On 14 March, Venezuelan police — the “Bolivarian National Guard” — attacked a demonstration of striking steel workers from Latin America’s biggest steel works, the SIDOR factory in Ciudad Guayana, arresting more than fifty workers and injuring dozens.
SIDOR’s 13,000 workers have been on strike repeatedly over the last year and a half, demanding a new collective contract including wage increases and better working conditions. SIDOR was privatised in 1998 and belongs 60% to the Argentinian consortium Techint; since privatisation conditions have deteriorated severely, with many workers dying on the job. (The most recent, on 25 March, died of a heart attack on a station previously run by three workers, sparking a three day strike.)
The workers’ union SUTISS is demanding not only new contracts but renationalisation of their factory — a demand which the Chavez government and its self-styled “Trotskyist” minister of labour Jose Ramon Rivero have resisted, eager to avoid confrontation with its Argentinian ally. Naturally, the government has done nothing to condemn the 14 March repression.
Victimised oil company militant and UNT union coordinator Orlando Chirino has commented: “If the SIDOR workers win, this anti-worker Labour Minister will fall in a few minutes. If the SIDOR workers win the workers in the public sector will win their struggle. If the SIDOR workers win, the fight for trade union autonomy will win.”
A solidarity committee has been formed, demanding that Chavez speaks out against the repression, and messages of support have been streaming in from across Venezuela and beyond.
Comments
I'd Welcome Views
AS a follow up to the above story I would genuinely welcome Paul's views on current developments in Venezuela, in particular in relation to a number of stories.
Firstly, this story in the International Herald Tribune suggests that Venzuela is suffering severe food shortages, whilst inflation is rising rapidly. Stories of similar food shortages were circulating two years ago, but appeared to be fabrications and wishful thinking by sections of the bouregois media. Given the present global food shortages these current stories might have more validity. It certainly seems to be true that Chavez' Government had to remove price controls to encourage increased production, and it is certainly true that Venezuela has higher inflation than the rest of Latin America, though a report at Venezuelanalysis suggests its falling quickly.
However, I wonder whether these stories actually hide something. Whatever, criticism there might be of Chavez' Government it is certainly true that living standards, particularly for the poorest sections of society have increased markedly. This story from Venezuelanalysis reports a 30% increase in wages, and other economic indicators show a rapid closing of income distribution. Given, the rapidly rising level of employment, rapidly rising incomes for the poorest sectins of society (who have a higher propensity to consume than save) and particularly given the food subsidies, I wonder how much of any actual food shortages are due to the resulting increases in demand rather than any fundamental problems of supply other than those arising from the effects of price controls. I find it hard to believe given Venezuela's huge oil revenues that it should have problem importing sufficient food to make up for any domestic shortfalls in production, especially given the proposal from Chavez for oil producers around the world to develop a special fund from oil revenues to provide food for the world's poor.
Perhaps, from whatever problems there are in these respects - people will naturally complain even if there income is rising if they can't find food in the shops to spend it on - and other problems Chavez popularity does seem to be falling, htough according to latest opinion polls is still above 50%, down from over 70%. Part of the problem appears to be from the kinds of situation described above at SIDOR. I would appreciate any further information that could be provided in relation to the stories carried on Venezuelanalyis on that score in relation to the current controversies arising over the selection of PSUV candidates. According to this story atvenezuelanalysis the PSUV bureaucracy has been trying to impose candidates, but rank and file militants have rejected imposed candidates, resulting in Chavez intervening on behalf of ther ank and file, and inisting that candidates MUST be democratically elected. From the stories here it appears the burueaucracy were attempting - not surprisingly to impose candidates from the Right of the PSUV, whereas the rank and file are selecting more left-wing candidates.
In fact in respect of the situation of SIDOR detailed above it appears that the bringinging in of the National Guard was the work of local Governor Rangel Gómez who had been listed by the burueaucracy as PSUV candidate again, but whose candidacy has now been challenged by rank and file workers especially, and not surprisingly by rank and file PSUV workers from SIDOR.
“Sayago, a worker from the ALCASA aluminum plant and pre-candidate for Mayor of Caroní, said the demand for Rangel Gómez’s disqualification has been endorsed by a “good part” of the workers in basic industry and especially by the workers at the SIDOR steel plant.”
SIDOR has been nationalised by Chavez Government in the latest round of nationalisations that take back foreign or largely owned foreign companies back into the control of Venezuelan State Capitalism. What does appear to be happening from the above reports is that there is a growing militancy of Venezuelan workers, probably a reflection of the growing militancy of workers aorund the world from China and Asia to the recent strikes, and large pay increases won by German workers, and hte rising militancy of European workers as workers confidence rises with the improving economic conditions of the current new long boom, and this militancy in Venezuela is manifesting itself not just in Economistic industrial struggles, but through growing political action by the rank and file workers through the PSUV. What I think is going to be deciive in that is how Marxists relate to those workers in those politicial struggles inside the PSUV, how they organise the workers to mobilise their forces, on what Programme they oranisethemselves within the rank and file of the PSUV, or if they are left to their own devices, in which case the PSUV, and State bureaucracy will assert control.
As an aside this story from Venezuelanalysis reports on one of the first actions of Boris as London mayor has been to scrap the oil deal with Venezuela that provided cheap fuel for London's poorest. Clealry a sign of how his regime is likely to proceed.
Arthur Bough