Speaking of the nine-month-long struggle against the Aseven (KR) soft-drink company, one of the company’s workers Luis Flugo told Green Left Weekly, “we have been on the streets, we have been the victims of so many acts of corruption. Many trade unions have gone through the same experience. But the workers have supported us in forming a new [trade union] leadership, because they want change — a radical change — so that we are the new administrators of the collective contract that is coming up, because the one we have now is useless. And the trade union we had was useless.”

Many other workers present at the meeting space of the National Union of Workers, Carabobo regional section (UNT-Carabobo) for a monthly meeting in August had similar stories. Barreto Nestor, a worker at Rudaveca, described their struggle to form a new union. “I have only been involved in the trade union movement for a few months but it has been a grand experience”, he said, adding that “there wasn’t a union in the factory when we formed this union”.

Nestor explained that “we say we are living in a real democracy, but there are still parts of the old democracy that remain. To form the union, we have to do it clandestinely and together, under the eye of the firm, hiding from the bosses because if they find us, although they are not [legally] able to fire us, they do. This is part of the reality we live in in Venezuela.”

The day after they formed the union, the workers were out on the street after the boss refused to negotiate with them. The workers organised a picket-line, which was attacked by armed gangs organised by the bosses. Together with the UNT and other unions, the workers responded with peaceful tactics and won their demands and back pay within one-and-a-half days.

New confidence

Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution has created a resurgence in the confidence of workers to fight back and reclaim what is theirs. Previously, the trade union movement in Venezuela was dominated by the corrupt bureaucratic leadership of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV). As many of the workers explained, the CTV has worked shoulder to shoulder with the bosses, treading on the rights of the workers.

Two important events helped to reshape the terrain of working-class struggle. Flugo explained, “If you do a survey of all the companies, in all of them are new groups of [unionists] that have sprouted, because they have won referendums, because the new laws [introduced by President Hugo Chavez’s government] protect them. That is what has helped take the blindfold off and see that [workers] can win their rights.” The new laws, which enable workers to hold referendums in their workplace to decide who will oversee their collective contract, has opened the space for a new layer of militants to rise up from the ranks.

All the unionists present at the UNT-Carabobo meeting space said they are very new to the trade union movement. Nestor said that the changes have meant that “a light has appeared in front of the workers”.

In many areas of private industry, there are problems with the functioning of the new laws. Many of the bosses and the old unions are not accustomed to having to deal with workers wanting to negotiate a better deal, and in many cases they have refused to talk to union representatives. Workers in this situation have been forced to strike for the right to bargain their collective contract. In the case of Aseven (KR), the old unions illegally held referendums that didn’t comply with the laws and constitution. “They would give workers a sheet to sign, pretending it was something different and when [the workers] were not careful, they would put a stamp on it saying they had voted and use that to relegitimise themselves”, said Rafael Gutierrez.

Nestor explained, “We still don’t say that everything is perfect. There are many of the old structures that have not been destroyed, because as we know, a revolution does not happen from one day to the next ... look at the nine-month struggle [at Aseven (KR)]. If we look at the law it shouldn’t last that long. There are things we need to improve but that is where we are at, and we continue to struggle.”

The second change has come from the experiences of the workers themselves in these struggles. A decisive turning point was the bosses’ lock-out, which began in December 2002. Many of the bosses shut down factories, including the state-owned company that controls Venezuela’s oil reserves (PDVSA), in order to create an economic crisis that could bring down the Chavez government. In response, workers moved in and began to take control of their factories, including restarting the oil and electrical sectors, which were crucial to breaking the back of the bosses’ lockout. After the CTV-backed lockout was defeated, militant unionists formed the UNT as a new federation.

Co-management

Through battle, many workers began to realise their power and their ability to play a role in running companies. With the initiation of co-management in a number of state-owned enterprises, as well as some closed down factories that have been taken over by workers and then expropriated under workers’ control, a discussion about co-management is beginning among workers. “We got together so that the workers themselves will have benefits; we had five years without benefits, working Monday to Monday. Now we have advanced in terms of [understanding] the laws, and the workers want to take over the factory for themselves, and I have to talk to them, holding them back so that all of us do it democratically and legally so that there are not mass firings and so that it is planned”, said Flugo.

According to Barreto Nestor, “Unless this capitalist system is transcended, the workers, regardless of the best collective contract signed, will not achieve our goals. We need to transcend capitalism, and co-management is part of that. It is giving power to the workers, power to us.”

Challenges

Despite some of the issues faced, the UNT has been able to make many advances against the bosses and the corrupt CTV in a short period of time. The struggle has taught workers many lessons, particular those new to the trade union arena. However, internally the UNT still faces some challenges. At an Andean regional meeting of the UNT in early July to prepare for the UNT national conference, national coordinator Marcela Maspeiro noted one key problem they face: There are still many unions not in the UNT and even more workers not in the unions. An even bigger challenge is how to relate to the over 50% of workers who are in the informal sector, and how the UNT can help to organise this sector.

Part of the problem of drawing in more unions is the fact that since the UNT’s inception, there have been battles against some bureaucratic tendencies within the UNT itself — union leaders who got involved in the UNT when they realised that the CTV was a sinking ship. One front for this battle is in SUTISS, the union that covers the strategic state-owned steel plant SIDOR. The current leadership of SUTISS, some of whom have positions in the national leadership of the UNT, are holding back internal elections for their own union.

Workers in the PDVSA have also talked of bureaucratic practices once again taking hold within the three different unions that cover this important sector. The fact that there are three unions, and talk of a fourth, within PDVSA also shows another issue that the workers’ movement faces. At the August regional meeting of the UNT in Carabobo, it was clear that there were a number of very intense disputes for coverage within workplaces between unions who are all affiliated to the UNT.

In general, a big challenge is to break the influence of some of the old culture of bureaucratism and squabbling for positions. The other problem is the connection of the workers’ movement, particularly the UNT, with other sectors of Venezuelan society. It was noticeable that the only discussions that took place at the regional meeting involved current industrial disputes and the internal functions of the UNT. No mention was made of any broader struggles or events in the community.

Another example is the lack of UNT presence at marches organised by other sectors, such as the march of campesinos from the countryside to the presidential palace on July 11. The march was directed against imperialism and the assassination of peasant leaders and for agrarian revolution — the war against the latifundista (large landowners), for unity from below, and for socialism, but the campesinos marched alone.

This problem has also been reflected in some of the issues faced with co-management. How to ensure that co-management does not simply become a change from private to collective control of the company wealth, but rather is socialised and put to the use of the entire community is something that has to be seriously debated in the movement. Already issues such as the disbanding of the union in INVEPAL, the paper factory that was expropriated and placed under workers’ control and is being run as a joint state-workers cooperative, has raised some questions as to the real aim of co-management. As more and more factories begin the process of co-management, the challenge will be to expand the focus of the movement and begin to integrate the community in these matters.

Taken rom Green Left Weekly, September 28, 2005

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Two weeks earlier, soldiers and representatives from the National Land Institute (INTI), which is in charge of administering the land reform, occupied the 8,490 hectare (21,000 acre) ranch in Chavez’s home state of Barinas.

Chavez explained, during his 4-6 hour TV program, in which he usually explains government policy and has various guests, that his government is dedicated to the eradication of latifundios, the large idle landed estates that exist throughout Venezuela. “The latifundio is one of the most powerful obstacles for the development of the country and as long as it exists, it is impossible to begin the foundations of progress,” said Chavez.

Opposition critics of the government’s drive to redistribute land argue that the reform violates the right to private property. Chavez responded to this charge by saying, “There is no violation of private property; we are restituting law and order.”

Venezuela’s 1999 constitution, in articles 306-308, explicitly outlaws the existence of latifundios. The precise definition of these has varied, but it is generally considered to be a landed estate of over 1,000 hectares that is idle.

According to Chavez, the Azupurua family cannot prove ownership and so the land actually belongs to the state. In an effort to avoid disputes over the land, Chavez called a member of the Azupura family and told him that the government could offer the family 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres). Carlos Azupurua said that his family would take the offer under consideration, but “this is not just my decision, but that of [the ranch’s] shareholders and we will also listen to the opinions of the workers.”

According to Azupurua, the land is legally owned private property that is being used for agriculture, except for a portion of the land, which is under ecological protection and under the regulation of the Ministry of the Environment. His family will provide additional documents to the government soon to prove its legal title in a chain of documentation that reaches back over 100 years. For land titles to be legal in Venezuela, the documentation has to reach back to 1848.

According to Venezuela’s land reform law, only unproductive land over a certain size may be expropriated, with full compensation at the land’s current market value. If the legal title is not in order, though, the government may confiscate the land without compensation.

Azupurua also said that he will maintain a dialogue with the government, “because this is the position that will most benefit the country and I believe that the country needs dialogue.”

A government press release stated that the land would be divided up among 80 families and the 60 current workers of the ranch.

Chavez issued a presidential decree in January of this year, which would accelerate the land reform process. Until the end of 2004, most of the land that had been redistributed was undisputed state-owned. With the January decree, though, Chavez hopes to redistribute 21 latifundios with a total of 612,000 hectares.

(article from Venezuelanalysis.com) 

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After yesterday’s letter from the Venezuelan Ambassador, Alan Woods replies by stressing the contribution of the many comrades who have worked for several years to build up the Hands Off Venezuela within the British and international labour movement.

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To Alfredo Toro Hardy,

Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic in the UK.

Dear Ambassador,

Many thanks for your letter, which I received yesterday. Please convey my best wishes to President Chavez and my gratitude for his support. This message will undoubtedly encourage the supporters of the Hands off Venezuela Campaign and everybody who is fighting to support the Venezuelan Revolution against the monstrous aggression of US and world imperialism.

However, I consider that the President’s thanks should not be taken as a personal recognition of myself, or any other individual. I believe it is the elementary duty of every member of the international labour movement to do everything in their power to defend the Venezuelan Revolution and to defeat the plans of imperialism to isolate and undermine it. If I have been able to play a modest role in the necessary work of international solidarity, I consider that I have fulfilled my duty.

The passing of Resolution 79 at the TUC congress was achieved by the tireless work of many supporters of Hands off Venezuela over the last months and years. In the past few months, as you know, we have intervened with resolutions and meetings in practically every trade union congress in Britain, consistently raising the question of Venezuela, with excellent results. The vote at the TUC was the culmination of this work.

There are far too many people to mention individually. But I cannot fail to mention the important part played by outstanding trade union leaders like Jeremy Dear (NUJ) and NATFHE President John Wilkin, who presented Motion 79 at the TUC congress. Both unions have consistently supported HOV for a long time.

I must also mention the vital role played by John MacDonnell MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP, the leading figures in the left wing Labour Representation Committee, both of whom have shown themselves to be dedicated supporters of the Venezuelan Revolution and have given tremendous support to HOV.

My own contribution has been mainly in the field of international contacts. As you know, this year alone, I have visited Venezuela twice and maintained regular contacts with the revolutionary forces, and in particular with the leaders of the main trade union federation, the UNT. But all the credit for organizing the campaign’s work in Britain must go to the very able team of comrades organized by Jorge Martin and Rob Sewell, who have worked tirelessly for the cause. I could mention many others, but they are too numerous.

Finally, I cannot fail to mention my friend and comrade Orlando Chirino, a veteran of the Venezuelan workers movement and in my opinion the most outstanding trade union leader in Venezuela today, who came to the TUC at the invitation of the Hands off Venezuela campaign, defying a ferocious behind-the-scenes operation designed to prevent him from coming to the congress at all costs.

The Hands off Venezuela campaign was established almost three years ago, in response to the bosses’ lockout, when the counter-revolutionary oligarchy was preparing to overthrow the elected government of Hugo Chavez, which they had failed to do in the April 2002 coup.

At that time, HOV was only a small group of people in London. The great majority of the Left was not yet aware of what was really happening in Venezuela. We had very little support and very sparse resources. On the other hand, the reactionary forces of imperialism and the oligarchy had at their disposal colossal resources, including the might of the mass media.

At the present time, I am happy to say, the situation has varied substantially. More and more people are becoming aware of the real situation in Venezuela. The campaign against imperialist interference and bullying in Venezuela is gathering strength. And Hands off Venezuela has grown from very modest beginnings to a powerful campaign that is now active in more than 30 countries in five continents.

The work of HOV in Britain has put a lot of time and effort into the Labour and trade union movement because we have always believed that the international workers’ movement is the natural ally of the Bolivarian Revolution, and its best defence against imperialist aggression.

Our work has been constantly opposed, not only by the imperialists, but by the right wing of the movement, which does not want to have anything to do with socialism or revolutionary tendencies anywhere in the world. Backed by the state and the powerful mass media, they have been supporting the reactionary CTV “trade union” and doing their utmost to prevent the truth about the Bolivarian Revolution being known.

These right wing elements have attempted by every coneivable means to block the advance of HOV and to split the solidarity movement. In order to sow confusion, they have organized a campaign of disinformation that tries to present HOV as an “ultra-left” and “sectarian” campaign. This is entirely false.

Although the original initiative for setting up the HOV campaign came from the Marxists like myself, I should like to make it clear to you that, as a solidarity campaign, it is open to any individual or organization that is prepared to defend the Bolivarian Revolution and fight against imperialism.

As a Marxist, I have never concealed my own political views and have always advocated the position that the Bolivarian Revolution can only achieve final victory through workers’ power and socialism. That is my firm conviction, which I will always defend with all the energy I can summon.

But HOV is a broad solidarity campaign, in which people of different political persuasions participate freely and defend their views with equal conviction. All are welcome to participate – Marxists and Social Democrats, atheists and Christians, anarchists and flat-earthists. There is only one condition: that we must combine in action to defend the Venezuelan Revolution.

Socialism is democratic or it is nothing. A passionate debate on socialism and the future of the Bolivarian Revolution is taking place in Venezuela. That is very positive, and we are participating in this debate. The same debate will necessarily be reproduced in the international solidarity movement. That is a healthy development. Only reactionaries and bureaucrats fear such debate. Only through a free and democratic debate on policies and ideas can the workers’ movement advance and raise itself to the level of the tasks posed by history.

As time goes on, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the attitude of various tendencies to the Bolivarian Revolution is becoming the touchstone that determines the nature of every tendency in the world labour movement. The right wing reactionary forces and the bureaucracy are naturally hostile to it. The left wing and the working class rank and file are instinctively sympathetic.

The passing of a resolution unanimously by the TUC in support of Venezuela and opposing imperialism represents, as you say, a step forward of great significance in the struggle against the media misinformation campaign regarding Venezuela and the actions of its government. It represents a victory for the truth against the avalanche of lies, distortions and misinformation, which has been orchestrated in Washington, but which has been replicated by the reactionary forces in London and every other capital city in Europe. But it is also something more than this. It is a great victory for the Left in Britain and a defeat for the reactionary forces.

Therefore, Mr. Ambassador, in defending the Bolivarian Revolution, we are defending our own class interests. In fighting imperialism’s aggressive actions against Venezuela, we are also fighting imperialism and reaction everywhere else in the world. And in fighting those forces within the labour movement that are hostile to Venezuela and, either openly or secretly, support US imperialism, we are fighting to transform it from top to bottom and to return it to the path of socialism.

When President Chavez calls for world socialism as the only alternative to the nightmare of capitalist barbarism, he is expressing the fervent wishes of millions of working people, not only in Venezuela, but in Britain and in every other country in the world. This is a message that is far too important to be confined to the frontiers of any state. It is a message that corresponds to the actual needs of the world in which we live. It is a call to action that echoes through every continent and country.

John Wilkin said at the TUC “We need a bit of Bolivarianism in Britain”. But that is only another way of saying: the British Labour movement must return to its original aims. It must break with Blairism, capitalism and imperialism. It must reject privatisation and so-called market reforms and inscribe on its banner the socialist transformation of society.

Therefore, in expressing our solidarity with the Venezuelan Revolution, we are defending our own class interests. We are advancing the fight for socialism in Britain and internationally. We do not see these things as separate aims, but as one single, indissoluble struggle that is taking place on a world scale.

I thank you again for your kind interest in our work and wish you every success in your efforts to defend the Bolivarian Revolution.

 

Yours fraternally,

Alan Woods

London, 19 September 2005.

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Venezuela’s President Chavez, in a fiery 22 minute speech at the opening of the 60th UN General Assembly, called for a revolution in the UN, proposing four immediate changes for the transformation of the UN. “The 21st century demands changes that are only possible with a refounding of this organization,” said Chavez. “Mere reforms are not enough…”

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