BY CHRISTANO KERRILLA
"Alert, alert. For the sword of Bolivar is ready to swing!" — this a popular chant of the supporters of Venezuela's pro-poor president Hugo Chavez Frias. This cry is symbolic of the process of radicalisation taking place among Venezuela's poor and oppressed today.
Simon Bolivar (known as El Liberator) was one of South America's greatest generals. In 1819, following victories over Spanish forces, Bolivar won independence for Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, uniting them into one country. For the Venezuelan masses, Bolivar is an example of how the oppressed can unite to defeat powerful enemies.
At first, Chavez's "Bolivarian revolution" focused on elaborating a radical new constitution after his overwhelming victory in the 1998 presidential election. In November 2001, the Chavez government introduced a package of 49 laws that favoured Venezuela's poor.
The laws were the first serious step taken by the Chavez government to implement the values and principles enshrined in the new constitution, which defined Venezuela as a "democratic social state of law and justice".
Ever since, the wealthy elite has used every resource at its disposal to force Chavez to retreat or resign, including a failed coup and an extended economic shutdown. Poor and working-class Venezuelans on the other hand have rallied behind the government.
Chavez's support is strongest among poor peasants, landless rural workers, the urban poor, sections of the employed working class and small businesspeople. A section of national capitalists — mostly those who have gained from policies that boost internal economic demand — also support Chavez.
The enemies of the Bolivarian revolution are led by the landowning and capitalist classes (supported by Washington), some small traders and professionals, the right-wing trade union bureaucracy and a part of the working class under its influence, and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
A casual reader of the corporate press would not realise that this class war was taking place. The capitalist media portray the situation as one of "civil society" valiantly fighting against an authoritarian leader who is trying to drag Venezuela into "Cuban-style communism".
The international press constantly refers to opinion surveys that indicate support for Chavez at just 36% (it is not mentioned that these statistics come from sources that are rabidly anti-Chavez).
However, as the recent collapse of the employers' "strike" and the massive mobilisations in favour of the government have proven, Chavez has overwhelming support among the population.
Bolivarian circles
The "Bolivarian circles" were launched at a 500,000-strong rally in Caracas on December 17, 2001. They are the basic form of organisation of the revolution and have been established in neighbourhoods, communities and workplaces across the country.
The circles' ideology is based explicitly on the revolutionary heritage of Venezuela, beginning with Bolivar's triumph in the war of independence against Spain, and include "as ideological patrimony the practical and theoretical experience of the freedom struggles of all the fraternal peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean".
Their tasks include "raising the consciousness of citizens developing all forms of participatory organisation in the community ... stimulating creativity and innovation in the life of the individual and the community ... [and] realising projects of community concern in the areas of health, education, culture, sport, public services, housing, and preservation of the environment, natural resources and our historical heritage."
It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people are now organised through the Bolivarian circles, nearly 10% of Venezuela's population. Modelled on the Committees in Defence of the Revolution in Cuba, each circle has around 10 members, although there can be more or less in any individual circle.
The Bolivarian circles are organs of participatory democracy through which ordinary people carry out social projects, funded by the government, and discuss how to defend the gains introduced by the Chavez movement. No political affiliation is required to become a member, but members must swear loyalty to the Bolivarian constitution.
Coordination between the Bolivarian circles remains limited at this stage, which is understandable considering the massive growth they have experienced in such a short time.
Some sections of the Bolivarian movement are armed, but it has not been a major priority of the movement due to the links with rank-and-file soldiers, who have also been heavily influenced by the Bolivarian revolution.
Soldiers
When Chavez came to power, his first order to the military declared: "Ten years ago we came out to massacre the people, now we are going to fill them with love. Go and comb the terrain, look for misery."
Plan Bolivar was instituted, in which 40,000 soldiers began the construction of new houses (more houses have been built during the Chavez government than were built in the previous 20 years), roads, hospitals and schools.
Soldiers, who were once despised by the poor, are now cheered when they enter the neighbourhoods; most of the rank-and-file soldiers are from similar backgrounds to the supporters of the Bolivarian revolution.
The growing bonds being established between soldiers and the workers and peasants is deepening the support of the majority of rank-and-file soldiers for the Bolivarian revolution. Many of the most radical chavistas are soldiers, who attend pro-Chavez rallies when off duty.
The alliance forged between the revolutionary soldiers and the Bolivarian circles was an important force in the massive mobilisations of the poor and workers that returned Chavez to power two days after being removed in a US-backed coup last April.
Hundreds of thousands of unarmed Venezuelans gathered around the soldiers' barracks, singing the national anthem. They spoke to the soldiers and yelled: "Soldier, with conscience, go and find your president!"; "Soldier, friend, the people are with you!". During the coup, many soldiers left the barracks to organise the people from the slums. They knew the leaders of the neighbourhoods and those leaders knew them.
Through the Bolivarian circles, a collective consciousness is being constructed among Venezuela's poor and working class. They are becoming increasingly aware of their role in the Bolivarian revolution and are gaining greater courage and confidence to push it forward.
From Green Left Weekly, February 19, 2003.
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