On November 23, we published a report of the march of revolutionary peasants in Caracas, which was addressed by Alan Woods, editor of Marxist.com. We publish below the full text of his speech, which was received with great enthusiasm and frequently interrupted by applause and chanting.
"Comrades! Brothers and sisters! In the name of the International Marxist Tendency and Hands off Venezuela, the international solidarity campaign that is supporting the Bolivarian Revolution and is now active in forty countries in five continents, I bring you the greetings of the workers of the world. (applause and chants of "international solidarity")
"What I see before me here today is the real face of the Venezuelan people (cheers and applause). Not the face of the capitalist, the banker, the landlord or the bureaucrat, but the face of the working people. In every country there are two fundamental classes: those who have everything and produce nothing and those who produce everything and have nothing. The interests of these classes cannot be reconciled. In the end, one class must win and the other class must lose: either we will defeat them or they will defeat us (applause and chants of "Down with the oligarchy!")
"The masses are the real motor force that drives the Revolution forward. In April 2002, when the oligarchy staged the coup and occupied the Palace of Miraflores, who defeated it? (cries of "the people"). And at the time of the bosses' lockout, who defeated that? ("the people!"). And who saved the Revolution at the time of the Recall Referendum? ("The people! The people!")
"Yes, the people - the workers and peasants! What conclusions can we draw from the past eight years of the Bolivarian Revolution? Only this: that no power on earth can resist the masses, once we are organized and mobilised to fight to change society. (applause and chanting of "the people united will never be defeated!").
"Comrades and friends, we now stand on the eve of a critical moment in the Revolution. On the third of December we must unite to achieve a crushing victory for President Chavez in the elections. (chants of "ten million votes!"). We must inflict a crushing defeat on the counterrevolutionaries. (cheers and applause).
"Yes, we must do this. But we must also ask ourselves: what will happen after the elections. Does anyone here think that our fundamental problems will be resolved in the debating chamber of the National Assembly? (cries of "No! No way!"). No! The fundamental problems cannot be resolved in parliament. They will be resolved on the streets, in the factories, in the villages and in the barracks. (applause).
"One thing is clear: it is impossible for the Revolution to advance while the economic power remains in the hands of the landlords and capitalists (applause)
"My friend and comrade President Chavez is striving to advance the cause of the Revolution and socialism. He is playing a most important role. (cries of "viva Chavez!"). But does anyone here believe that one man alone can carry out the Revolution? ("NO!!"). What force can carry out the Revolution: ("the people!"). Yes, only the people: the workers and peasants can carry out the Revolution - from below. (applause)
"Comrades and friends! Let us unite to defeat the counterrevolution and carry through the Revolution to a victorious conclusion. Forward to socialism! Hasta la Victoria siempre!" (enthusiastic applause and cheers)