{"id":1695,"date":"2009-02-12T22:16:55","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T12:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2009-02-16T14:47:53","modified_gmt":"2009-02-16T04:47:53","slug":"uncle-hugo-the-bolivarian-revolution-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1695","title":{"rendered":"Uncle Hugo &#038; the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul><strong>Update<\/strong> : <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/hostednews\/ap\/article\/ALeqM5g-XT1LHvGnHwytS8tnBmfnd_BcqgD96CEAI80\">Chavez wins vote to scrap term limits in Venezuela<\/a>, Niko Price, AP, February 16, 2009. &#8216;Chavez called the victory \u2014 which allows all public officials to run for re-election as many times as they want \u2014 a mandate to speed his transformation of Venezuela into a socialist state. &#8220;Those who voted &#8216;yes&#8217; today voted for socialism, for revolution,&#8221; he said.&#8217; Look out for exploding cigars&#8230;<\/ul>\n<p>Three cheers and a loud <em>huzzah!<\/em> for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenleft.org.au\/2009\/782\/40275\">ten years of Ch\u00e1vismo<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand &#8212; and at the risk of sounding like a cynical whining right-winger posing as an anarchist &#8212; maybe celebrations are a little premature? For example, some French @ called Charles Reeve done an interview with some Venezuelan @s Miguel and Isabel; it appears on the blog of the steenky communists <a href=\"http:\/\/thecommune.wordpress.com\/1\/\">&#8216;The Commune&#8217;<\/a>, and is apparently the first English translation of the March 2008 interview.<\/p>\n<p>It portrays Uncle Hugo and his government in a rather unflattering light.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"http:\/\/thecommune.wordpress.com\/2009\/02\/09\/the-revolution-delayed-10-years-of-hugo-chavezs-rule\/\">the revolution delayed: 10 years of hugo ch\u00e1vez\u2019s rule<\/a> (February 9, 2009):<\/p>\n<p>This month marks the tenth anniversary of Hugo Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s coming to power in Venezuela, and ten years of the \u201cBolivarian revolution\u201d. This process has included waves of state intervention in the economy and fervent rhetoric against US imperialism. But while some on the  left see this Chavista movement as the new \u201csocialism for the 21st century\u201d, groups such as ours have argued that it is actually more like an old-fashioned attempt at modernisation by a technocratic \u00e9lite; that  increased bureaucratic power over capital is not inherently progressive; and that the \u201crevolution\u201d in Venezuela allows for very little working-class control or initiative from below.<\/p>\n<p>Here we present a translation of a March 2008 interview conducted by the French anarchist \u2018Charles Reeve\u2019 with two members of the <em>El Libertario<\/em> group in Caracas, the nation\u2019s capital, which offers some stark insights into the reality of the situation. Looking at various aspects of the Venezuelan economy and living standards in the country, it argues that Chavismo and the mythology of the \u201cBolivarian revolution\u201d conceal a raft of neo-liberal reforms and attacks on workers\u2019 rights, and that we must break out of the dynamics of Ch\u00e1vez vs. the opposition in order to build an autonomous working-class alternative&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Note that, in 1995, Charles and Sylvie Deneuve published an essay titled <a href=\"http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/antagonism1\/beyond.html\">&#8216;Behind the Balaclavas of South-east Mexico&#8217;<\/a>, which argued that the Zaps were less the harbingers of a new, &#8216;post-modern&#8217; revolution (<em>see<\/em> : Michael P. Pelaez, <a href=\"http:\/\/flag.blackened.net\/revolt\/mexico\/reports\/pomo_ezln.html\">&#8216;The EZLN: 21st Century Radicals&#8217;<\/a>) than &#8220;the new party of the Mexican Left&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In Australia, the most vocal support for Hugo Rafael Ch\u00e1vez Fr\u00edas, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and the Bolivarian Revolution, has come from the neo-Trotskyist DSP. (Its splinter, the RSP, also supports Ch\u00e1vez: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.directaction.org.au\/issue8\/support_the_cuban_venezuelan_revolutions_join_the_cuba_venezuela_solidarity_club\">Support the Cuban &#038; Venezuelan revolutions! Join the Cuba-Venezuela solidarity club!<\/a>, implores the latest issue of its zine.) The DSP argues that the Venezuelan experience provides a dramatic example of &#8216;Socialism of the 21st Century&#8217;. To promote this new-fangled Socialism, the DSP has devoted a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.venezuelasolidarity.org\/\">site<\/a> to promoting solidarity with the Venezuelan Government, organised study brigades, and frequently invites speakers from the Venezuelan Embassy to address their meetings.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, it has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.venezuelasolidarity.org\/?q=node\/8132\">republished<\/a> a tract from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.minci.gov.ve\/\">Ministry of People&#8217;s Power for Communication and Information<\/a> (January 30, 2009), outlining the achievements of the last ten years under Ch\u00e1vez&#8217;s rule.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>VENEZUELA: ACHIEVEMENTS OF 10 YEARS OF REVOLUTION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During 10 years of revolution, the Bolivarian Government has been breaking free from paradigms, beating obstacles, exceeding all expectations, facing empires, revolutionizing consciousness, beating foreign and internal propaganda, and even more, defending, as the engine and fuel of the revolutionary project, the deep conviction that the human being is the center and principle of the society.<\/p>\n<p>The most representative achievements can be evaluated quantitatively through the Missions, infrastructure works and technological advancements, among others, but the qualitative analysis leads us to three big conclusions: with the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution, the quality of life has been boosted for most Venezuelans, social inequalities have been reduced significantly and Venezuela has made important steps in the struggle to reach the real conditions of a developed country&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> : <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenleft.org.au\/2009\/782\/40274\">Venezuela: Democracy, revolution and term limits<\/a>, Chris Kerr, February 6, 2009 (<em>Green Left Weekly<\/em>, No.782, February 11, 2009) | <em>El Libertario<\/em> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nodo50.org\/ellibertario\/english.html\">English<\/a>). <\/p>\n<p>Oddly enough, one member of the Ministry of People&#8217;s Power for Communication and Information is Eduardo Rothe. Rothe was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.notbored.org\/rothe-interview.html\">interviewed<\/a> by the French zine <em>Rouge et Vert: Le Journal des Alternatifs<\/em> (Number 222, April 15, 2005; translated from the French by NOT BORED! July 2005), and is a former member of the Internationale Situationniste, contributing some thoughts on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bopsecrets.org\/SI\/12.space.htm\">&#8216;The Conquest of Space in the Time of Power&#8217;<\/a> to the 12th issue of its journal (September 1969).<\/p>\n<p>Just as anarchists are critical of Uncle Hugo, Uncle Hugo is critical of anarchists: &#8220;Critical thinking is fundamental to a revolution, but that is very different to going around talking badly about a party that has not been born, collecting signatures to present them who knows where. Anyone who wants to be an anarchist, get out of here, you are not wanted, what is needed here is a creative, but disciplined active membership.&#8221; One, rather important difference between the &#8216;anarchists&#8217; and Uncle Hugo being, of course, that Uncle Hugo is in a rather better position to eliminate the bad-mouthed anarchists than the undisciplined anarchists are of getting rid of Uncle Hugo&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Ch\u00e1vez does have his champions in the academy, of course, one of note being Slovenian &#8220;superstar&#8221; philosopher Slavoj \u017di\u017eek.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is striking that the course on which Hugo Ch\u00e1vez has embarked since 2006 is the exact opposite of the one chosen by the postmodern Left: far from resisting state power, he grabbed it (first by an attempted coup, then democratically), ruthlessly using the Venezuelan state apparatuses to promote his goals. Furthermore, he is militarising the <em>barrios<\/em>, and organising the training of armed units there. And, the ultimate scare: now that he is feeling the economic effects of capital\u2019s \u2018resistance\u2019 to his rule (temporary shortages of some goods in the state-subsidised supermarkets), he has announced plans to consolidate the 24 parties that support him into a single party. Even some of his allies are sceptical about this move: will it come at the expense of the popular movements that have given the Venezuelan revolution its <em>\u00e9lan<\/em>? However, this choice, though risky, should be fully endorsed: the task is to make the new party function not as a typical state socialist (or Peronist) party, but as a vehicle for the mobilisation of new forms of politics (like the grass roots slum committees). What should we say to someone like Ch\u00e1vez? \u2018No, do not grab state power, just withdraw, leave the state and the current situation in place\u2019? Ch\u00e1vez is often dismissed as a clown \u2013 but wouldn\u2019t such a withdrawal just reduce him to a version of Subcomandante Marcos, whom many Mexican leftists now refer to as \u2018Subcomediante Marcos\u2019? Today, it is the great capitalists \u2013 Bill Gates, corporate polluters, fox hunters \u2013 who \u2018resist\u2019 the state. ~ &#8216;Resistance Is Surrender&#8217;, <em>London Review of Books<\/em>, November 15, 2007<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The full text of \u017di\u017eek&#8217;s polemic &#8212; ostensibly a review of <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=898\">football hooligan, wrecker (and philosopher)<\/a> Simon Critchley&#8217;s <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.versobooks.com\/books\/cdef\/c-titles\/critchley_s_infinitely_demanding.shtml\">Infinitely Demanding : Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance<\/a><\/em> (Verso, 2007) &#8212; is available <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1054\">here<\/a>, as is a reply by meddling outsider David Graeber. Resistance is Utile: Critchley responds to Zizek (<em>Harper\u2019s Review<\/em>, May 2008) is available <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1147\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/34BY5gKH1OI&#038;hl=en\"><\/param><param name=\"wmode\" value=\"transparent\"><\/param><\/object><\/ul>\n<p>See also : <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=56\">Venezuelan Anarchists on Chavez, WSF<\/a> (January 10, 2006) | <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=873\">anarchy is a (Venezuelan) fag!<\/a> (October 2, 2007) | <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=962\">Viva Ch\u00e1vez? WSJ on the student opposition\u2026<\/a> (November 26, 2007) | <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=969\">No Todos Somos Ch\u00e1vez: Venezuela says \u2018No\u2019<\/a> (December 4, 2007) | <a href=\"http:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1058\">Uh-oh\u2026 troubled times ahead for anarchists in Venezuela \/\/ Bombings in Caracas<\/a> (February 26, 2008) | <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update : Chavez wins vote to scrap term limits in Venezuela, Niko Price, AP, February 16, 2009. &#8216;Chavez called the victory \u2014 which allows all public officials to run for re-election as many times as they want \u2014 a mandate &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/?p=1695\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anarchism","category-state"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6AyE-rl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slackbastard.anarchobase.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}