Stuart Munckton
The February 2 expulsion from Venezuela of the US embassy's naval attache Captain John Correa has sparked a significant increase in US aggression against the government of socialist President Hugo Chavez. In response, up to 2.5 million Venezuelans demonstrated in Caracas on February 4 in a show of support for the Bolivarian revolution, which aims to redistribute wealth and political power to Venezuela's poor majority.
Correa was expelled from Venezuela after the government accused him of organising a spy-ring involving Venezuelan military personnel. The US responded immediately by expelling the chief of staff at the Venezuelan embassy in the US, Jeny Figueredo, despite acknowledging that she had done nothing wrong.
Figueredo's expulsion is not only a slap in the face for the Venezuelan government and people, but also for the US poor. The embassy has been central to negotiating the provision, via Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, of discounted heating fuel to thousands of poor US citizens. On February 7, Vheadline.com reported on the Venezuelan embassy's role in facilitating a deal that will sell 2.5 million gallons of heating oil at 40% less than the market price to low-income residents in Vermont — the sixth state to benefit from such a deal.
According to a February 3 Venezuelanalysis.com report, Chavez has threatened to jail US diplomats involved in spying and to expel the entire US military attache if further incidents occur.
US-Venezuelan lawyer Eva Golinger, author of The Chavez Code, wrote an article posted on Venezuelanalysis.com on February 2 quoting from the testimony of a Venezuelan soldier recruited by the US embassy. The soldier worked as a "double-agent" for the Venezuelan government, detailing how he spied on civilian pro-Chavez organisations.
A February 6 Christian Science Monitor report revealed that the Office for Transition Initiatives, a little-known division of the US Agency for International Development, has been funnelling millions of dollars to opposition groups inside Venezuela. Funding to such groups by the US Congress-funded National Endowment for Democracy is well documented. However the CSM article points out that the OTI is "less transparent than other US aid agencies, more directly tied to US foreign policy interests, and has unusual budgetary flexibility".
A February 8 press release from Venezuela's communication and information ministry denounced the line in US President George Bush's proposed budget to Congress calling for the enhancement of Voice of America's radio transmissions into Venezuela. The Washington-funded VOA transmits US government propaganda.
Venezuelanalysis.com reported on February 8 that the US government has succeeded in blocking a deal between Venezuela and a Spanish company, EADS-CASA, for 12 military planes. The US strongly opposes the deal and has accused Venezuela of starting an arms race. The US is able to veto the deal because US-owned technology is used in the planes and EADS-CASE claimed it was not viable to find substitute parts.
In another worrying sign, prominent Bush supporter and right-wing televangelist Pat Robertson, in a February 2 interview on the Fox News program Hannity and Colmes, repeated the call he made in August for the assassination of Chavez. Robertson confirmed his belief that Chavez should be killed "not now, but one day", adding that "one day we are going to have to go to war [with Venezuela]" unless Chavez changes his policies.
According to a February 1 Reuters report, the right-wing Christian organisation American Family Association has jumped on the anti-Chavez bandwagon in an attempt to mobilise opposition to Venezuela within the US. The AFA, which claims nearly 3 million supporters, is calling on US citizens to boycott Citgo Petroleum Corp., the US refining and distribution division of PDVSA. It is via Citgo that Venezuela is able to distribute cheap heating oil to the US poor.
In a February 2 editorial, the San Fransico Bay View's Mary Ratcliff responded by renewing the left-wing African American newspaper's 2005 call for what it terms a "BUYcott" of Citgo, calling on readers to purchase petrol from Citgo "as a token of our admiration for President Chavez and his revolution that is sweeping South America".
On February 4, the anniversary of the failed military coup led by Chavez in 1992 against the brutal and corrupt government of President Carlos Andres Perez, a massive demonstration entitled "March for dignity and Bolivarian rebellion" was held in Caracas. Chavez angrily attacked the recent escalation of hostility and accused the US of a plot to destablise his government in the lead-up to the presidential elections in December. Chavez, whose government has won 10 elections in seven years, is considered a certainty to win.
Warning the US that if its forces attacked Venezuela, the people would "make them bite the dust", Chavez declared his intention to arm 1 million people to defend the country.
Responding to comments by US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld comparing him to Hitler, Chavez declared that it is Bush who is closer to Hitler. "The imperialist, mass murdering, fascist attitude of the president of the United States doesn't have limits. Hitler would be a nursery baby next to George W. Bush", Chavez said.
Far from being cowered by the aggression, Chavez used the demonstration to announce a new revolutionary offensive. He called for a new "Battle of Santa Ines" for the presidential election. Named after a famous battle from Venezuela's 19th century civil war, this was also the name given to the successful campaign to defeat the presidential recall referendum in 2004. Chavez called for the reformation of Units of Electoral Battle, the successful grassroots organisations from that campaign. The revolutionary forces are aiming to get more than 10 million votes for Chavez, out of a projected 16 million registered voters.
Venezuelanalysis.com reported on February 6 that Chavez announced a 15% increase in the minimum wage and a new model for Venezuela's national health-care system, with US$449 million allocated to upgrade 43 hospitals. Implementing a measure of the constitution that recognises housework as an economic activity, the government will also provide wages to 200,000 poor homemakers.
Economic and political transformations continue to progress. On January 30, Chavez launched 12 new state-run Social Production Enterprises (EPS) in key industries, with the aim of substituting for the many products Venezuela currently imports. This is a key part of overcoming Venezuela's underdevelopment and achieving genuine sovereignty. The EPS follow a new economic model oriented towards human need rather than private profits.
On February 7, Chavez announced his government would provide $1 billion in funding to community planning councils. These elected councils aim to greatly deepen participatory democracy by allowing people to directly control public policy.
Ultimately, it is these steps forward in transforming Venezuela according to the needs of the poor majority that are the main safeguard against US aggression. In the poor communities across Venezuela, people are preparing for self-defence and the US government knows that if it attempts a military assault it will face not only the Venezuelan armed forces, but also millions of the poor who are determined to defend the gains of their social revolution.
[Stuart Munckton is the national coordinator of the socialist youth organisation Resistance.]
From Green Left Weekly, February 15, 2006.
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