https://themilitant.com/2019/03/16/natl-blackout-deepens-crisis-in-venezuela-%e2%80%a8us-hands-off/
Nat’l blackout deepens crisis in Venezuela – US hands off!
By Róger Calero
Vol. 83/No. 12
March 25, 2019
Peasants from Barinas, Venezuela, march on Caracas Aug. 8, 2018,
demanding Maduro government stop judges, capitalist landowners from
evicting small farmers from land they won when Hugo Chávez was
president. The crisis produced by the workings of capitalism and
policies of the Chávez and Maduro government continues to bear down on
farmers and workers.
Corriente Revolucionaria Bolívar Y Zamora
Peasants from Barinas, Venezuela, march on Caracas Aug. 8, 2018,
demanding Maduro government stop judges, capitalist landowners from
evicting small farmers from land they won when Hugo Chávez was
president. The crisis produced by the workings of capitalism and
policies of the Chávez and Maduro government continues to bear down on
farmers and workers.
Thousands participated in rival demonstrations in Venezuela March 9 in
response to counterposed calls by President Nicolás Maduro and
U.S.-groomed opposition leader Juan Guaidó amid a growing political and
social crisis.
Guaidó, head of the National Assembly controlled by bourgeois opposition
forces, proclaimed himself the country’s president Jan. 23, saying the
re-election of Maduro last year was fraudulent.
With the support of the governments of Colombia and Brazil, on Feb. 23
Washington and Guaidó provocatively attempted to bring into Venezuela
four trucks of “humanitarian aid” seeking to split the country’s armed
forces and lead to Maduro’s forceful removal by the military.
The marches took place as a massive electricity blackout plunged the
country’s population into darkness for days, paralyzing subways,
hospitals, schools, government offices and businesses, leaving people
struggling to obtain water and food.
There is a deep economic and social crisis in Venezuela today, a product
of the workings of capitalism and the failed course of the governments
of Hugo Chávez and Maduro.
Washington has made the situation facing workers and peasants worse,
imposing economic sanctions that block access by the Venezuelan
government to billions of dollars in assets and revenue. The policies of
the Maduro government, and of his predecessor, Chávez, seeking to
“manage” capitalism, have undermined the self-confidence, political
consciousness and fighting spirit of working people, who have a long
history of struggle.
Communications Minister Jorge Rodríguez, Maduro and other government
officials blamed the blackout on a “cyberattack” on the electronic
monitoring system at the Guri hydroelectric plant. That power station
supplies 80 percent of the country’s electricity.
Electricity outages are a common part of the crisis in Venezuela. In
2013 a disruption affected Caracas and 17 of the country’s 23 states for
six hours, and in 2018 another outage left eight states without
electricity for 10 hours. But the latest was unprecedented.
The power failure has intensified pressure on Maduro from working
people, who are the most affected by the country’s deepening crisis.
Roots of the crisis
The attempts of the Chávez and Maduro governments to “regulate”
capitalist relations were doomed from the start. The inevitable result
was collusion with sections of the national and international
bourgeoisie that benefited from the flow of oil revenue until prices
collapsed, leading to the current crisis.
Workers and farmers in Venezuela have demonstrated a great capacity to
fight. This was shown in mass upsurges in the 1980s and ’90s that
preceded Chávez’s election in 1998, in the mobilizations that defeated a
right-wing military coup against Chávez, and oil workers’ mobilizations
to restart production when bosses paralyzed the industry in 2002.
There have also been numerous struggles for land, fishing rights,
greater control of production and safety, and other social struggles.
All of these were reported on and supported by the Militant over the years.
But instead of leading a course that would increase working-class
consciousness and action against capitalist exploitation and government
corruption, Chávez and Maduro have tried to act as “strong leaders”
above the fray seeking to “serve the people,” providing them with
welfare programs. That has blocked workers’ mobilizations and pushed
them to the sidelines. The “mismanagement” and “corruption” Maduro is
blamed for is a byproduct of the maintenance of capitalist relations.
This was reflected in comments made by Julio Escalona, a member of
Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly, when he spoke last December.
He challenged the Food Ministry’s policy of transferring massive amounts
of capital to big capitalist food monopolies, while leaving small
farmers and cooperatives unable to buy supplies and actually grow food.
“[Government officials] tell us cooperatives and medium and small-sized
farms don’t have the productive capacity of big enterprises, which
supposedly can deliver immediate results” in increasing food
availability, Escalona said. “But where are the results?”
“With all the dollars they have received and continue to receive we
should be very well stocked,” he said. But everyone knows that isn’t
true. He was putting a spotlight on the hoarding and speculation by
these capitalist enterprises.
Washington mounts pressure
Washington has seized on the crisis to increase economic pressure,
aiming to replace the Maduro government with one more to its liking.
They are betting on working people growing tired of the dead-end course
maintained by the political and military forces around Chavismo. At
least for now, they don’t see the need to bear the costs of military
intervention.
At the same time, a significant number of working people deeply distrust
the opposition, who have organized violent protests, supported
Washington’s sanctions and have called for U.S. troops to invade.
Opposition leaders have not been able to convince Venezuelan workers and
farmers that their interests are at the center of the campaign to
overthrow Maduro. And they aren’t!
A common sentiment among many in Venezuela — including among former
supporters of Chávez and Maduro — is captured in the view often
expressed, “I would not vote for the opposition, and even less for
Maduro,” if there were an election.
Despite calling their course “21st century socialism,” Chávez and Maduro
consciously decided not to organize workers and farmers in Venezuela to
follow the example of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution — to take
power, overthrow capitalism and transform society on a socialist foundation.
Working people in the U.S. can extend solidarity by demanding Washington
keep its bloody hands off Venezuela, so that working people have time
and space to find the road forward.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Erie UE strike ends, Wabtec bosses agree to
negotiations
•Nat’l blackout deepens crisis in Venezuela - US hands off!
•‘Workers need to organize our own party to take power’
•Protests continue in fight against police killing of Stephon Clark
•Democrats’ fractures widen in cover-up of anti-Semitic remarks
•Supreme Court puts limits on cops seizing property, a gain for workers
Feature Articles •Sign up for International May Day Cuba Brigade
Also In This Issue •Celebrate the political life of veteran communist in UK
•‘Militant’ continues to receive readers’ contributions. Thanks!
•Capitalism at fault in Alabama tornado catastrophe
•Are ‘hate crimes’ and racism on the rise in the US?
Editorials •Join the May Day brigade to Cuba!
On the Picket Line •Indiana teachers rally for higher pay, better
working conditions
•Weeklong strike in Oakland ends as teachers’ struggle continues
Books of the Month •‘In a deepgoing revolution, women want to take part’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Corrections
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Carl Sagan
“ The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be
counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be
consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not
determine what's true. ”
― Carl Sagan
