Venezuela's Social Missions in Action

"Much have I travelled in the realms of gold and mainly goodly states and kingdoms seen....". With these words the poet John Keats tried to create a romanticised version of the conquest of Latin America by the Spaniard Cortez.

The same applies to Venezuela today. There are those on the left who through rose-tinted spectacles only see light and progress that must not be hurried or criticised. There are others on the left who supprt what is happening but in a fraternal and friendly manner, basing themselves on the history of the labour movement internationally, say that the process of revolutionary change now in motion must be taken to its logical conclusion. There are those on the right, including Bush and Blair while he was Prime Minister, who want to see the end of Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution and are prepared to use all means, including assassination. to achieve their aims.

At the same time those on the right, the oligarchy here in Venezuela and Imperialism internationally, realise that Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution have the overwhelming support of the masses of ordinary people. And to see what has been delivered in terms of health, education, housing, food and jobs helps anyone to see why Chavez is so popular.

Just to take one example - that of health. The Barrio Adentro Mision (the Mission into the Neighbourhood) has brought health care that is free and comprehensive to millions of people who had previously been excluded because of the cost of treatment. Access to this system is not restricted only to Venezuelans. Anyone suffering ill health, even temporary foreigners like myself, can access the system. You simply walk into a clinic, give evidence of who you are, state what your problem is, and receive treatment.

And we are not talking about the walk-in clinics in the UK that are supposd to reduce the waiting time in the doctor´s surgeries. Waitig time in these clinics can be up to 4 and 5 hours, so the queue has been taken out of the surgeries and transferred to the clinics. Here you walk in and the waiting time is a few minutes because the level of provision of medical staff is geared to the needs of the community being served.

It is obvious that in the space of 8 years, the time that Chavez has been in power, there has not been sufficient time to train enough doctors and medical staff to provide this service. For that reason Cuba, which has one of the best doctor/patient ratios in the world despite the economic blockade orchestrated by th USA, is able to provide up to 20,000 medical staff to ensure that the Mision provides the correct level of service.

So here am I, a foreigner in Venezuela, with the problem of Moctezuma´s revenge that has lasted 9 days and shows no sign of disappearing. I am a shadow of my former self! Some would say I needed to lose weight but this is not a good way to do it.

Into the clinic I go. lLterally two minutes later I am talking to a Cuban doctor who gives a diagnosis. I am told to go and lie on a bed. Face down I am told when the nurse comes in.  As I obey I am told to loosen my pants. Waht is she going to do? Not take a sample this way, I hope! I spot the syringe out of the corner of my eye and promptly shut them. A sharp pain and then it is over. Back the doctor, pick up a prescription and off to the chemists. The antibiotics and  bottle of water-laden nutrients come to 24,000 Bolivars, some 6 pounds 50 pence. The treatment cost absolulely nothing.

To be serious for a moment. How much electoral support would George Bush get from the millions of US citizens who never bother to vote if he were to introduce a free and comprehensive health care system for all who are ill, nationals or foreign visitors? How much would the popularity of the Labour Party increase if it were to reduce the prescription charges for medicines in the whole of the UK, increase the number of doctors and reduce waiting times?

This experience can be replicatd in other areas of social life. UNESCO states that oly Cuba and Venezuela in central and South America are illiteracy free. The Department for Education in the USA states that millions of US citizens are "functionally illiterate." Given what is happening in Venezuela and Cuba perhaps these learned gentleman of the UK and the USA can understand why there is massive support for Castro and Chavez. If they don´t, it is because they don´t want to. Acceptance of this support would raise demnads and expectations in their societies that cannot be met on the basis of private property and capitalism.

Caracas
November 13th 2007