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Venezuela in the Center of the World |
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"In Venezuela they have demonstrated that there are alternatives to free-market neoliberalism. With consistently high growth rates over the last few years, Venezuela now has one of the fastest growing economies in the world."
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Maybe you haven’t noticed, but there is a world war going on out there. It’s a class war, raging world-wide, and everyone is affected by it. Across the globe the dividing line has been drawn. A small minority seeks to dominate the world, spreading global free-market capitalism to the last corners of the planet, regardless of the consequences for the people who happen to live there. All alternatives have failed, they tell us. Communism, Socialism, Keynesianism, Protectionism; they have all been tried, none of them worked. Global capitalism is the only way, the only road. There are no alternatives. We have reached the end of history, they say. But suddenly, there is one small problem; Latin America has exploded in protest. The general population of Central and South America have been some of the hardest hit by the new wave of globalization. The region has extreme inequality, where a small upper class lives a life of affluence and comfort, walled-off from the brutal reality of their countries. The majority are the victims who are hard-hit by the policies promoted by this minority elite. The growing mass of slum-dwellers scratches out a living off a dollar or two a day. The wages are so low that the workers are forced to accept horrific living conditions. The picture is a grim one, but this is not only happening in Latin America. It’s happening world-wide. Even in the United States, where the living conditions are much better, the same general process is occurring. The globalization of the economy means that the society is slowly divided into the same two groups; an affluent minority connected to the global economy, and the majority who works in the service sector with a slow but continued decline in living standards. [1] In the United States declining living standards means lower wages, longer hours, and decreasing social mobility for the majority middle class. More fall into poverty every day and the number without access to healthcare grows by the thousands. [2] But in Latin America, declining living standards means tragedy. The malnourished masses flood into overcrowded cities. Urban shanty-towns grow uncontrollably causing infrastructural disasters. As displaced families try to survive on the margins they become more and more desperate. Child labor, drugs, crime, and violence plague the masses. Huge portions of the population are not even afforded basic services such as running water, housing, or plumbing, much less access to education or healthcare. The social and cultural consequences are so grave they are beyond comprehension, and will still be felt many, many years into the future. In the last few years places like Bolivia, Mexico, and Argentina have erupted in massive mobilizations against this new world order. But one nation has led, and continues to lead the battle against this dark trend. One nation is at the center of the global struggle, this world-wide class war. In the last few years, Venezuela has emerged as the most important battleground of the ongoing war. The social and political movement in Venezuela insists that another world is possible, that a better system than global capitalism can be built, and it is determined to fight for it. The conflict in Venezuela and now spreading to the rest of Latin America is the central battlefield in the world war between the multinational ruling class, and the rest of us. Venezuela: The Eye of the Storm Here’s how it happened. For most of their histories, Latin American nations have been ruled by elite groups. Until the 1970s these groups were both national and internationally connected elites. Governments were, for the most part, a consensus of elite groups, using state resources to increase national production, but without stepping on the interests of the international elites. The masses were kept complacent with populist programs in which the state provided social spending on basic services, subsidized consumption, and government programs. Although the governments by no means represented the interests of the general population, they maintained relative support through these populist programs, and some limited response to popular demands. This is the liberal democratic model. Those who govern are various sectors of the elite class, elected every few years by national elections, but not representative of the popular will. The majority of the population plays no role, being only a spectator except for casting a vote once every 4 or 5 years. This is the system that rules in the United States and has been promoted around the world as “democracy.” A similar system ruled in Venezuela for 4 decades until it fell apart in the nineties. Two parties, both representing elite interests, governed the country together, sharing power between them. [3] As multinational capital grew and expanded around the world, it began to take control not only of first-world countries, but also third-world nations. By the 1980s, national elites had mostly lost dominance, and had joined up to the newly dominant internationally-linked elite groups. A process of neoliberal economic transformation began that totally dismantled the previous state structure. Social spending was mostly eliminated, national industries would no longer be subsidized or protected, populations were left to fend for themselves. This was known as the “Washington Consensus.” The national economies were increasingly opened up to international capital. As national elite groups either joined up with multinational capital or were swallowed by them, the world was divided into two groups; the multinational interests versus the rest of the population. There was now no representation of popular demands in the government, and two basic groups remained. The conflict became a global class war of a tiny minority of wealthy capitalists against virtually everyone else. But instead of quietly standing by, these populations erupted in total rejection of the neoliberal agenda of the multinationals. Venezuela exploded on February 27, 1989. It was the first, the largest and the most violent of the popular explosions that would occur in countries across the region over the next decade. As the international elite consolidated their control over the Venezuela state, they began to dismantle the populist structure. Prices of food, gas, transportation and other essentials immediately shot up as government subsidies were slashed. The budget was put at the service of the international lending institutions. The debt would be paid, but the population would have to go hungry. The masses poured into the streets, rioting, looting, and burning the city. The national army was called out to massacre them by the hundreds. [4] Finding difficulty in expanding in the developed world, corporations now seek to expand across the globe, buying up whole nations. In Venezuela, one of the world’s largest oil producers, international capital sought to privatize the state-controlled oil industry. Throughout the 1990s the plan was to privatize everything from Venezuela’s national resources to telecommunications, health care, and electrical infrastructure among others. By 1998 they had almost completed the job. [5] But the popular movement that began with the violent uprising in 1989 brought President Hugo Chávez to power exactly ten years later. On a platform of total rejection of neoliberal reforms, and defense of the poor majority, Chávez easily swept into power in 1998. Far from being a dictator as has been the claim, Chávez put himself up for reelection just two years later under a new constitution that his government had pioneered. Chávez and the new constitution were widely approved in nation-wide elections. In the conflict between international capital, and the people, Venezuela now had a government that represented the people. Washington and the corporations that they serve became worried. This was exactly the kind of democratic explosion that they had worked so hard to prevent all these years. The last time the Venezuelan people had united behind a popular leader was in 1948, and he only lasted 10 months. Chávez wouldn’t last much longer if Washington and the Venezuelan elite could help it. In 2002, after Chávez had passed new laws calling for agrarian reform and reversing the privatization of the oil industry, they would try to get rid of the popular president once and for all. The high military command renounced the authority of the president and threatened to bomb the presidential palace if he didn’t step down. Chávez was taken into their custody and flown to a small island in the Caribbean. There, according to some witnesses, a U.S. government plane was seen arriving. The plan was to fly Chávez to Cuba where he would be exiled. [6] This was the same strategy later used in 2004 to get rid of popular Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Kidnapped by the U.S. army and forced onto military aircraft, Aristide was dumped in Africa and remains there to this day. [7] But the plan failed in Venezuela. Massive protests and the rebellion of the National Guard brought Chávez back to power less than 48 hours later. This wouldn’t be the last attempt, however. The wealthy elite and their ally Washington would continue to work for the removal of the democratic president. [8] With each attempt over the next few years, the Venezuelan masses would become more and more radicalized. Chavez’ political movement would become more and more revolutionary in response. The class conflict had become clearer than ever. Chavez and the Venezuelan masses were now very conscious of who the enemy was. Like no other nation in the world, in Venezuela any elected official can be revoked at mid term, a policy pioneered by Chávez under the new constitution. In 2004, a Washington-funded NGO in Caracas led a campaign to use his own policy against him and recall Chávez’ presidential term. Once again, the US was working on getting rid of the popular leader. After collecting enough signatures, the recall referendum went to a national vote. Chávez easily won the referendum, and his mandate was again approved before public opinion. [9] In December of 2006, in nation-wide presidential elections, Chávez received twice as many votes as any president in Venezuela’s history. He won the support of 63% of the population for another six-year term. [10] It can now be said that Hugo Chávez is the most popular Venezuelan president ever. And the achievements are significant. Hundreds of health clinics have been built around the country, dozens of new high-tech hospitals, new universities, educational programs, subsidized food markets, to name a few. Literacy programs have officially eradicated illiteracy in the country. Thousands of Cuban doctors have been spread throughout the country, building a new health system based on the Cuban system. [11] Although critics have said that this model cannot work, that Chávez is taking the wrong road, in Venezuela they have demonstrated that there are alternatives to free-market neoliberalism. With consistently high growth rates over the last few years, Venezuela now has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And with growth in non-petroleum sectors leading the way, along with integration with their neighbors, Venezuela is on its way to freeing itself from dependence on oil exports. [12] According to a recent survey, in recent years the poorest sectors of Venezuelan society have drastically increased their spending. [13] The minimum wage has been repeatedly raised, and is now higher than it has ever been. Venezuela’s wealth is now being redistributed more equally. The country’s resources have been maximized for the benefit of the people, not the multinational corporations. But perhaps most importantly, this movement is not just about improving the conditions of the majority poor. It is about building an alternative system, a popular democracy to challenge the liberal elite democracy of before. They are experimenting with transforming the economy, and political structure of the country. Cooperatives are being promoted by the government around the country. New community councils are being given more power to govern over their own affairs. Millions of poor Venezuelans who never had the legal documents to vote, to participate, have been given an identity by this government, and have been given the right to participate. [14] Unlike any time in Venezuela’s history, the masses are permitted and encouraged to participate, to make decisions. Venezuela is challenging the Washington consensus that gives all the power to multinational corporations. They are experimenting with giving the power to the people. [15] In a world where multinational capital reigns, Venezuela has become the biggest challenge to their domination. And as Chavez’ movement has consolidated power in Venezuela, his influence in the region has also grown. The popular movements against neoliberal globalization are sprouting up across the continent. In Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, movements similar to Venezuela’s have taken power and are beginning their own transformations. Nations like Mexico, Colombia and Peru are also seeing significant movements for change that could take power in the near future. Latin America as a whole has become the biggest threat to the neoliberal model, with Venezuela in the lead. The fight is to build a new alternative to global capitalism and liberal elite democracy. In Venezuela the goal is to build a political system that truly lies in the hands of the people, a popular democracy instead of a representative democracy. A democracy where everyone participates in the political system as well as in the economic system. Instead of a capitalist economy which creates huge inequalities and concentration of wealth and power, Venezuela is searching for a new way to organize the economy to allow for a fairer and more egalitarian distribution of wealth. At the very root of some of the biggest problems in the modern world, Venezuela is searching for a solution. For the sake of all of us, let’s hope they can succeed. Chris Carlson is a North American student and activist living in Venezuela. See his personal blog at: www.gringoinvenezuela.com
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