
fiercely opposed to socialism and the revolution and is doing
everything in its power to sabotage it. Nobody in their right mind
could imagine that it is possible to move towards socialism while this
corrupt monster is still in existence. This was pointed out by Chávez
at the PSUV Extraordinary Congress, when he quoted from State and Revolution,
where Lenin explains that the destruction of the bourgeois state and
its replacement by a workers’ democracy is the prior condition for
moving towards socialism.
The reformists do not wish to speak of these problems. They use a
hundred and one “clever” arguments to prove that the working class
cannot and must not take power. They consider that socialism is a
utopia, while they are realists. Faced with the onslaught of the
counter-revolution, they bury their heads in the sand like a frightened
ostrich and hope the danger will go away. This “realism” is in fact the
worst kind of utopianism. It represents a very serious danger to the
revolution.
President Chávez has repeatedly warned of the danger of the
counter-revolutionary bureaucracy, which is neither more nor less than
the Fifth Column of the bourgeoisie within the Revolution and the
Bolivarian Movement. The recent desertion of the PPT is only the latest
in a long series of examples, which proves the existence of this
reformist and bureaucratic Fifth Column. How many more are still
present and ready to betray? If the opposition does not win a majority,
how many “Bolivarian” deputies would be prepared to do a deal with them
to create such a majority?
The IMT and the elections
What is the attitude of the International Marxist Tendency to these
elections? It goes without saying that the Marxists will call for a
vote for the PSUV in these elections. We must fight to defeat the
counter-revolutionary opposition. The only way to achieve this
objective is to mobilise the masses – the real base and motor-force of
the Revolution. The workers and peasants must be motivated and
enthused. But this is only possible if the PSUV stands clearly and
unambiguously for socialist and revolutionary policies, and carries
them out in practice.
However, the fight for socialism consists of a series of partial
battles. The Revolution must not take a single step back, but strike
blow after blow against the class enemy. The most urgent and
immediate task is to defeat the counter-revolutionary opposition, to
block its attempt to return to power by using the democratic mechanisms
provided by the Bolivarian Constitution. We therefore appeal to every
worker and peasant, to the youth, to the women, to the trade unionists,
to all the living forces of Venezuelan society to vote for the
candidates of the PSUV on September 26.
Some people who call themselves “lefts”, or even worse, “Marxists”
have adopted a light-minded and irresponsible attitude to the September
elections. They advocate abstention, or even worse, join the ranks of
the counter-revolutionary opposition. This is a complete abandonment of
revolutionary politics. When the class lines are clearly drawn, and
when the choice is between Revolution and Counter-revolution, whoever
crosses the line is guilty of betrayal.
From the very beginning of the Venezuelan revolution, the Marxists
of the IMT have defended the revolution and highlighted its
significance for revolutionaries throughout the world. This occurred,
while many so-called leftists denied that a revolution was taking place
and categorically wrote off the possibility of a turn towards a
socialist path. Eleven years later our stand has been completely
vindicated. Even though the revolution has not taken the decisive step
towards socialism, it is clear that the idea of socialism has gained
the ear of the masses who are fighting to achieve this aim.
The strengthening of the Marxist tendency inside the ranks of the
PSUV, the PSUV Youth and the UNT would be a powerful tool in advancing
this process and defeating the counter-revolution once and for all by
destroying its economic power and thus completing the Venezuelan
Socialist Revolution. The International Marxist Tendency, organized in
Venezuela around the paper Class Struggle (Lucha de Clases)
is fighting to push the Revolution forward, to advance towards the
final and decisive victory. But the final victory depends on the
outcome of a series of partial battles. Whoever is incapable of
defending the ground that has been won in the past will never be
capable of advancing to the conquest of power.
Carry out the revolution to the end!
While defending the revolution against the attacks of imperialism
and the counter-revolutionary opposition, at the same time the Marxists
have a duty to warn of the dangers in the present situation. The
Venezuelan counter-revolutionary opposition is trying to take advantage
of each and every mistake committed by the government. Unsolved
problems such as housing, the growth in crime-rate and recently the
blackouts in the energy system, are being used by the opposition to
generate apathy among the masses that support the revolution.
It is not possible to stop the revolution half way. It is not
possible to make half a revolution. The masses are loyal to the
Revolution but they will not permanently accept this situation. Sooner
or later it must be settled. Chávez has taken important steps forward
but it is necessary to finish the job. Once the Venezuelan revolution
carries out the task of eliminating landlordism and capitalism, it can
very rapidly spread to other countries in Latin America. That is the
inner meaning of the Bolivarian revolution: the objective necessity to
unite the divided continent of Latin America and raise it to a
qualitatively new and higher level of development in accordance with
its colossal economic potential.
The Spanish socialist leader Largo Caballero pointed out that you
cannot cure cancer with an aspirin. Serious problems demand serious
solutions. When Abraham Lincoln won the Civil War, he understood that
one cannot leave economic power in the hands of the enemy. He
expropriated the wealth of the Southern slave-holders which today would
be worth trillions of dollars. In doing this, he did not pay much
attention to constitutional niceties. In fact, he would never have won
the war if he had been obsessed with laws and constitutions.
Long ago Cicero wrote the famous phrase: Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex: The salvation of the people is the ultimate law. We can now say, with equal justification, the salvation of the Revolution is the ultimate law.
To prevent the counter-revolutionaries from winning control of the
National Assembly is a necessary step to prevent the liquidation of the
gains of the last eleven years. But in and of itself it is
insufficient. The only way to defeat the opposition and remove the
threat of counter-revolution forever is by liquidating the economic
power of the oligarchy, expropriating the landowners, bankers and
capitalists and introducing a socialist plan of production under
democratic workers’ control.
The reformists argue that to act in this way would be to provoke the
imperialists and reactionaries. That is absurd. The imperialists and
reactionaries have shown by their actions that they do not need any
provocation to act. The workers, peasants and poor people of Venezuela
are looking to Hugo Chávez to carry out his promise to make the
Venezuelan revolution irreversible. This can only be done by directly
challenging the so-called sacred right of private property. Unless
economic power is taken out of the hands of the counter-revolutionary
oligarchy, the Bolivarian revolution could never be victorious and the
gains of the revolution would never be safe.
For those who are hypnotised by legal considerations, we point out
that there is a constitutional mechanism that can be used for this
purpose: an enabling act to nationalise the land, the banks and the
major industries. Chávez still has the formal power, a large majority
in the national assembly and the popular mandate to carry out the
expropriation of the oligarchy – the prior condition for a movement in
the direction of socialism. But the time to act is now. Tomorrow it
will be too late.
This is the only possible perspective if we wish to put an end to
the domination of Latin America by US and world imperialism. But it is
a perspective that stands radically opposed to nationalism. It stands
for the radical abolition of frontiers that have artificially divided
and balkanised Latin America for 200 years. It is also of necessity an
anti-capitalist (socialist) perspective, since it can only be achieved
by breaking with the bourgeoisie. Power must pass to the working class
and its natural allies, the poor peasants and the urban poor and
semi-proletarians.
The idea of the Socialist United States of Latin America is an idea
that can unite and mobilise the masses of workers, peasants and
revolutionary youth of Latin America for an all-out struggle against
imperialism and capitalism. It contains not a single atom of utopianism
but flows from objective necessity. It is the slogan of the present
that holds the key to the future.
Defend the Bolivarian Revolution!
Defeat the counter-revolutionary opposition!
Fight for a PSUV majority in the National Assembly!
Carry out the programme of the Socialist Revolution!
