Special edition: A year since Hugo Chavez’s death
Australia Venezuela
Solidarity Network
February-March 2014
Produced with the support of the Venezuelan embassy in Australia
Fifty truths about Hugo Chavez
and the Bolivarian Revolution
Salim Lamrani
President Hugo Chavez, who
died on March 5, 2013 of cancer at age 58, marked forever
the history of Venezuela and
Latin America.
1. Never in the history of Latin
America, has a political leader had
such incontestable democratic legitimacy. Since coming to power in
1999, there were 16 elections in
Venezuela. Hugo Chavez won 15,
the last on October 7, 2012. He
defeated his rivals with a margin of
10-20 percentage points.
2. All international bodies, from
the European Union to the
Organization of American States, to
the Union of South American
Nations and the Carter Center, were
unanimous in recognizing the transparency of the vote counts.
3. James Carter, former U.S.
President, declared that Venezuela's
electoral system was "the best in the
world."
4. Universal access to education
introduced in 1998 had exceptional
results. About
1.5
million
Venezuelans learned to read and
write thanks to the literacy campaign called Mission Robinson I.
5. In December 2005, UNESCO
said that Venezuela had eradicated
illiteracy.
6. The number of children attending school increased from 6 million
in 1998 to 13 million in 2011 and
the enrollment rate is now 93.2%.
7. Mission Robinson II was
launched to bring the entire population up to secondary level. Thus, the
rate of secondary school enrollment
rose from 53.6% in 2000 to 73.3%
in 2011.
8. Missions Ribas and Sucre
allowed tens of thousands of young
adults to undertake university studies. Thus, the number of tertiary students increased from 895,000 in
2000 to 2.3 million in 2011, assisted
by the creation of new universities.
9. With regard to health, they
created the National Public System
to ensure free access to health care
for all Venezuelans. Between 2005
and 2012, 7873 new medical centers
were created in Venezuela.
10. The number of doctors
increased from 20 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 80 per 100,000 in
2010, or an increase of 400%.
11. Mission Barrio Adentro I provided 534 million medical consultations. About 17 million people were
attended, while in 1998 less than 3
million people had regular access to
health. 1.7 million lives were saved,
between 2003 and 2011.
12. The infant mortality rate fell
from 19.1 per thousand in 1999 to
10 per thousand in 2012, a reduction
of 49%.
13. Average life expectancy
increased from 72.2 years in 1999 to
74.3 years in 2011.
14. Thanks to Operation Miracle,
launched in 2004, 1.5 million
Venezuelans who were victims of
cataracts or other eye diseases,
regained their sight.
15. From 1999 to 2011, the
poverty rate decreased from 42.8%
to 26.5% and the rate of extreme
poverty fell from 16.6% in 1999 to
7% in 2011.
16. In the rankings of the Human
Development Index (HDI) of the
United Nations Program for
Development (UNDP), Venezuela
jumped from 83 in 2000 (0.656) at
position 73 in 2011 (0.735), and
entered into the category Nations
with 'High HDI'.
17. The GINI coefficient, which
allows calculation of inequality in a
country, fell from 0.46 in 1999 to
0.39 in 2011.
18. According to the UNDP,
Venezuela holds the lowest recorded
Gini coefficient in Latin America,
that is, Venezuela is the country in
the region with the least inequality.
19. Child malnutrition was
reduced by 40% since 1999.
20. In 1999, 82% of the population had access to safe drinking
water. Now it is 95%.
21. Under Chavez, social expenditures increased by 60.6%.
22. Before 1999, only 387,000
elderly people received a pension.
Now the figure is 2.1 million.
23. Since 1999, 700,000 homes
have been built in Venezuela.
24. Since 1999, the government
provided / returned more than one
million hectares of land to
Aboriginal people.
25. Land reform enabled tens of
thousands of farmers to own their
land. In total, Venezuela distributed
more than 3 million hectares.
Five million
children now
receive free meals
through the
School Feeding
Programme.
26. In 1999, Venezuela was producing 51% of food consumed. In
2012, production was 71%, while
food consumption increased by
81% since 1999. If consumption of
2012 was similar to that of 1999,
Venezuela produced 140% of the
food it consumed.
27. Since 1999, the average calories consumed by Venezuelans
increased by 50% thanks to the
Food Mission that created a chain of
22,000 food stores, where products
are subsidized up to 30%. Meat consumption increased by 75% since
1999.
28. Five million children now
receive free meals through the
School Feeding Programme. The
figure was 250,000 in 1999.
29. The malnutrition rate fell
from 21% in 1998 to less than 3% in
2012.
30. According to the FAO,
Venezuela is the most advanced
country in Latin America and the
Caribbean in the erradication of
hunger.
31. The nationalization of the oil
company PDVSA in 2003 allowed
Venezuela to regain its energy sovereignty.
32. The nationalization of the
electrical and telecommunications
sectors (CANTV and Electricidad
de Caracas) allowed the end of private monopolies and guaranteed
universal access to these services.
33. Since 1999, more than 50,000
cooperatives have been created in
all sectors of the economy.
34. The unemployment rate fell
from 15.2% in 1998 to 6.4% in
2012, with the creation of more than
4 million jobs.
35. The minimum wage
increased from 100 bolivars/month
($ 16) in 1998 to 2047.52 bolivars
($ 330) in 2012, ie an increase of
over 2,000%. This is the highest
minimum wage in Latin America.
36. In 1999, 65% of the workforce earned the minimum wage. In
2012 only 21.1% of workers have
only this level of pay.
37. Adults at a certain age who
have never worked still get an
income equivalent to 60% of the
minimum wage.
38. Women without income and
disabled people receive a pension
equivalent to 80% of the minimum
wage.
39. Working hours were reduced
to 6 hours a day and 36 hours per
week, without loss of pay.
40. Public debt fell from 45% of
GDP in 1998 to 20% in 2011.
Venezuela withdrew from the
International Monetary Fund and
World Bank, after early repayment
of all its debts.
41. In 2012, the growth rate was
5.5% in Venezuela, one of the highest in the world.
42. GDP per capita rose from $
4,100 in 1999 to $ 10,810 in 2011.
43. According to the annual
World Happiness 2012, Venezuela
is the second happiest country in
Latin America, behind Costa Rica,
and the nineteenth worldwide,
ahead of Germany and Spain.
44. Venezuela offers more direct
support to the American continent
than the United States. In 2007,
Chávez spent more than 8,800 million dollars in grants, loans and
energy aid as against 3,000 million
from the Bush administration.
45. For the first time in its history, Venezuela has its own satellites
(Bolivar and Miranda) and is now
sovereign in the field of space technology. The entire country has internet and telecommunications coverage.
46. The creation of Petrocaribe
in 2005 allows 18 countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean, or 90
million people, secure energy supply, by oil subsidies of between
40% to 60%.
47. Venezuela also provides
assistance to disadvantaged communities in the United States by providing fuel at subsidized rates.
48. The creation of the Bolivarian
Alliance for the Peoples of Our
America (ALBA) in 2004 between
Cuba and Venezuela laid the foundations of an inclusive alliance
based on cooperation and reciprocity. It now comprises eight member
countries which places the human
being in the center of the social
project, with the aim of combating
poverty and social exclusion.
49. Hugo Chavez was at the heart
of the creation in 2011 of the
Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC) which
brings together for the first time the
33 nations of the region, emancipated from the tutelage of the United
States and Canada.
50. Hugo Chavez played a key
role in the peace process in
Colombia. According to President
Juan Manuel Santos, "if we go into
a solid peace project, with clear and
concrete
progress,
progress
achieved ever before with the
FARC, is also due to the dedication
and commitment of Chavez and the
government of Venezuela."
[Translation by Tim Anderson. First
published at venezuelanalysis
.com]. ■
Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network
February-March 2014
Chavez: Life of a revolutionary
In 1983, Chavez established the
Revolutionary
Bolivarian
Movement-200 (MBR-200).
Afterwards, he rose to a number
of high-level positions in Caracas
and was decorated several times.
Embassy of Venezuela in
Australia
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was
the President of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela.
As the leader of the Bolivarian
Revolution, Chavez promoted a
political doctrine of participatory
democracy, socialism and Latin
American and Caribbean cooperation.
He was also a critic of neoliberalism, globalization, and United
States foreign policy.
A career military officer, Chavez
founded the left-wing Fifth
Republic Movement after orchestrating a failed 1992 military rebellion against former President Carlos
Andres Perez.
Chavez was elected President in
1998 with a campaign centring on
promises of aiding Venezuela’s poor
majority, and was re-elected in
2000, 2006 and 2012.
Domestically, Chavez established
nationwide Bolivarian Social
Missions, whose goals are to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition,
poverty, and other social ills.
Abroad, Chavez acted against the
Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic
development, and advocating cooperation among the world's poor
nations, especially those in Latin
America.
Chavez’s policies evoked controversy in Venezuela and abroad,
receiving anything from vehement
criticism to enthusiastic support.
Early life
Chavez was born on July 28, 1954
in the town of Sabaneta, Barinas.
The second son of two schoolteachers, Hugo de los Reyes Chavez
and Elena Frias de Chavez, he was
of mixed Amerindian, AfroVenezuelan, and Spanish descent.
Due to the Chavez family’s
impoverished conditions, Hugo
Chavez was sent to Sabaneta with
his older brother Adan to live with
his paternal grandmother, Rosa Ines
Chavez.
There, he pursued hobbies such
as painting, singing, and baseball,
while also attending elementary
Presidency
school at the Julian Pino School. He
was later forced to relocate to the
town of Barinas to attend high
school at the Daniel Florencio
O’Leary School.
Hugo Chavez married twice. He
first wedded Nancy Colmenares, a
woman from a poor family originating in Chavez’s own hometown of
Sabaneta. Chavez and Colmenares
remained married for eighteen
years, during which time they had
three children: Rosa Virginia, Maria
Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael.
They separated soon after
Chavez’s 1992 coup attempt.
Chavez was divorced from his
second wife, journalist Marisabel
Rodriguez de Chavez. Through that
marriage, Chavez had another
daughter, Rosines.
Chavez had two grandchildren,
Gabriela and Manuel.
Chavez was raised a Roman
Catholic, although he had a series of
disputes with both the Venezuelan
Catholic hierarchy and Protestant
groups like the New Tribes Mission.
Originally he kept his own faith a
private matter, but over the course of
his presidency, Chavez became
increasingly open to discussing his
religious views, stating that both his
faith and his interpretation of Jesus’
personal life and ideology had a
profound impact on his left-wing
and progressive views.
According to him, as a result of
this background his socialist policies have been borne with roots in
the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In the military
At age seventeen, Chavez
enrolled at the Venezuelan Academy
of Military Sciences. After graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with
a degree in Military Arts and
Science, Chavez entered military
service for several months. He was
then allowed to pursue graduate
studies in political science at
Caracas’ Simon Bolívar University,
but left without a degree.
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Over the course of his college
years, Chavez and fellow students
developed a left-wing nationalist
doctrine
that
they
termed
“Bolivarianism.”
Chavez promoted
a political
doctrine of
participatory
democracy,
socialism and
Latin American
and Caribbean
cooperation.
Bolivarianism was inspired by
the Pan-American philosophy of
19th century Venezuelan revolutionary Simon Bolívar, the influence of
former Peruvian President Juan
Velasco and the thought of various
socialist and communist leaders
including Karl Marx, Vladimir
Lenin and Leon Trotsky.
Chavez engaged in sporting
events and cultural activities during
these years as well.
He played both baseball and softball with the Criollitos de
Venezuela, progressing with them to
the Venezuelan National Baseball
Championships in 1969.
Chavez also wrote numerous
poems, stories and theatrical pieces.
Upon completing his studies,
Chavez initially entered active-duty
military service as a member of a
counter insurgency battalion stationed in Barinas.
Chavez’s military career lasted
17 years, during which time he held
a variety of posts including command and staff positions, eventually
rising to the rank of lieutenant
colonel.
Chavez also held a series of
teaching and staffing positions at
the Academy of Military Sciences,
where he was first acknowledged by
his peers for his fiery lecturing style
and radical critique of Venezuelan
government and society.
Following Chavez's inauguration in
February 1999, a referendum for a
new constitution was soon passed,
and a constitutional assembly
formed.
The resulting 1999 Venezuelan
Constitution was approved by
another referendum on December
15, 1999.
The new constitution included an
increase in the presidential term
from five to six years, a new presidential two-term limit, a new provision for presidential recall elections,
the renaming of the country to
República
Bolivariana
de
Venezuela, conversion of the bicameral National Assembly into a unicameral legislature, and creation of
the Public Defender, an office
authorized to regulate the activities
of the presidency and the National
Assembly.
Elections for all elected government positions followed in 2000
under the new constitution, including for the presidency.
Chavez survived an April 2002
coup d'état attempt which briefly
removed him from power.
A few months after the coup, on
December 2, 2002, Chavez faced a
two-month lockout organized by the
resistant PDVSA management who
sought to force him out of office by
completely removing his access to
the all-important government oil
revenue.
The strike/lockout, led by a coalition of labor unions, industrial magnates, and oil workers, sought to
halt the activities of the PDVSA.
A further attempt to remove
Chavez from office, the Venezuelan
recall referendum, 2004, also failed.
Chavez again won the December
3, 2006 with 63% of the vote, beating his closest challenger Manuel
Rosales.
After his victory, Chavez promised a more radical turn towards
socialism.
On August 15, 2007, Chavez proposed a broad package of measures
as part of a constitutional reform.
Among other measures, he called
for an end to presidential term limits and proposed limiting central
bank autonomy, strengthening state
expropriation powers and providing
for public control over international
reserves as part of an overhaul of
Venezuela’s constitution.
Chavez’s proposed amendments
were put to a national referendum
on December 2, 2007. However,
51% of voters rejected Chavez’s
proposal.
In 2009, voters passed a referendum to remove term limits from the
constitution, paving the way for
Chavez to stand for re-election.
Chavez went on to win the
October 7, 2012 presidential elections, defeating his nearest rival,
Henrique Capriles Radonski, by
more than 10%.
However, Chavez was unable to
defeat a recurring cancer which
ended his life on March 5, 2013. ■
Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network
February-March 2014
From Chavez to Maduro
Juan Manuel Karg
March 5 will mark one year
since the passing away of
Venezuelan president Hugo
Chavez. What changes have
occurred in Venezuelan politics during his absence? What
balance sheet can we draw up
of Maduro’s time as president?
On April 14, 2013, Henrique
Capriles came within a whisker of
becoming
president.
Nicolas
Maduro’s small margin of victory
(only 1.5%) was just enough to
avoid a change of government,
something that seem unimaginable
just one month earlier during the
massive outpouring of people onto
the streets, crying and cheering for
Chavez.
What had change in comparison
to the October presidential elections, when the margin was much
greater?
Nicolas Maduro explained what
occurred in a long interview with
Roberto Malaver published in
January. He stated that, in comparison to the October 2012 elections,
on April 14 some 870,000 chavistas
did not go to vote.
According to Maduro, and after
various focus groups and polls had
been taken to discover the motives
for why some had chosen not to
vote, it was determined that 97% of
abstention was the product of
“depression and sadness” due to
Chavez’s death.
In the same interview, Maduro
stated that for the December 8
municipal elections, this group of
nearly 1 million Venezuelans, now
feeling better, came out to vote,
something that was demonstrated in
the final election results.
This anecdote is also useful for
visualising the first moments of
uncertainty following the death of
Chavez. Uncertainty in what sense?
In the sense that large sections of
the population did totally accept the
loss of this “guide”.
For the first few months, Nicolas
Maduro was probably more focused
on getting to grips with the “day to
day” aspects of running a government. These moments were the
most turbulent perhaps for this reason, and the attacks by the opposition and the media, who quickly
came out with the slogan “Maduro
is not Chavez”, and sought to destabilise the process of changes
Venezuela is living through.
Nevertheless, this situation drastically changed due to some of the
particular initiatives undertaken by
Maduro: the government of the
streets, the economic offensive
against speculation and hoarding,
and the renewed push for communal
councils and communes.
Through this process, Maduro
was able to project himself as a
leader in his own right, firm and
with his personality. He went all the
way with his policy of attempting to
halt the economic boycott that the
Venezuelan right wing had planned
out.
This policy bore fruit in the
December municipal elections,
when the United Socialist Party of
Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies
won an absolute majority.
The biggest loser was none other
than Capriles, who attempted to turn
the elections into a referendum with
the hope that the United Democratic
Roundtable (MUD) would win
more votes than chavismo.
Capriles’ defeat was so big that it
generated disputes within MUD: the
re-elected mayor of Greater
Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, was
designated Co-ordinator of the
Commission for Dialogue with the
government of Maduro. Maduro
held an extensive meeting in the
presidential palace with these sectors, in which Capriles was conspicuous by his absence.
Ledezma can count in his favour
one thing for 2014: he was the only
opposition heavyweight that won in
the municipal elections, even if only
by a tiny margin.
Capriles knows this and, taking
into consideration Ledezma’s “rise”
within MUD, will have to change
strategies in order to not lose ground
in the future within the opposition
alliance.
As a first conclusion we can say
the panorama of uncertainty that
seemed to have opening up on the
night of April 14 regarding the level
of “governability” that Maduro
would be able to exercise has closed
if we look at it in simple numerical
terms.
The PSUV and its allies now
have a majority in the National
Assembly with 95 deputies versus
64 for MUD and its allies, 20 governorships versus 3, and 256 mayoral
offices versus 81.
This represents a huge difference
both in the executive and legislative
arena, and was unthinkable back in
April when the margin was so tight
and the future so uncertain.
Nevertheless, it is well known
that the opposition has other angles
of attack besides “political” ones.
The economic war that has generated a yearly inflation rate of 56%
for 2013 will continue in 2014. This
is no small detail, as it impacts on
the lives of millions of Venezuelans
who every day have to confront the
speculative voracity of this monopolistic economic groups.
A second conclusion we can
draw is that the frontal attack
against this “economic war” is as, or
more, important than next year’s
elections, particularly as no elections will be held this year, something quite unusual given Venezuela
seems to be always holding elections.
Defeated in the ballot box, these
sectors will never rest. They will
continue to foment indiscriminate
price rises, speculation and shortages of basic goods.
The government should, as it did
last November, increase controls in
order to ensure it wins the invisible
elections that will take place in
2014.
[Translated from Rebelion by
Federico Fuentes] ■
Maduro speaks out against “colonialism” at CELAC summit
Ryan Mallett-Outtrim
Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro has called for an
“eradication” of “colonialism”
in Latin America at the annual
summit of the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean
States (CELAC).
During the summit held in
Havana, Cuba over 28 and 29
January, Maduro called for Puerto
Rican independence and an end to
the United Kingdom's administration of the Falklands/Malvinas
Islands, which are disputed by
Argentina.
The former was offered full
membership of CELAC under a
proposal made to the summit by
Venezuela.
“Venezuela has come to Havana
with its proposals and contributions, which is to declare the region
'free of colonies' and invite Puerto
Rico to formally join the family,”
he stated.
There was no immediate
response from Puerto Rico, which
remains an unincorporated United
States territory. Maduro also spoke
in support of Puerto Rican independence from Washington.
Launched in 2011 in Caracas,
CELAC was founded as an alterna-
tive to the Organisation of
American States (OAS) and currently boasts 33 member states.
Unlike the OAS, CELAC
excludes the US and Canada.
The Venezuelan president called
on CELAC members to continue
on the “path of unity, freedom and
prosperity as Simon Bolivar
dreamed”.
Other leftist leaders joined
Maduro in calling for the
Falklands/Malvinas to be handed
over to Argentina and slamming the
US on issues ranging from espionage to the ongoing embargo on
the host country, Cuba.
“The only way to resist and get
rid of the empire of capitalism is
integration,” Ecuadorian President
Rafael Correa told the summit.
“We have to make Latin
America and the Caribbean a space
of free men and women,” he stated.
Cuban President Raul Castro
also called on the US to end its
embargo of his country, and to
close the military base at
Guantanamo Bay.
The summit reissued a declaration of a “zone of peace” in Latin
America and the Caribbean, and
called for the peaceful resolution of
international disputes and respect
for the Charter of the United
Nations.
“Latin America can join
together based on its cultural,
political, ideological...diversity,”
Maduro stated on the second day
of the summit.
During the event Maduro also
signed a series of bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries, which he told press would
“ensure the supply of capital,
goods, services [and] food for
our people”.
The summit
opened with one
minute of silence
for Chavez, who
was a key
advocate of
CELAC's creation.
Meeting with Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos,
Maduro said he would remain committed to tackling border crime,
including international narcotics
traffickers operating between
Venezuela and Colombia.
“Let's crush the smugglers and
smuggling mafias,” Maduro stated.
The Venezuelan head of state
also inked a new energy trade
agreement with Saint Lucia's prime
minister Kenny Anthony under the
Petrocaribe initiative.
The head of another island
nation, Grenada's Keith Mitchell,
submitted a request for membership of the Bolivarian Alliance for
the Peoples of Our America
(ALBA) to Maduro.
Maduro also met with the presidents of Argentina, Uruguay and
Cuba.
Tributes were also paid to
Maduro's predecessor Hugo
Chavez during the event. The summit opened with one minute of
silence for Chavez, who was a key
advocate of CELAC's creation.
“We deeply regret the physical
absence of one of the great leaders
of our America, the unforgettable
Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez, an ardent and tireless promoter and fighter for independence,
cooperation, solidarity and integration, Latin American and
Caribbean unity and the very creation of this community,” Castro
stated.
A museum dedicated to Chavez
in the east of Havana was inaugurated during the conference.
Opened during a ceremony on
Wednesday, the museum's exhibit
focuses on Chavez's life from
childhood to his death last year.
CELAC member states also used
the summit to hold talks on regional issues that have historically been
discussed through the OAS; such
as security and human rights.
Outgoing Chilean President
Sebastian Piñera and his Peruvian
counterpart Ollanta Humala used
the conference to publicly issue a
joint statement to end a long-running maritime border dispute.
Earlier this week The Hague
redrew the border, handing Peru a
larger piece of the Pacific Ocean,
though Chile held on to coastal
fishing grounds.
“We are sure that by sharing
experiences between the nations of
Latin America and the Caribbean,
we will be able to enrich public
policy in every one of our nations,”
Pinera stated.
This year's summit ended with
Cuba passing the rotating CELAC
presidency to Costa Rica. President
of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla
stated her country's presidency of
the organisation will prioritise
“respect for human rights and rule
of law in their national and international dimensions as a basis for
harmonious coexistence”.
Ecuador will hold the presidency
after Costa Rica, Maduro reported
yesterday. ■
Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network
February-March 2014
Witnessing a revolution in action
Federico Fuentes
The December 4-13, 2013 solidarity brigade to Venezuela
was the 14th of its kind organised by the Australia
Venezuela Solidarity Network
(AVSN). The next brigade will
be held from December 2 to
13, 2014.
This brigade was the first since
Chavez’s death in March 2013, and
coincided with both the municipal
elections and the unleashing of a
range of new economic measures
undertaken by the government as
part of beating back the opposition’s
“economic war” against the revolution.
This year’s delegation was comprised of 13 participants from
Australia, Bulgaria, England, and
New Zealand.
An important component of this
year’s delegation was the participation of a number of members of the
Trade Union Choir that sung in a
choir festival in Cuba just prior to
the start of the brigade.
While the official activities were
not due to start until the night of
Wednesday, December 4, as some
brigade participants were arriving
that afternoon, Ruben Pereira, from
the Bolivarian Alliance for the
Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA)
Social Movements Council, offered
to organise a day’s worth of activities with those already in the country.
The morning began with an interview involving brigade participants
on Ruben’s radio program on the
community radio station, Colectivo
Radiofonico Petare.
Afterwards, Ruben took us to
meet activists from the Commune in
Macas, located in Petare.
Participants had the opportunity
to find out more about the process
of forming communal councils and
communes, as well as getting to see
some of the projects the commune
has undertaken. This included a
direct communal property companies entrusted with gas distribution
service, an Infocentre which provides free internet access, and a
locally-run public transport route.
We also visited a cooperative-run
chocolate factory, where we spoke
with the workers about their struggle to get the company up and running under workers’ control.
That night we had our orientation
session, which went through some
of the important organizational
issues and the agenda of the visit.
We also had a lovely dinner prepared by our friends at the Ateneo
Popular, where most of the brigade
stayed when in Caracas.
The following morning we met
again with Ruben, this time in the
offices of the ALBA Secretariat. He
gave the delegation a warm welcome and some introductory words
about ALBA.
From there we travelled via the
new Metrocable cable car to
Mariche to visit the Latin American
School of Medicine Dr Salvador
Allende (ELAM).
Students from a number of countries, including from the Caribbean,
Mexico, Paraguay and Palestine,
among others, together with the
school’s director, Dr Sandra
Moreno, greeted us on our arrival.
The Latin American School of Medicine. Brigade participants spoke with students from a number of countries, as well
as with the school’s director, Dr Sandra Moreno.
A meeting was organised in the
main hall, where students provided
the group with a little information
about ELAM, how they came to be
there, and what it meant to be able
to study for free to become a doctor
and go back to help their communities.
After lunch, we walked around
the installations of ELAM, including an onsite medical centre where
we spoke to some of the Cuban doctors about the work they are doing
in Venezuela.
Afterwards, we returned to the
ALBA offices to hear a presentation
on Petrocaribe by Amaylin Riveros,
manager for social and socio-productive projects in Petrocaribe.
Her presentation focused on the
social programs carried out in countries that have signed up to the preferential oil trade agreement.
As a number of participants then
went along to the closing rally for
the election campaign of the
Chavista candidate for Mayor of
Caracas, Jorge Rodriguez.
On December 6 we took a day
trip out to Valencia, in the state of
Carabobo, to visit Industrias Diana,
a food processing plant that was
nationalized in 2009 and now operates under workers’ control.
After a tour of the factory, which
also houses a PDVAL food distribution point, a free medical clinic, a
government-subsidised pharmacy
and a state bank outlet, we spoke
with some of the members of the
workers’ councils.
They talked of the improvements
for workers’ rights that had occurred
since nationalisation, the dilemmas
they faced to ensure the company
was self-sustaining, as well as the
recent confrontation they had with
the government over the name of a
new manager.
The next morning we did a tour
of the historic centre of Caracas,
looking at how the government
(local and national) has been working to improve it.
The walk around included a visit
to Plaza Bolivar, Simon Bolivar’s
house, and a number of the government-supported outlets in the area
selling chocolate, coffee, books and
other local products at “just” prices.
While some stayed in the area to
walk around on their own, a small
group went on to visit Puente
Llaguno, Plaza de la Revolucion,
Miraflores Palace and some other
nearby sites that hold important
value for the Bolivarian revolution.
In the afternoon we met with
Zulieka Matamoros, an activist
from Barrio 23 de Enero and leading member of Marea Socialista, a
current within the United Socialist
Party of Venezuela, who took us on
a tour of the community and provided participants with a history of the
radical neighbourhood.
The next
solidarity brigade
to Venezuela will
be held from
December 2 to 13,
2014.
We walked past some of the
Barrio Adentro modules that provide the community with free
healthcare,
a
“Simoncito”
Bolivarian childcare centre, and
other community spaces.
We visited an old police station
that had been taken over by the
community and was now being used
to house a community radio, an
Infocentre and a bookshop, and
which provided a space for community groups to meet. We also walked
up to the Cuartel de la Montana, the
military barracks where Chavez’s
remains are housed.
Afterwards, Zulieka fielded a
range of questions regarding the
revolution, the state, communes,
criticisms from the left, etc.
The day finished with a number
of participants hanging around for a
party that was organised in the local
area.
December 8 was the day of the
municipal elections.
We visited the Andres Bello
school which houses the largest
polling station in the country.
There we spoke with Antonio
Vivas, the National Electoral
Council president for the Candelaria
district of Caracas, who was heading up that particular polling booth
on the day. He gave us a rundown of
the voting system and answered
questions from the delegation.
Afterwards, participants were
shown some of the main sites in the
Bellas Artes cultural area, including
the Teresa Carreno Theatre, some
nearby art galleries and museums,
the Hotel ALBA Caracas and a local
organic farm. A number rode the
nearby Metrocable up to San
Agustin.
The following morning we met
with representatives from the
Ministry of Foreign Relations,
including Orietta Caponi, Director
for the Department covering Asia,
Middle East and Oceania region,
and Daniel Gasparri and Ana
Robles, who also work in this ministerial department.
The meeting took place in the
historic Casa Amarilla that dates
back to colonial times. Participants
were able to ask numerous questions about Venezuela’s foreign policy (including about the Tamil
struggle in Sri Lanka, Libya and
Syria, and other topical debates).
Afterwards, we briefly visited the
Bolivarian University of Venezuela
(UBV), before heading off to
Merida later that afternoon.
December 10 was largely a free
day to allow participants some rest
and a chance to recover from the
overnight bus trip, as well as a
chance to see some of the sights in
Merida.
In the early evening, we had a
meeting with Tamara Pearson,
Ewan Robertson and Ryan Mallet
Outtrim, journalists from Venezuela
Analysis. This was an opportunity
to find out more about the work of
Venezuela Analysis and ask general
questions about what has been
going on in Venezuela.
The next day we headed off early
in the morning to Mucuchies, further up the Andes, were we meet
with local farmers from the Proinpa
cooperative who are working with
the government on a seed bank project.
The principal focus of the project
is to provide seeds to farmers for
potato harvesting, including through
the recuperation of local seeds that
had almost disappeared. We visited
both the laboratory and greenhouses
they have in place for seed production, discussed questions of agricultural production and issues facing
farmers in Venezuela.
From there we travelled further
uphill to speak with Carmen, one of
the spokespeople from the local
Commune “Pasos de Bolivar 1813”
about the process of building communes and their experiences in popular participation.
Finally,
we
travelled
to
Apartaderos to see some of the projects the commune had been working
on, including a new school,
Infocentre, medical clinic and sports
field.
On the morning of December 12,
brigade participants visited the
Alternative School in Barrio Pueblo
Nuevo. This was an opportunity to
see the school in action, interact
with the children, and speak to some
of the teachers.
There is also a local Barrio
Adentro module attached to the
school, so participants got to find
out more about the health program.
In the afternoon, a meeting was
organised at a local space taken over
by communal councils at which participants spoke with student
activists from the United Socialist
Party of Venezuela (PSUV),
Communist Party of Venezuela
(PCV) and independent activists.
That night the delegation travelled back to Caracas
Although a meeting had been
scheduled for December 13 with Yul
Jabor, a PCV deputy in the national
assembly and head of the foreign
relations commission, the meeting
was cancelled as Jabor had to travel
to South Africa to attend Nelson
Mandela’s funeral.
Instead, in the afternoon, we met
with Amílcar Carvajal, Director for
Co-ordination of Culture and
Solidarity with the Peoples. This
provided the group with an opportunity to express their opinions about
what they had seen during the visit
as well as ask questions about issues
and doubts they still had.
That night, we had a final debrief
session and farewell dinner at the
Ateneo Popular.
Overall, the visit was a great success.
The different meetings and community visits gave a good overview
of the revolution and its achievement to date in across different
spheres (social missions, communes, workers’ rights, agricultural
production, etc.), while attempting
to address perhaps the three key
areas of major interest given the current context (the elections, the economic war and the process of building communes).
To register, express your interest,
or for more information on the next
:AVSN brigade to Venezuela to be
held in December 2014:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: Jim McIlroy 0423 741
734, Roberto Jorquera 0425 182
994 or Lisa Macdonald 0413 031
108.
Visit: venezuelasolidarity.org. ■