Fri Mar 15, 2024
March 15, 2024

We need a national struggle for food! Out with Maduro!

The situation of the working class, the workers and popular sectors is getting worst. Beyond Maduro’s promises of an improvement over the next months, the “improvement” is highly doubtable. The corruption regarding distribution of food is so great that they have militarized the port for control, as much as the distribution for the CLAP [Local Committees of Production and Provision].

Regarding the presidential speeches, the propaganda against the economic war and the “Operation Gorgojo”[1], no one believes it. That is why more than 70% of the population thinks Maduro must leave as soon as possible. As long as Maduro is in the government, liberating prices, not providing a solution for the inflation rates, keeping salaries of hunger, dismissing public workers and, worst of all, leaving us with no food for our families while he rigorously pays the external debt, filling the safe boxes of the foreigner investors, there is no way to live with dignity.

Once again: how to end this government?

The vast majority of the workers and the people hold their expectations of the Recall Referendum, hoping for the possibility of ending this government quickly. There is no family conversation, in the lines, transportation of workplace that does not debate the Recall, if it will be this or next year, if there will be Referendum or not.

We think the Recall is a way out and a right the revolutionaries must defend. Not only because it is part of the Constitution, but because all people must have the right of deposing a government when it does not resolve even the most essential necessities of the workers and their families, like food and medicines for all, or when it attacks the achievements of an entire people.

But this right, which should be available for all in a simple, direct way, because of the complexity of its requirements to enable it, regulated by an alleged referee, as partial as the CNE is [National Electoral Council], becomes exposed to stunts, blockades and exclusivity of a sector, which uses it for negotiation and blackmailing.

This is what happened with the Recall Referendum in hands of the MUD [Democratic Unity Coordination].

These burgueois sectors are hardly interested in the real necessities the people has. This is why, in the National Assembly, where they have majority, they did not vote nor proposed any real policy to resolve the deep food crisis. What is the economic program of the MUD? What are the urgent measures to be taken as to put a dish in every house in Venezuela?

Where from will come the money to import and produce the food Venezuelan people needs?

They do not say anything about this, and that is because of they expressed the truth about their economic program, the workers would not support it. Do they think they will solve the food crisis and lack of medicines with donations?

The “economic model” change they drive is no different than the one Maduro already started, although deepened: more layoffs, privatization (and dismissals in those privatized companies), price liberation, increase of services costs, end of subsidies (“fair prices of Maduro), more dollars to leak to the outside, specially tax heavens; elimination of the labor rights, etc.

That is why the workers and the people must not have any trust this Recall, controlled by the MUD, can reflect our aspirations of change.

The den of thieves of the OAS is in favor of the Venezuelan people?

The OAS (Organization of American States), always complying the orders of the North American imperialism and the bourgeoisie, together with its General Secretary, Luís Almagro, is debating the way out of the crisis in Venezuela.

Is it that the OAS, Ministry of the North American colonies, is thinking about the Venezuelan people? Or it is actually concerned about the multinational businesses and the imperialist bourgeoisies in the region? The statements of the Argentine Chancellor, Malcorra, not suspected of “leftist” at all, talking about the Venezuelan situation, are very clarifying to understand the imperialism worries: they are worried about the “destabilization” of the region, its agreements with Fidel and Raúl Castro, the agreements with the FARC, which Venzuela guarantees. What would Fidel or the FARC do if the imperialism played aiming to destabilize? That is why Malcorra, speaker of the imperialism in the region, said to Pagina12 (Bs As), on June 26th:

“I do not know why, but some think the implementation of the Democratic Charter in Venezuela is a silver bullet to solve everything”… “A crisis in Venezuela would be bad for the Venezuelan people, and would have a negative impact in Colombia, where the agreement of bilateral cease and the surrender of arms has been announced already, although with no definitive agreement; also, for the entire Caribbean”.

The “great proposal” is an “open and sincere” dialogue among the parts. That is to say, try to reach agreements to a possible way out, for Maduro to leave, to reach a “transition” and implement economic adjustments by a consensual government.

The dialogue proposed by them is to keep Maduro in power while they “build” a transition together with Chavist sectors and the MUD! They seek to adjust and subject us even more!

We denounce this and warn the MUS, together with a sector of Chavism, with the back up of the OAS and the church, are taking advantage of the fair feelings and claims of broad sectors of the population, to implement a “pacific way out” in which the workers still pay for the crisis we did not cause!

National “dialogue” and “national unity”

This policy of agreements and “dialogue” aims to convince the workers and people that “the adjustment is inevitable”, that “Chavism has destroyed the economy” and they are an option to “re-build” the country, which will take “a lot of years and scarify for the population”. It is not by chance the President of the National Assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, stated during his recent visit to the U.S: “I think the next government will be a fuse government, because it will have to secure the response to the unpopular measures it will have to take” (Últimas Noticias, 6/30/2016).

Like this, they are preparing the field to avoid the workers begin confronting the brutal adjustment today. They are horrified by the chance the working people get tired of the scammer leaders and organizations and raise to take direct control of the government and the economy. They said that, they are afraid of a violent situation expanding to other countries in Latin America (to them, there is no greater violence than loosing their privileges, while they are blind about the daily violence in the neighborhoods, the lines and the desperation of the parents who can take food to their homes).

On their hand, the union leaders are accomplishes of this situation. We cannot expect anything from the Wills Rangel and co. They not only accepted the adjustment and let us starve. They are the ones who maneuver over and over again to remain in control of the unions and Federations, like the oil workers’, to weaken and defeat the workers’ resistance. They are the ones who go in person to different factories and regions of the country to dismantle working struggles in course or sabotage them before they start.

Union leaders on the opposition, mainly part of the CTV (Workers’ Federation of Venezuela) and the UNETE (National Workers’ Union), do not call their bases to mobilize, either.

The Socialist revolutionaries, the ones who really struggle to build a workers’ socialism, with no exploiters, warn that all the maneuvers by the MUD, the OAS, the government and the union leaders aim for the workers and the people to accept the adjustment without struggling.

We denounce the militarization of the food distribution “because of the corruption” is an excuse to control and repress the desperation of the people due to lack of food!

What to do?

From the UST, we defended and continue to defend the people’s right to revoke the government of Maduro. But the leaders of a sector of the MUD, Chavism, the church and also the imperialism, behind the people, avoid for the people to be protagonist and express this freely. This is why we cannot wait anything good for the workers out of these negotiations.

To leave this government and the entire imperialist bourgeois “project”, as for to quit the “dialogue” to impose its adjustment, we need struggle and organization from today, to not starve to death.

There is a long history of struggle of the Venezuelan working class. The heroic oil strike of 1936 had a decisive importance in the further organization of the workers. The Caracazo, a popular struggle in 1989, exploded the Punto Fijo Pact[2], imposed “governability” to the people during decades at the expense of their rights. Today, the workers and the people face the dilemma of a new version of the Punto Fijo Pact, that like the last one, will seek to subject the people to save the Venezuelan capitalism.

Our proposal is to leave this government. And this is a generalized feeling. That is why we pose the necessity of organizing a national struggle. A struggle of the poor people, the industrial working class, the workers suffering shortage, the popular sectors already seeing and feeling hunger in their homes; a struggle to impose the will of the people to overthrow this government.

We call to organize in factories and workplaces, in workers’ neighborhoods, through Communal Councils, etc., to prepare the mobilization and struggle for our right to eat and live with dignity. Our history has examples of the capacity of struggle of the Venezuelan people. This struggle cannot be the same as the one of the so-called “opposition”; it must be the struggle of the honest Chavist activists, or the ones disappointed at him, the ones part of Marea Socialista, the left activists and organizations, and social and popular organizations. Chavist union leaders must break with this famine-casing government and serve the struggle. The UNETE, the FADESS [Autonomous Front in Defense of Work, Salary and Unions] and the unionist tendencies must call to debate and implement a plan of struggle to demand the deposition of Maduro.

We defend the democratic right to revoke the government!

  • We denounce the MUD, through the agreements and “dialogue”, is taking us to a brutal adjustment, in complicity wit the imperialism, the church and the OAS.
  • No trust in their bourgeois, blackmailer, and negotiator leaders!
  • No to the dialogue to impose the adjustment to the workers!
  • No to the militarization of the food distribution process!
  • Strop repressing the hungry people!
  • To struggle for “Out with Maduro” we need to organize a national struggle of the people!
  • For a National Constituent Assembly, free, sovereign and with full powers to debate a country to serve the workers and the people.
  • For a workers’, peasants’ popular government, with its own struggle organizations.

 

A proposal of UST:

A program opposed to Maduro’s and the MUD’s, to afford food and overcome the crisis

-Suspension of the external debt payment. Use the money today destined to pay the debt, to import the food, medication and provisions the Venezuelan people needs to overcome the current emergency state, instead.

-Wage increase to access the Basic basket.

-To rehire all dismissed people. Stop layoffs now.

-Reactivation of all State industries.

-Nationalization under workers’ control of the oil industry and end of the mix companies.

-Nationalization of the foreigner trade, the banks and the entire financial system.

-Public and independent audit of the external debt, foreign currency allocations during the years of exchange control, of the loans or investments of China, Russia and the multinationals like Chevron, Repsol, etc., and of the sell or Swap of gold reserves.

-Confiscation of capital and properties of the Venezuelan or entrepreneurs involved with flight of capital, until its repatriation of proof of legality.

-Jail to all those who negotiated with preferential dollars.[3]

-Implementation of workers control on importation, elaboration and distribution process of the entire Venezuelan economy.

-Democratic Election system, with revocability at any time, and rotation to execute workers’ control.

-For a Plan of National Agriculture Industry Development.

-Agrarian Reform.

-No to Mining Arch: for a plan democratically debated with the communities and the workers on the miner development of the country.

-In defense of democratic freedoms: freedom to organize unions, political parties and social organizations with no State intervention.

-Stop the repression to the hungry people.

-Freedom to those arrested for struggling.

 

Neither Maduro, the MUD or their parties will implement this program. Let us struggle for a Workers’, Peasants and popular government to implement it. For a Workers’, Socialist, Internationalist, Revolutionary Party.

SOCIALIST UNITY OF THE WORKERS – UST LIT-CI, VENEZUELA.

http://ust-ve.blogspot

***

Notes:

[1] Operation against alleged “irregularities” in the food sale and distribution process, implemented by the government actually aiming to control the people through the controlo f food supply.

[2] Formal agreement signed in 1958 between the most important parties in Venezuela to implement a National Unity government, with equal representation of the parties, to guarantee governability.

[3] Special rate dollar used for the States to pay for the external Debt.

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