Big Oil is behind it
Class struggle deepens in Venezuela
By Gloria La Riva
In July 2001, marching with thousands of supporters of
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez through the streets of
Caracas, it was clear to this writer that the workers and poor
ardently backed his Bolivarian revolution.
It is called Bolivarian after the great fighter, Simon
Bolivar, who rallied Latin America against Spanish colonialism.
It is called a revolution because the struggle is against a
wealthy class that has bled the country dry and left 80 percent
of the population in poverty.
Today the political struggle in Venezuela has reached a
critical stage, with counter-revolutionary forces targeting the
country's oil industry in an attempt to overthrow the
government of Hugo Chávez.
Hour by hour the struggle is more acute and the class lines
sharply drawn. Workers and the poorest of the population have
been filling the streets to reject a "strike" called on Dec. 2
by oil executives, the Venezuelan business group Fedecameras,
and reactionary leaders of the Venezuelan Workers Federation
(CTV). Carlos Ortega, CTV secretary general, is betraying the
interests of the working class by openly collaborating with
corporate executives trying to overthrow Chávez.
Thousands of "Chavistas" backing the Venezuelan president
surrounded television, newspaper and radio stations that have
been egging on the oil stoppage. The "strike" is not a mass
workers' action but more an act of sabotage against the
country's most important source of revenue.
On Dec. 10, Ali Rodriguez, head of the state oil firm PDVSA
and a Chávez supporter, warned that the country faced a
$6-billion charge if oil exports are delayed in December.
Chávez has had to threaten a wider use of the military
to take over the beleaguered oil operations.
Since the first day of the Chávez administration, the
U.S. government and ruling class have brought external pressure
to bear on Venezuela, similar to the destabilization campaign
they led after 1970 against the Chilean government of Salvador
Allende, who was also popularly elected.
Allende, a socialist, had nationalized the copper industry
in Chile, which was then controlled by U.S. copper giants
Anaconda and Phelps Dodge, as well as the communications
conglomerate ITT, among others. This act unleashed the fury of
the U.S. government, headed at that time by Richard Nixon. He
and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger conspired to prevent a
new revolutionary process from succeeding in Latin America.
With an economic embargo imposed on Chile by the United
States, and large sections of the middle class mobilized
against the progressive reforms, the CIA prepared for a coup.
On the fateful day of Sept. 11, 1973, the Chilean military,
headed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, launched a fascist coup that
resulted in the murder of over 20,000 young students, workers
and peasants. A rein of terror was ushered in whose effects are
still felt in Chile.
'Strike' orchestrated in Washington?
A similar scenario is now being attempted against Venezuela.
The behind-the-scenes U.S. role in the April 11 attempted
overthrow of Chávez was evident in the days after his
return to office.
The current "strike" is the latest offensive undoubtedly
orchestrated in Washington.
Venezuela is currently the fourth-largest supplier of oil to
the U.S. The reactionary U.S. government, acting for big oil,
seeks control of all the world's oil and gas sources. It sees
independent economic cooperation among Latin American countries
as a threat. In particular, Venezuela's economic agreements
with revolutionary Cuba, including oil, have raised
Washington's ire.
While the Bush administration wants to see the Chávez
government ousted, it is also aware that the latest right-wing
actions may set off a chain of events it could lose control
of.
Losing command of the very turmoil it has unleashed may be
the reason certain voices in the ruling class are calling for a
"diplomatic" or electoral solution, similar to the way the
Nicaraguan Sandinista government was ousted through imperialist
intervention in the 1991 elections.
The U.S. is mindful that the April 11 fascist coup against
Chávez was frustrated by the heroic intervention of tens
of thousands of people, who restored him to office. Their
spontaneous mobilization to return Chávez to the
presidency was unprecedented and gave the masses an
understanding of their own power.
However, the U.S. tactics may change at a moment's notice.
If the right wing were defeated and revolutionary power further
consolidated, there is a very real danger of U.S. military
intervention. Already the U.S. is pumping billions in military
aid into neighboring Colombia to try to smash the guerrilla
struggle there.
So far, Hugo Chávez has strongly rejected the
counter-revolution's demand for an early referendum in February
on his presidency. At first the right-wing opposition demanded
a non-binding February referendum on his rule, but it has
escalated its demand to a binding vote.
Since his election by an overwhelming majority, the
Chávez government has instituted many progressive
economic and social measures, including land reform, improved
health, housing, education and a new pro-worker constitution.
His administration has struggled to empower the people through
the setting up of defense groups called Bolivarian social
circles. A new labor formation, the Fuerza Bolivariana de
Trabajadores, has arisen.
Latin America is witnessing a continent-wide revival of
popular struggles against economic destitution brought on by
neoliberal policies and repression dictated by imperialism.
From Brazil to Ecuador to Argentina, action is accompanying a
rising consciousness. The Bolivarian revolutionary struggle in
Venezuela is part of that great wave of change.
Reprinted from the Dec. 19, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyrighted
under a Creative
Commons License.
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