Keith Spencer
The impact of the economic crisis is Latin America is polarising politics. On the one hand right wing forces, backed behind the scenes by Washington, are attempting a comeback – whether by means of a coup attempts, as in Ecuador, or as in Venezuela via successes at the ballot box. On the other workers and indigenous peoples are mobilising to demand real measures to change their lives.
In Venezuela right wing forces are celebrating, despite their defeat in Septembers parliamentary elections.
Though Hugo Chávez’s United Socialist Party (PSUV) won 96 seats as against the 64 seats of the United Opposition (MUD), in terms of actual votes cast the difference was far narrower: the PSUV had 48.2 per cent of the popular vote while the opposition MUD gained 47.17 per cent.
The result is not so much due to the greater popularity of the right as to the disillusion of a big section of Chávez’s own supporters, expressed by not going to the polls. The reason is not that he has been too radical in his talk of “socialism within two years” but that his actions have not been radical enough in fulfilling the promises he has made.
Chávez himself still remains enormously popular with ratings of two-thirds approval in opinion polls but his ministers, governors and civil servants are obstructing reforms, siding with the bosses and attacking workers.
The economy remains 70 per cent in private hands and the bosses are hoarding and speculating while the working class suffers inflation and real wage cuts due to the world recession and high inflation.
The strong forces of the left in the unions, in the PSUV, in the other workers parties must fight – independently of Chávez and his governors and bureaucrats – for the nationalisation without compensation of industry, commerce and the land, under workers’ control and for a democratic workers plan to meet the needs of the masses. To implement this they must also fight for their own power, based on workers’ councils and a workers’ militia to replace the capitalist state.