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By In Defence of Marxism
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Wednesday, 20 October 2004 |
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See pictures of the amazing installations that belong to Venepal,
now declared bankrupt by its owners. These are further arguments for
the nationalisation under workers’ control of the company. |
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By Jorge Martin
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Monday, 11 October 2004 |
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The workers in the Venepal paper mill in Morón, Carabobo (Venezuela)
are demanding that the government nationalises the company and puts it
under workers’ control and management. This is an extremely important
struggle which could be crucial for the future of the labour movement
and the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela. |
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By CMR
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Wednesday, 18 August 2004 |
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We have just received the following declaration of the comrades of the
Venezuelan Revolutionary Marxist Current (CMR), which we are pleased to
republish in English and Spanish for our readers’ information. It is, in
effect, a transitional programme that, taking its starting point from the
concrete conditions of the Venezuelan revolution, explains what steps are
necessary to build upon the victory in the referendum, carry the revolution
forward and pose the question of workers’ power and socialism. |
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By Alan Woods
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Monday, 16 August 2004 |
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Venezuela's
National Electoral Council released the result of yesterday's recall
referendum
on the government of President Hugo Chávez Frias. It was revealed that
the
opposition failed to obtain more votes than those who wanted Chavez to
stay on
as President. Even so, the opposition has refused to recognize the
result and
has charged that the "no" victory was based on electoral fraud. But
does the result mean the opposition has suffered a decisive defeat? The
internal and external enemies of the Venezuelan revolution cannot
be reconciled by elections, referendums and negotiations. They will
only be
satisfied when the revolution is defeated. |
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By Alan Woods
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Wednesday, 11 August 2004 |
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Genuine Marxists oppose the attempts of the Venezuelan oligarchy, backed by
imperialism, to overthrow President Chavez. Why do we take this position?
Because a defeat for Chavez in the referendum would be a heavy blow against the
workers and peasants of all Latin America. It would be a victory for imperialism
and the forces of reaction everywhere. The barricades have been drawn in this
class war and it is necessary to take sides clearly and unambiguously. |
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By Alan Woods
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Friday, 23 July 2004 |
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The attitude to revolution is the acid test for revolutionaries. Yet
surprisingly many of those who call themselves Marxists have proved
organically incapable of understanding the Venezuelan revolution or
intervening in it. Two years ago, when the attempted coup against the
Chavez government was defeated by the revolutionary movement of the
masses, the response of most of the Left internationally was a deafening
silence. Now the ultra-left have suddenly been getting hot under the
collar - not about the Venezuelan revolution, but about the apparent
opportunism of the Marxist tendency, gathered around this web site. Alan
Woods points out a few elementary points that to any serious Marxist
would be ABC. |
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By Jorge Martin
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Friday, 16 July 2004 |
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This is the reply to a letter we received from an Irish supporter of the Hands
Off Venezuela international solidarity campaign who points to a number of criticisms of Chavez and his policies that
he
found on a socialist web site. Jorge Martin replies to these points in order to
clarify what is really happening in Venezuela. |
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By Jorge Martin and William Sanabria
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Sunday, 04 July 2004 |
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All attention is now centred on the forthcoming August 15th recall referendum. The "opposition" has all kinds of tricks it can play, but one thing is sure: the masses are gearing up to defend the revolution. Unfortunately there are elements within the leadership of the movement who are trying to hold back the masses. Jorge Martin and William Sanabria, in Caracas, report on what is happening and look at the possible developments. |
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By Jorge Martn
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Thursday, 24 June 2004 |
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In a packed mass meeting in the El Valle area of Caracas, the working people elected their own local Comando Maisanta as part of the struggle to defeat the opposition in the August 15 presidential recall referendum. This was an extraordinary gathering, which demonstrated the superiority of the democracy of working people and the enormous capacity of the revolutionary masses to create forms of organization which guarantee the necessary unity and discipline of the movement, based on democratic debate and decision-making. |
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By Jorge Martin
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Saturday, 12 June 2004 |
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A massive rally in Caracas by supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution on Sunday marked the beginning of the campaign for the recall referendum in Venezuela. This came after the announcement on Thursday, June 3, by the National Electoral Council (CNE), that the opposition had collected enough signatures to trigger the presidential recall referendum. On the same day, president Chavez accepted the decision and called on revolutionaries to wage what he described as the “Santa Ines” Battle and soundly defeat the counter-revolutionaries in the recall referendum. |
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By Jorge Martin
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Friday, 04 June 2004 |
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In spite of the blatant fraud of the opposition, the decision has been taken to go ahead with the recall referendum in Venezuela. This has disappointed some layers of the Bolivarian movement and enraged others. Many have gone along with it out of their loyalty to Chavez. The decision is a serious mistake. Jorge Martin looks at the what the movement should do now. |
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By In Defence of Marxism
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Thursday, 27 May 2004 |
An appeal, drafted by the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign and signed by the national leadership of the new trade union confederation UNT. Use it to raise the issue of recognizing the UNT within the trade union movement internationally. Move resolutions at your trade union branches and congresses. You can use as a model the resolution passed at the Congress of the FIOM-CGIL Lombardia.
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By Jorge Martin
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Thursday, 27 May 2004 |
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Brodzinsky's article ("Leftwing dictator or saviour of
the poor: Chavez faces new challenge to his rule") fits into the pattern of
half-truths and open lies that characterises the media coverage of the
Bolivarian revolution. We expect this kind of thing from The Economist (which
openly calls for "regime change") but not from the Guardian.We could not believe our eyes!
We sent a letter to
the Guardian (published on Thursday, May 25), but because this comes from a
paper seen as "progressive" by many, we are providing a more detailed
analysis herel. |
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By Hands Off Venezuela
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Wednesday, 26 May 2004 |
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In Venezuela the revolutionary process has been overwhelmingly
supported by the
population in seven successive elections during the last 5 years. The
so-called "democratic" opposition represents the interests of an
oligarchy which
for decades has controlled the natural resources of the country and
does not
want to renounce its privileges. With their power challenged, they've
used the
levers of the mass media at their disposal to propagate slanders and
lies against
Chavez and the Bolivarian movement. Their allies in America have
followed suit.
But not one of these falsehoods can stand when confronted by a few
simple
truths. |
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By Hands Off Venezuela - www.handsoffvenezuela.org
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Wednesday, 26 May 2004 |
A lot of lies are being told about the Venezuelan Revolution. Here we deal with the five most common ones.
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By Alan Woods in Mexico City
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Friday, 21 May 2004 |
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A diplomatic crisis has opened up between Mexico and Cuba. Mexico's Vicente Fox government has demanded the recall of the Mexican ambassador from Havana and ordered the Cuban diplomats to leave. The response of the masses was anything but favourable. Thousands demonstrated in Mexico, while a million marched through Havana. This has deepened the political crisis in Mexico and further undermined Fox and his right wing PAN government. |
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By Alan Woods
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Thursday, 20 May 2004 |
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The Venezuelan revolution is at the crossroads. Having twice defeated
the counterrevolution, the revolution is faced with a new and furious
offensive on the part of the oligarchy and its imperialist backers. How can the
revolution stop reaction? The only way is by completing the revolutionary
process. The workers must take power. |
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By Alan Woods
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Thursday, 20 May 2004 |
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Morale is of vital importance in a revolution. The masses have
demonstrated that they are prepared to fight to defend the revolution.
How much more enthusiastically would they fight
if they had the power in their hands? It is impossible to hold down an
entire people, when the people is armed and mobilised. So the taking of
power is the key. Either the greatest of victories or the most terrible
of defeats – that is the choice before the Venezuelan revolution. |
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By Alan Woods
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Tuesday, 04 May 2004 |
“Whoever expects to see a ‘pure’ social revolution will never
live to se it. Such a person pays lip-service to revolution without
understanding what revolution is” (Lenin)
The developing revolution in Venezuela has brought into sharp relief what
the correct Marxist approach should be to this phenomenon. Unfortunately
many who claim to be Marxists have revealed that they really have no
understanding of the reall essence of Marxism. Alan Woods looks at the
traditions of the movement going right back to Marx himself. |
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By Alan Woods
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Thursday, 29 April 2004 |
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Last week Alan Woods visited Caracas to attend the Second International Gathering in Solidarity with the Venezuelan Revolution. He spoke at several meetings, putting the Marxist case, mainly to audiences of workers and poor people – activists of the Bolivarian Movement and the main protagonists of the Venezuelan Revolution. "I also had the opportunity to meet and talk with the President of the Bolivarian Republic, Hugo Chavez. As a writer and Marxist historian I am used to writing about men and women who have made history. But it is not every day that one has the opportunity to observe a protagonist of the historical process at close quarters, to ask questions and to form an impression, not from newspaper reports but from personal experience." |
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Commander William Izarra is a retired air force officer, with long
standing links with left wing movements, including with leaders of the
PRV. He was in charge of ideology in the National Maisanta Commando,
and is seen as one of the most consistent and left wing elements within
the Bolivarian leadership. This interview was conducted by comrades of
the 
Latin America 
