Venezuela: The PSUV rank and file criticize the internal elections

At a gathering of 150 PSUV activists held in the Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas a critical mood was evident after it had become clear that the right-wing bureaucracy within the party had manoeuvred to get its candidates adopted in the selection process for the prospective parliamentary candidates to be presented in September’s general election.

On May 5, 2010 in the Teresa Carreño Theatre, Fine Arts, Caracas, a forum was held under the title "PSUV internal elections - A critical analysis of the process towards cohesion and revolutionary unity in the lead-up to the elections of September 26". The meeting was organized by the Mobile Forum for Popular Participation.

More than 150 comrades attended the forum, members of the PSUV from all the localities of Caracas, as well as PSUV members from Miranda and Vargas states. The event had been called to allow the party rank and file to assess the problem of rigging in the internal elections last Sunday, May 2, 2010. Despite the short notice for the event, there was good media coverage with reporters present from VTV, Vive TV, Aporrea, Lucha de Clases and other alternative media.

Rigging in the internal elections

Comrade Fernando Soto Rojas, a revolutionary militant with a long history in the leftist movement, including in the underground struggle against the repressive regimes of the AD and Copei, opened the session with a speech that highlighted the desire to change the PSUV from within. The comrade stressed the importance of the September 26 elections and made it clear they should do everything possible to prevent the counterrevolutionaries from winning seats in the new Assembly. Nevertheless we must admit that there were serious problems in the internal elections within the PSUV.

According to Comrade Soto Rojas there was not a level playing field in the internal elections. Some candidates possessed electoral machines that gave them great advantages when it came to propaganda, such as posters, which they were able to distribute to all localities. In addition there was a continuing violation of Party rules that clearly prohibit the distribution of flyers in the last two days before the election.

Comrade Gonzalo Gomez, founder of the website Aporrea.org, and PSUV activist in Catia and pre-candidate in the Third District, took the floor to read a letter of protest that would be delivered to the Party's national leadership. The letter outlined a series of irregularities and specific examples, documented with photographs and even videos, which proved the existence of violations of the agreed regulations for the internal election campaign.

 

Photo by Aporrea.orgPhoto by Aporrea.org

Comrade Gonzalo Gomez stressed that money played a key role in determining the strength of each candidate's campaign. Candidates with deep pockets had a huge advantage over those who do not have money. This was clearly seen with the deployment of multi-coloured posters, leaflets, etc. He emphasized the fact that several candidates had used their political positions in the state or the party to appear in the media or to convene events in the name of the party to strengthen his candidacy.

In an impassioned speech, Comrade Diogenes Carillo explained that we must rectify the mistakes being committed. The comrade drew a comparison with the Russian Revolution, highlighting the fact that Lenin and Trotsky were always willing to discuss sensitive issues such as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, before the masses without any fear. The same should be the case in our Bolivarian Revolution, where we must discuss how to carry out a true democracy in the ranks of the PSUV.

The masses have saved the revolution

Comrade Juan Contreras, an activist in the popular movement in the January 23 neighbourhood and elected alternate deputy candidate by Circuit 1, was the next speaker. Contreras said that candidates of the apparatus had a tremendous advantage against the candidates of the popular movement and the fact that there were so many candidates had been a source of strength for the bureaucracy.

Comrade Juan Contreras from 23 de Enero. Photo by Aporrea.orgComrade Juan Contreras from 23 de Enero. Photo by Aporrea.org He expressed deep concern over the fact that there had been an attempt to make the popular movement fit within the framework of the state. He reminded all those present that it was the actual movement of the masses that had saved the Revolution on 11 and 12 April 13, 2002 and again during the oil lockout. Nobody had called them out, but it was the spontaneous movement from below that overthrew the coup and rescued the government of the Revolution. According to Juan Contreras, this showed the great wisdom of the people.

The comrade ended by saying that despite everything we have to fight within the Party and support the candidates of the PSUV in the September elections. It is important to take up the fight inside the Party, while presenting a united front to defeat imperialism and particularly the escuálido candidates in the elections of 26 September. At the same time, it is crucial that the members of the popular movement in the PSUV must be better organized, with regular meetings in neighbourhoods, political education, etc.

In the course of the debate about twenty comrades from different areas of Caracas and Miranda and Vargas participated. In all the speeches from the floor you could feel an atmosphere of frustration and dissatisfaction with the irregularities that had occurred but also a desire to continue fighting for the Party to return to a genuine socialist and revolutionary stance. One comrade said that not only was it necessary to unite the Left of the PSUV when there was an election, but it was necessary to form a left-wing tendency in a more permanent way. This proposal was widely applauded.

Another comrade said that the most important thing was the organisation of the rank and file: The people and the working class should require prospective candidates to the National Assembly to govern for the people. Only through the strength of the masses can pressure be applied for the adoption of revolutionary laws. Another speaker said we can have no trust in many officials within the state and politicians, since we have recently seen many former comrades who have jumped ship and joined the opposition. He mentioned Baduel, adding that Henri Falcón was going down the same road.

Following these interventions, the meeting ended with brief closing remarks by the speakers who pledged to continue fighting in defence of democracy within the PSUV and to go all out to defend the revolutionary process and win a majority in the National Assembly.

We need to build an organised Left in the PSUV

Photo by Aporrea.orgPhoto by Aporrea.org The meeting served to bring together a range of revolutionary comrades from different locations. Lucha de Clases was present and will follow this development with enthusiasm. In our opinion it is extremely necessary to organize on the Left on a solid basis, prepared to do battle within the PSUV.

We congratulate the comrades who organized this event, but we think it is extremely important to take practical steps to organize a left current on a permanent basis. It is not enough to make a correct analysis of what has occurred. We must also act to convert this discontent into organized resistance. In the coming weeks we will produce various documents as a contribution to this debate.

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