{"id":8561,"date":"2017-07-30T00:58:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T00:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/litci.org\/en\/?p=8561"},"modified":"2017-07-30T00:58:11","modified_gmt":"2017-07-30T00:58:11","slug":"on-july-30-do-not-vote-for-the-illegal-and-fraudulent-constituent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/on-july-30-do-not-vote-for-the-illegal-and-fraudulent-constituent\/","title":{"rendered":"On July 30, do not vote for the illegal and fraudulent Constituent!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tension grows across the country. After the \u201cPopular consult\u201d called by the MUD -which had an important participation- and the \u201ccivic stoppage,\u201d now the MUD raises the bet calling for a 48 h. General Strike this week, and the occupation of Caracas.<\/em>
\nBy UST Venezuela.<\/strong>
\n 
\nIt is impossible to know the real number of people who participated in the referendum and which were the most voted questions, but it served the MUD to be in a better position to pressure the government and force it to negotiate, relying on the popular outrage and indignation. Without a doubt, the government was strongly affected by the measure.
\nOne of the main goals of the MUD was to try to lower the level of pressure in the streets, but the outrage is so big that it will not be easy to manage. On his side, Maduro is playing his main chance of staying in power with this National Constituent Assembly [NCA], and he will hardly take it back -at least its implementation-.
\nThus, his response so far has been more repression: over 100 deads, thousands detained, and more than 400 imprisoned. They have now detained 3 lawyers who were named by the National Assembly as part of the TSJ [Superior Justice Court].
\nThe bourgeois opposition, organized in the MUD and supported by imperialism, is using the popular outrage to validate its political project of a \u201cnational unity\u201d government as part of a transition. Despite the fact that the referendum started with a rejection to Maduro’s Constituent, the questions were not independent of each other as they were a political proposal as a whole. A sector of the \u201ccritical Chavism\u201d told the MUD that they would support the referendum if they only kept the first question; the MUD refused, evidencing that they were proposing an entire project. This is why from the UST we refused to participate of the MUD’s maneuver.
\nMaduro’s government, in an attempt to avoid for the Chavist base -tired of the government- to vote for the MUD’s consultation, as well as to not lose the initiative, mounted a \u201csimulation,\u201d not contemplated in the schedule. Despite the threats and pressure and of displaying good part of its \u201cmachinery\u201d to guarantee it, it did not generate much enthusiasm or high participation.
\nThe reality is that misery and hunger are growing along with the economic and social crisis. Even Chavistas themselves, who so far supported Maduro, are now feeling defeated and demoralized. The government is still glorifying about complying with the \u201cinternational commitments,\u201d of paying the external debt religiously, even if it means to have no money to import food and medicines; even if the inflation raises and our elders cannot heal.
\nThis is why there is no speech to excite the Chavist bases. This is why the outrage explodes in the popular neighborhoods for lack of food, gas, and medicines. This is why \u201cOut with Maduro\u201d is more present than ever.
\nMaduro\u2019s \u201crevolutionary crisis\u201d<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>With his natural verbiage, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro stated that \u201cWe are in the center of a revolutionary crisis. No one can be scared of this words.\u201d Somehow, the president acknowledges that we have reached a point of no return on the fight for the power. The political crisis deepened up to a point that the National Assembly does not recognize Maduro\u2019s power but the fiscal vice-president\u2019s named by Ortega Diaz. It also names the 33 judges of the TSJ, and it aims to appoint the Rector of the CNE [National Electoral Council]. The government\u2019s play of \u201cnational unity\u201d is also an additional pressure and an attempt to expose the establishment of a parallel government.
\nBut what this brutal political crisis shows is the implementation of two counter-revolutionary projects: the Maduro administration\u2019s, currently implementing a brutal adjustment that drove the workers and people to misery and hunger; and the MUD\u2019s, fighting to hijack the oil rent and implement an also pro-imperialist project to deepen the attacks on the people and hand over our resources \u2013 just like Maduro is doing.
\nThe MUD\u2019s \u201cpackage\u201d<\/strong>
\nWith its anti-workers, anti-popular, and pro-imperialist project, the MUD is trying to keep the streets under control and channel the outrage to the passive outcome of an election, negotiations, and agreements. The \u201cpopular consult\u201d and the \u201ccivic stoppages\u201d launched \u201cfrom above\u201d are the proof of this. As we already said, the MUD launched its political package aiming to validate, through this referendum, a whole project that includes the FANB [Armed Forces], the resolutions of the National Assembly, and the \u201cnational unity\u201d government, under cover of the rejection to the Constituent. The same thing happens with this new call to a 48-hours \u201cgeneral strike,\u201d which was \u201cdecreed\u201d by the media, leaders who have not visited a factory or workplace in years, and others who do not dare to call assemblies to organize the struggle. Those leaders obey the policies of the MUD of \u201cstruggling together with the bosses, for the bosses\u2019 political and economic interests.\u201d This is why we propose to organize assemblies in study or work places and to decide in those spaces if we participate or not from the stoppages, and how to continue the struggle to organize a real general strike.
\nThe pressure of imperialism <\/strong>
\n<\/strong>The U.S. imperialism, and also the European, have launched a campaign condemning the call to a Constituent Assembly and the \u201creturn to democracy.\u201d Donald Trump stated that \u201cIf the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions.<\/em>\u201d[1]<\/a> The measures against the government would go from freezing Ministers\u2019 and high-command agents\u2019 assets \u2013as done so far\u2013 to suspending the oil business, which is paid in cash and therefore allows the government to buy dollars. On his side, Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, doubled his pressure. Also, the European Parliament has been demanding from Maduro to suspend the Constituent, or they will take punitive measures.
\nThe socialists call to not trust any type of pressure coming from imperialism and its puppet governments, like Pe\u00f1a Nieto, Macri, or the agonizing Temer. Nothing good will come from them. Workers should only trust the solidarity of other workers of the world, to defeat Maduro and his government of hunger and misery.
\nOur stand regarding the so called \u201cZero Hour\u201d \u2013 On July 30, do not vote!<\/strong>
\nWorkers should not fall for the trap of the bourgeois opposition and its union leaders.
\nWithout a doubt, many comrades will think that with the MUD we will take Maduro out and then we will be in better conditions to fight. This could be true if most of the MUD had the goal of defeating Maduro. But, so far, their main spokespersons have said they are looking to \u201cnegotiate a transition.\u201d The deputy Freddy Guevara does not demand Maduro to leave: in an interview, he just demands to withdraw the Constituent, recognize the National Assembly, free the prisoners, and recognize the new TSJ named by the N.A., among other points.
\nThus, despite the harsh speeches, the former president Rodr\u00edguez Zapatero is enthusiastic by affirming that \u201cthere are and will be negotiations.\u201d This is what the director of the CIA, Pompeyo, states: \u201cThe US wants a free, democratic Venezuela.\u201d So, nothing further from overthrowing Maduro through mass mobilization.
\nWe should participate in all struggles organized and with our own flags. The socialists of the UST defend Out with Maduro<\/em>, and we call to build a general strike from our work places by organizing assemblies and meetings in the factories; by voting our programme for the struggle; by denouncing the government and also the MUD, as both have plans to continue paying the external debt by increasing hunger and misery even more. Therefore, there will not be dignified work or wages neither for food and medicines. Our program should be of confrontation with the bosses and bureaucrats. It should pose dignified wages, immediate suspension of the payments of the external debt, and investigation and renationalization of ill-gotten capitals flight abroad or to \u201cnational\u201d banks. It should pose the complete nationalization of oil and the end of mixed companies once and for all; money for food and medicines; recovery of basic industry companies, and a national plan for food production, etc.
\nWe think that the left sectors like Chirino, from the PSL,[2]<\/a> are making a mistake by calling to participate of the actions called y the MUD, be it the \u201cconsult\u201d of Sunday 16 (as it did) or the support to the \u201ccivic stoppage,\u201d because these measures are part of a counter-revolutionary policy. For instance, nobody knows how many voted in favor of the national unity government and how many rejected the NCA; it was just shown as a \u201cresounding support to the MUD\u201d.
\nFurther more, we think that supporting a strike together with the bosses, after 18 years of a \u201csocialist\u201d government of bosses and \u201csocialist\u201d militaries is incorrect, as it means to be supporting the possibility of ending this government in alliance with them, as installed by the MUD all over the country.
\nWe know that facing this polarization [Maduro-MUD] it is really hard to establish an independent line from both bourgeois sectors. But our efforts have to serve the implementation of a policy of class independence. The example of the administrative workers of the UNEG [Experimental University of Guayana], who voted in an assembly the rejection to the Constituent, show that this is possible. Our stand is to participate in all struggles as long as we can keep our class independence through programs voted in assemblies or workers\u2019 and popular meetings, in the path of the construction of the General Strike we need.
\nOn July 30, do not vote<\/strong>
\nWe called all workers and popular sectors, peasants, and the entire population, to not vote, on July 30, for the fraudulent Constituent Assembly, which will not solve any of the deep problems that workers and popular sectors suffer but, instead, to extend Maduro\u2019s term, as well as his policy of hunger and repression. It will serve the corrupt ones to stay in power, and also the destruction of our basic industries. Thus, we call to organize independently, without bosses or militaries, and to build a workers\u2019 political alternative.
\nNo to Maduro\u2019s fraudulent Constituent! Out with Maduro!<\/strong>
\nGeneral Strike organized from below, through assemblies and meetings to vote for a workers\u2019 and popular program to solve the crisis!<\/strong>
\nImmediate suspension of the external debt!<\/strong>
\nMoney for dignified wages, health, education, and for medicines!<\/strong>
\nNationalization of oil! End of mixed companies!<\/strong>
\nNo to the Orinoco Mining Arch! Mining plan consulted with the communities!<\/strong>
\nFull democratic freedoms! Free the political prisoners!<\/strong>
\nImmediate Union elections without State intervention!<\/strong>
\nFor a <\/strong>Venezolazo<\/strong><\/em>, to start changing the country!<\/strong>
\nFor a workers\u2019 and poor people\u2019s government to implement this program!<\/strong>
\n***
\nTranslation: Sof\u00eda Ballack<\/strong>
\nNotes:<\/strong>
\n[1]<\/a> http:\/\/www.kmbc.com\/article\/trump-if-maduro-regime-imposes-constituent-assembly-us-will-take-economic-action\/10319933
\n[2]<\/a> Socialism and Freedom Party, formerly Unidad Socialista de Izquierda <\/em>[USI – Socialist Left Unity], affiliated to the Unidad Internacional de los Trabajadores<\/em> [UIT \u2013 International Workers\u2019 Unity], founded in 2008. Orlando Chirino is one of its founders and main leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tension grows across the country. After the \u201cPopular consult\u201d called by the MUD -which had an important participation- and the \u201ccivic stoppage,\u201d now the MUD raises the bet calling for a 48 h. General Strike this week, and the occupation of Caracas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8562,"menu_order":1314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"litci_post_political_author":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[167],"tags":[3559,4078,4933,4850,2236,4917],"class_list":["post-8561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-venezuela","tag-constituent-assembly","tag-latin-america","tag-mud","tag-out-with-maduro","tag-ust-venezuela","tag-venezuelan-crisis"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/litci.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/venezuela.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1","fimg_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/litci.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/venezuela.jpg?fit=770%2C470&ssl=1","categories_names":["Venezuela"],"author_info":{"name":"litci","pic":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c5ccde5393ccb83747702c5ca92f55d8fdaf99be9432d0142571c6d437fbaadb?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"political_author":null,"tagline":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/litci.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}