Let us prepare a general strike, independent from the MUD and the bosses
In midst of one of the greatest catastrophes the Venezuelan people has lived, having to search for food for their children; without medicines, avoiding diseases that were supposedly eliminated like diphtheria, malaria or tuberculosis; or suffering insecurity and daily violence, a general decline of the services, the constant cuts of electricity, the lack of water in entire neighborhoods, among other things, the CNE [National Electoral Council] suspended the revoking process called for the 26, 27 and 28 of October to fill the request of 20% signatures for it to take place. By UST-Venezuela
This decision comes together with a series of maneuvers and measures to avoid the people from using the Revoking Referendum to put an end to this government.
Broad sectors of the population had expectation in this Referendum, and new elections were called. The 1% of the necessary signatures already acknowledged by the CNE, as the 20% by the end of the month, created the illusion of changing the government and end the crisis through the elections.
We defend the right of the Venezuelan people of revoking Maduro’s mandate. Be it through a referendum or through a struggle, the demand is for him to leave. No people should sffer a government that sentences them to misery and starvation. That is why Maduro has to leave.
We repudiate all the maneuvers and resolutions of the TSJ [Superior Court Tribunal] and the CNE to impede the Revoking Referendum. It is evident; if the people could express they would reflect the generalized repudiation to this government, responsible for the catastrophe. Like this, Maduro does nothing but to intensify its repressive and authoritarian nature, keeping distant from the workers’ needs.
In front of this, the Democratic Unity Coordination [MUD] called to “Occupy Venezuela”, what took place on past 26th. Despite the deep lacks among the population and the popular discontent, the rally only called to continue the Revoking process. And they called for a 12 hours strike on the 18th -which was very weak- and a new demonstration on November 3rd, to Miraflores. Some leaders of the MUD are now leaving the Referendum aside, questioning Maduro’s nationality instead. Will they abandon their demand for the Revoking Referendum? What will they ask for in Miraflores?
The situation is getting tenser, with a deepening of the political crisis and of the polarization of these two bourgeois sectors in dispute to control the power and the oil incomes.
Although there is democratic right to a revoking referendum, we consider this is not the solution to the problems of the people, as even if the referendum is victorious the parties of the MUD in a government of their own would try to deviate the struggles abandoning their electoral promises, and would try to implement the same adjustment plan or worst, already agreed with the firms that are now demanding its full implementation. So we cannot wait for anything in favor of the workers and the people if coming from leaders and parties that lead (or led) municipalities, governorships or even the country, like the Democratic Action [DA] and COPEI, or Un Nuevo Tiempo [A New Time] and Primero Justicia [Justice First], branches of the first ones; or leaders like Capriles and Ramos Allup, among others.
This is not, as they want us to believe, a dispute between the “fascist right wing and a revolutionary socialist government”. Neither there is a dispute between “democracy or dictatorship”. The great fight is for the oil income and the huge natural wealth, which Maduro’s government is happily handing over to the multinationals through the agreements of the Arco Minero del Orinoco [Miner Arch of Orinoco].
At this point, it is clear the MUD, despite strengthening regarding the mobilization, control of the National Assembly, governorships, municipalities and union leaders, has not used this strength to call for the confrontation against the attacks to the democratic rights, like the vote, neither to confront the adjustment taking most of the Venezuelan people to starvation and misery. He is not concerned about it. More than ever we have to denounce the opposition has deviated all possibility of struggle against the adjustment by strongly controlling the demonstrations, blocking all possibility of going beyond the demand to drive the referendum.
The Workers Must Face The Struggle To Take Maduro Out Through a General Strike
Before the polarization leading to a greater crisis in the country, the workers cannot limit to watch the dispute among the MUD, Maduro and the PSUV. Nothing good for the working people will come out of there. Besides, after meeting with the Pope, the government is now calling for a “dialogue”, and the MUD is divided among the ones who want to and the ones who do not, although they have been negotiating for a while, now. We want to warn this “dialogue”, under the veil of the Vatican and the imperialism, secret, behind the people’s backs, will bring nothing good for the people. Ramos Allup, President of the National Assembly, called the Armed Forces to “defend the Constitution”. Is it that the FANB, so far supporting Maduro’s government through repression, like it was in the latest events and so many other workers’ struggles (besides controlling the distribution of first need products) will now be defending the Constitution and the people? Will the National Assembly destitute Maduro, after it did not approve one single Bill in defense of the workers and the people nor supported their struggles over 10 months? The same way we must not trust Maduro’s dialogue nor the PSUV, we cannot trust the Armed Forces nor the National Assembly, controlled by the MUD!
In front of the “Civic Strike” with the businessmen, the workers and popular sectors must prepare a General Strike to kick Maduro out and confront the adjustment that is driving us to misery. But it must be independently from the bosses and the bourgois parties. We have to raise our popular workers’ proposal in front of this catastrophe.
A proposal for the program
This is why our first call is to the workers, their unions and social organizations, to organize independently, with a program against starvation and misery; minimum wage according to the basic basket; to re-hire all the dismissed; defense of unions and elections in all the union that did not have one; suspension of the external debt payment; control of the workers and the people of the investigation of loans; confiscation of goods of all the corrupt ones; repatriation of flight capitals; implementation of an emergency plan, with this money, to feed and heal our people. Food and medicines to every one that need it! In the defense of the democratic and human rights of the Venezuelan people!
Also, a series of measures must be taken to reactivate basic and strategic industries (food, medicines, etc.); to anull the contracts signed by the government with the firms in the frame of the sitution of Arco Minero; to fully nationalize the oil, without mixed or private companies; to eliminate the measures favouring the bosses in the free zones to over-exploit the workers.
Among these points, we need to struggle to change an entire regime which allows the puppet governments to hand over our natural resources to the multinational companies, as much as negotiate behind the peoples’ backs, acquire debt, control the workers’ organizations, persecute and imprison activists, attack the popular demonstrations and manipulate the justice, the elections, not acnowledging the most elemental rights among many other things. We propose the call to a National Constituent Assembly, free, sovereign and plenipotentiary, with all the necessary power to present a proposal of Workers’ and Popular Government through its independent and democratically constituted organizations, with its leaders elected by file and rank and revocable mandates.
We think the Federations like UNETE, Union Coalition, and tendencies like FADESS, base unions which emerged in confrontation with the government, must head this call together with the political and social organizations, to put into practice this imediate, strong and democratic response of the working class and the people, independent from the MUD and the government.
Meanwhile, we need to organize the struggle in our work places. We must organize meetings and plenaries to raise our popular and workers’ strength and demand from the leaders to break the passive attitude and the commitment to the government and the MUD.
For The Construction Of A Workers’ Political Alternative
From the UST [Worers’ Socialist Unity], we think there is no solution to the major problems of the workers in the country if we do not struggle and conquest a government of our own, a government of the workers, peasants and working people. Neither the militaries nor the entrepreneurs -be them boli-bourgeois or from the MUD- will rule in favour of the people. They showed it already. But to conquest the government we need to build a political tool of the workers, peasants and the woring people as a whole. It must be an alternative independent from the MUD, the government, the militaries and the businessmen. A tool to organize, encourage and support the struggles of the people to conquest the government.
From the UST we suport and participate of the Platform People In Struggle [Pueblo en Lucha]. We support the realization of encounters to generalize the support to the different manifestations of popular discontent and workers’ struggles, and in this frame cotinue to debate the necessity of building this tool for independent politics.
Popular workers’ mobilization to end Maduro’s government!
