Venezuelans rally to support Bolivarian Revolution

In what has been nearly two weeks of continuous demonstrations and rallies, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets of Caracas to voice their support for President Hugo Chávez and his decision not to renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV). The massive pro-Chávez demonstrations have far outnumbered the well-orchestrated protest marches of the reactionary student groups, whose opposition to the non-renewal of RCTV’s license has received enormous coverage in the capitalist controlled media.

The pro-government demonstrators carried banners and placards heralding the creation of the new public television station TVes. They expressed their excitement about what they called a “democratization” of the airwaves. By replacing the privately owned RCTV with the publicly controlled TVes, the Chávez-led government has helped to enfranchise the masses of Venezuela, who will now have an increased role in determining what television programming will be broadcast. TVes has established educational and training sites around the country where any Venezuelan who is interested can take free classes on topics ranging from film production to news broadcasting.

The past two weeks of confrontations in the streets of Caracas, between Chávez supporters and the reactionary student groups who support RCTV, are ostensibly about the non-renewal of a broadcast license. But in another sense, they are also a microcosm of the larger transformations that are reshaping Venezuelan society, as the Bolivarian Revolution progresses along the path to 21st century socialism.

It is no coincidence that the pro-RCTV groups are comprised of students primarily from the wealthier neighborhoods of eastern Caracas, while the massive demonstrations in support of President Chávez have been attended by large sections of the working-class neighborhoods of western Caracas. The Bolivarian Revolution is giving working people access to sectors of the economy and society that have historically been the exclusive property of the elite. The reactionary student groups are protesting these developments because they represent major defeats for their class.

Over its 54-year history, RCTV was a mouthpiece for the ruling class. Its programming reflected the views, opinions and interests of the ruling class, known in Venezuela as the oligarchy. Whether it was a soap opera about the life of a rich socialite, or a news report praising the leaders of the 2002 coup, RCTV’s programming was developed for the elite, by the elite.

The new TVes station is a medium controlled by the people, and its programming will reflect the interests of the popular masses of peasants, workers and urban poor and those who identify with them. The switch from RCTV to TVes represents another step forward for the Bolivarian Revolution, as it seeks to remake Venezuelan society according to socialist principles.

The developments in Venezuela over the past two weeks are eerily familiar. A small student group, in a country not aligned with the imperialist camp, issues overly dramatized proclamations about the need for “freedom of speech.” This small group is then immediately given overwhelming news coverage in the corporate-controlled media outlets throughout the world. The editorial pages of the large capitalist newspapers trumpet the students’ cause as a so-called “human rights” issue.

If this seems like déjà vu, it is because these exact same tactics have been used numerous times before by the imperialist powers in attempts to destabilize non-aligned or socialist countries. In fact, some of the same imperialist operatives that helped orchestrate the toppling of the Milosevic government in Yugoslavia are actively participating in the current destabilization attempts in Venezuela. There is nothing spontaneous about the student protests in Venezuela over the past two weeks. The protests have been intentionally fomented by the remnants of the Venezuelan ruling elite and their imperialist backers outside the country.

In a speech given on June 7, President Hugo Chávez referenced this imperialist tactic and asserted that it would fail miserably in Venezuela, saying “To George Bush and the ideologues of this soft coup with a slow fuse: Sirs, your plan for Venezuela, forget about it.”

As the Venezuelan people continue to bravely struggle against the imperialist destabilization campaign, it is important for all workers around the world to actively support their Venezuelan sisters and brothers in the struggle for socialism. The imperialist powers are actively organizing against the people of Venezuela. It is imperative that workers around the world intensify their efforts in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution.