Only by nationalising the main levers of the economy under workers’ control will we be able to develop the country
According to government statistics, the balance sheet of Venezuelan economic activity indicates continuous growth over the last 3 years, due to different policies implemented by the revolutionary government. The last report of the Venezuelan Central Bank for the year 2006 shows a 10.3% increase in GDP growth, excellent news for any country. Equally, internal demand continues to grow and reached a rate of 18.8% - above the year 2005 - practically doubling the increase in GDP. This dynamism of private consumption is, fundamentally, linked to the increase in the income of the population as a consequence of the sustained growth of the economy, the improvement in employment and wages, the greater access to credit and the transfer of resources to the most vulnerable sectors through the various social programmes. Also, as a positive element, the recovery of purchasing power, which began in 2003, continues with a real yearly increase of 9.3%. The new minimum wage exceeded the basic cost of food in November by 11%.
But these encouraging figures, which indicate a growth and improvement in the standard of living of the population, take on a completely different character when we attempt to analyse the figures in small print. It seems that the bureaucratic and reformist sectors of the movement are not interested in making public the data which reflects the serious structural crisis that Venezuelan capitalism has suffered from for decades. This structural crisis could shift this tendency of growth to a profound crisis of the national economy if policies to eliminate the control of the capitalists over the main levers of the economy are not implemented.
For instance, when GDP growth is analysed by sector, it can be observed that this growth is, fundamentally, at the expense of the non-manufacturing sectors, such as financial sector, construction, communications, commerce and community services, where the basic engine for economic growth is the government's expenditure of surplus oil revenue. This asymmetrical growth, where the banking system achieved a 37% share and construction 29.5%, while manufacturing industry only provides a 10% share, reveals the basis for a crisis. Another worrying indicator that must be taken into account is the disproportionate increase in the level of imports, which grew to the tune of $31.3 million, which represents 18% of the GDP and is a historical high.
When we analyse these results comprehensively, we notice that the growth in internal demand is minimally supplied by the national manufacturing industry, which is in the hands of the national oligarchy. This means that the government has to make up for that lack of internal supply through massive imports of food and consumable products, which means exorbitant expenditure of foreign currency reserves. As we have analysed in previous articles, the fall in the rate of re-capitalisation of the national manufacturing industries since 1998 is enormous. This reflects the parasitic nature of the Venezuelan capitalists, a characteristic they have had for a long time, as well as the policy of economic sabotage encouraged by Fedecamaras and Fedeagro, in spite of all the credit that the revolutionary government naively offers to the private sector. This disinvestment and abandonment of companies on the part of the national bourgeoisie has seriously affected, as we have mentioned before, the fall in national production as well as the decrease in the annual rate of job creation in the industrial sector, with the added factor that this sector constitutes that main force in job creation in any economy.
As we can see, the economic situation, which apparently is a total success and gives no cause for concern, according to the rosy reports of the reformists, who want to convince the President and the people that it is possible to resolve the problems of the country while maintaining the private ownership of the main companies and banks, hides the grave crisis of an economy that is not able to produce even a third of what it consumes. Were consumption to continue expanding, as a product of the policies applied by the revolutionary government concerning the distribution of oil revenue (which previously was seized and looted by imperialism and the national oligarchy), and if this expansion continues to be combined with the maintenance of the private ownership of productive industry in the hands of the capitalists - who only care about their private interest, hate the revolution and who will continue sabotaging the economy - in few years we would have to spend almost the whole of the nation's oil revenue to pay for imports, which is unviable.
It is extremely urgent that the revolutionary government is aware of the grave situation that is being prepared and proceed to nationalise the productive forces of the country, which is in hands of the bourgeoisie, who have held back its development for decades. In particular, they have done this over the last seven years where they have used their control over the productive forces to undermine the economic base of the country and wear out the revolution. The government must put these companies under workers' control and prepare a massive plan of re-capitalisation with the resources that are been drained in imports in order to recover production and employment before an entirely predictable economic breakdown happens.