On the surface, everything appears to be all well and good
for the Venezuelan economy. Growth rates are high, as is consumer spending. But
beneath the boom in Venezuela
lies a series of worrying economic trends. If nothing is done about this a
serious economic crisis could rear its ugly head, with serious consequences for
the revolution.
El Militante, the paper of the Revolutionary Marxist
Current (CMR) in Venezuela,
recently interviewed organisation secretary of the union at Sanitarios Maracay,
Jose Villegas. Villegas explains the nature and history of the struggle at the
factory, and discusses the plans of the workers to get the factory nationalised
under workers’ control.
This is the English translation of an
article
by Luis Primo, a leading figure in the UNT, in which he looks at the tasks
facing the Venezuelan working class. He stresses the fundamental role of the
working class in leading society in the struggle for socialism.