Leigh Hughes & Ana Hanson
You may have never heard of Hugo Chavez, you may not know the politics of Simon Bolivar, and you might be lucky even to name the capital of Venezuela. That's because they're parts of a story that Australia's corporate-owned media doesn't want you to hear. You're supposed to despair, get cynical and resign yourself to getting on in Howard's Australia (and somehow pay back that HECS debt). After all, there's no alternative.
Well, at least none that the corporate media cares you to know about. Venezuela is a country in the midst of a popular and democratic revolution that is sweeping through the poor rural communities, the slums and shantytowns that surround the cities, and the factories and workplaces. In six years, Venezuela has gone from a place renowned for 80% of its population living in poverty — despite being the fifth largest supplier of oil in the world — to a place that has eradicated illiteracy, spread free education and health care to the poor majority and has begun the redistribution of wealth and power from the rich to the poor.
It is a thoroughly democratic process: political forces supporting the process of change — led by the president, Hugo Chavez — have won 10 national elections in seven years. Opinion polls repeatedly put support for Chavez at over 70%. Most importantly, the revolution is focused on building up popular power from the grassroots to build "participatory democracy".
The process is known as the Bolivarian revolution, named after Simon Bolivar, who led the liberation of South America from Spanish rule in the 19th century. It is premised on the idea that Venezuela — and the whole of Latin America — needs to wage a new struggle for liberation from US and corporate domination.
Despite having enormous oil reserves, for decades Venezuela's oil wealth was controlled by the country's corrupt capitalist elite, while the majority were largely abandoned to crushing poverty. Outside the gated communities of the rich and the inner-city wonderland of Coca-Cola and Nestle billboards, poverty and underdevelopment plagued the lives of the majority.
On the back of widespread revulsion at this situation, Chavez was swept to the presidency on a pro-people platform in 1998 with 56% of the vote and expectations for significant changes. With all the main institutions in Venezuela dominated by the old elite — who were determined to prevent change — Chavez turned to the people via a series of elections, referendums and mass consultations. This resulted in a new constitution that guarantees and extends indigenous rights and the right to education and health-care, bans privatisation of key industries, and introduces the idea of direct, participatory democracy.
When the Chavez government began to introduce policies that directly affected the interests of the capitalist class, the elite began a campaign to overthrow the government. The US government also opposed Chavez because of his opposition to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, his call for Latin American economies to integrate to better challenge US domination, and his close partnership with socialist Cuba — a partnership based on solidarity that includes over 20,000 Cuban doctors working for free in Venezuela's poor neighbourhoods in exchange for cheap oil.
In April 2002, a US-backed military coup removed Chavez from power and installed the head of Venezuela's chamber of commerce as president. The constitution, the parliament and laws favouring the poor were dissolved, but the new regime was overthrown within 48 hours by a mass uprising of the poor.
When the corrupt management shut down the oil industry a few months later in an attempt to force Chavez to resign, the poor mobilised in their millions again and oil workers took control of the industry.
Every attempt to bring down Chavez has been defeated by the people themselves, who are winning increasing political power. Every attempt by the capitalist class to overturn the revolution has increased the organisation and confidence of working people. Venezuelans have increasingly radicalised as they — including Chavez — have drawn the conclusion that the capitalist class will never accept reforms that benefit the poor over the rich, and that in order to overcome poverty, the revolution has to break with the system of capitalism.
Chavez, describing capitalism as "the road to hell", has insisted repeatedly that Venezuela — and the world — needs to develop a new "socialism of the 21st century", based on the principles of humanism and democracy. Speaking at the World Social Forum in Caracas in January, Chavez proclaimed that the world must choose between "socialism or death". Chavez told the audience: "If we do not change the world now, there may be no 22nd century for humanity. Capitalism has destroyed the ecological equilibrium of the earth. It is now or never!"
Using the oil wealth as the backbone of a plan to create a new society based on the principle of social need rather than private profit, the process of change has helped reduce poverty — with 10% less of the population lving in poverty at the end of 2005 than at the start. Dozens of social programs, known as missions, have been established under community control to help solve the problems of society. The missions cover health, education, supermarkets selling heavily subsidised food, training for cooperatives, land reform, indigenous rights, and many other areas, involving the vast majority of the population.
Since the formation of the missions, 1.5 million people have been taught to read. Hundreds of thousands of poor peasants have benefited from the redistribution of previously idle land. Workers have begun pushing for control over their workplaces to help run the economy democratically.
Internationally, Venezuela, in alliance with Cuba, is pushing for a new Latin America-wide trade bloc, known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), as an alternative to the pro-corporate US-pushed Free Trade Area of the Americas. Venezuela is willing to help the poor in the region — seriously pissing off Washington by providing discounted heating oil to thousands of poor people inside the US itself.
A task as massive as reorganising society to benefit the majority faces many problems. Change is uneven and old problems of corruption and bureaucracy plague the revolution. For this reason, the "revolution within the revolution" has been launched as part of the struggle to deepen the process of change.
Venezuela's story today is one of a struggle for democratic socialism — in opposition to the capitalist nightmare backed by the likes of George Bush and John Howard. Not surprisingly, Venezuela is being targeted and threatened by the Bush administration.
The problem for US imperialism is that the Venezuelan revolution is occuring in the context of a growing revolt across Latin America that has overthrown a number of pro-corporate governments. The example of the gains being won in Venezuela is helping fuel the revolt. In Bolvia, where uprisings have brought down two pro-US presidents, peasant leader Evo Morales was elected president in December on a radical, pro-people platform. The first indigenous president ever in Latin America, Morales has pledged to join the anti-imperialist alliance of Venezuela and Cuba.
Because of the threats from the US, Venezuela needs solidarity. Resistance is part of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network. The AVSN sent 60 activists, including more than a dozen Resistance members, on the first solidarity brigade to Venezuela last year to witness the revolution firsthand. The AVSN is organising another brigade for the end of this year. April 10-15 is an international week of solidarity with Venezuela. To get involved with the AVSN and find out about up coming events, visit From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.