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Typical example of how the gutter press (which the Daily Torygraph has recently joined) use Venezuela to try to discredit the whole idea of socialism, and why we need to insist that, whatever it is, it is not socialist:
It’s sad, even tragic, when you come to think of it. Various sincere attempts in Latin America to try to improve the lot of the poor majority get off to an enthusiastic start but then fail. Before the Chavists it was the Sandinistas.
It seems that the Trotskyist analysis that these attempts failed due to a bureaucratic caste taking over and allocating itself privileges (an analysis that they derive from what they say happened in Russia) has some substance. But of course these attempts were directed by a vanguard in the first place, which was always the potential basis for the evolution of such a privileged “bureaucratic caste”.
The only one that seems to have partially achieved something is Cuba which, though still not socialist and still a one-party state directed by a vanguard, has at least provided minimum basic services for all and avoided great disparities of income and wealth developing.
The lesson would appear to be that there is no hope for the people of these countries other than world socialism but socialism depends on the workers in North America and Europe overthrowing capitalism. Until this happens workers and poor people elsewhere are condemned to have to put up with capitalism in one form or another. They are in a trap from which they can’t escape whatever they do or try to do.
More Venezuela news as everybody waits to see if the government there will publish the full results:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazils-lula-says-election-could-135511550.html
Apparently Biden himself is in favour of a re-run of the election (but as the lamest of lame ducks does he count any more?):
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazils-lula-says-maduro-could-144125660.html
A Spanish/speaking comrade in the US has drawn attention to an English version of a statement by a different group of Venezuelan Trotskyists:
The headline is not too bad.
How can a spirit hug someone? How can they speak? How can a disembodied spirit do anything that requires a body? Talk about the gullible leading the gullible.
Just checked what the orthodox Trotskyists are saying about the situation in Venezuela. According to the below, it is what they used to say about the USSR under Stalin and his successors — that a self-serving bureaucracy has betrayed the (in this case, Bolivarian) Revolution and established itself as privileged and corrupt ruling caste oppressing the workers. However, it hasn’t completely betrayed the revolution and is still anti-imperialist and so deserves the support in any conflict with (American) imperialism, even in the event of it using fraud to prevent a pro-imperialist party from coming to power.
I don’t know how closely some here have been following what is happening. Maduro (who presumably knows what the real result is, whatever it is) has asked the Supreme Court to validate the declared election result. The Court could do this but it is not the only possibility. It has been suggested that they could order a new election. We will have to wait and see.
One thing that we can be certain of is the diplomatic and other negotiations will be going on to find a way out. According to this report, Maduro has declared that he is prepared to negotiate with the US:
If he knows that he has lost he will know his bargaining position has been weakened but not completely. He still controls the armed forces and, even on the opposition’s figures, has the support of about a third of the population. In the other hand, he will know that it will be difficult to govern when more than half the population is against you.
We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes of course but, if a civil war is to be averted, some compromise will have to be worked out. And presumably it can be assumed that the US doesn’t want a civil war as it wants access to Venezuelan oil and the minerals in the Orinoco area. That won’t be possible if a guerrilla movement like FARC in next door Colombia appears (not difficult to organise if you have a third of the population with you).
Here is the position of another opposition candidate (the one supported by the Communist Party of Venezuela) who is basically saying “respect the constitution, publish the full results” and take it from there. The opposition can’t simply declare that its candidate is the elected president and try to take over.
Venezuela opposition pushes for transparency amid election fraud allegations, protests
According to this website, all the other candidates contesting the election (there were 10 candidates in all) except the US-backed candidate González (and alternative gang of gangster capitalists) have submitted evidence, including their tallies, to the Supreme Court. Why not? What have they got to hide? What game are they playing?
Went to one of those “Stop the Far Right” protests today (if only to show that we are not just keyboard commentators), in Brixton. Going by past events organised in Windrush Square by the SWP, I didn’t expect many and only took a few dozen copies of our Identity leaflet. But there were up to 300 there with one of the speakers being a local MP (Bell Ribeiro-Addy, one of our opponents in Clapham and Brixton Hill in the general election).
Speeches against “far-right thugs” and racism and chants of “refugees welcome here” (also once of “free, free, Palestine which those there seemed more familiar with), as well as understandable expressions of outrage and dismay about hostels for refugees being attacked.
The usual paper sellers were there : SWP, SPEW, RCP, even the WRP selling News Line as well as the CWO and us. Also present were five members of the police force.
I think some of them moved on afterwards to the Reform UK party HQ in Victoria st and then to Trafalgar Square.
Here’s the opposite extreme — Trotskyists pretending to be Muslims and talking of “our mosques”. Or perhaps there is a mosque that the leaders of the SWP and Counterfire attend.
What is at stake in Venezuela is not simply a change of officeholders (as happened here on 4 July) but a change of one state from one big power’s sphere of influence to another’s — in the occurrence from Russia’s back to America’s. In these circumstances both sides are going to play dirty, as we’ve seen in Ukraine.
According to this, one possible outcome is a fresh elections:
“In the meantime, there is a succession of rumors in the regional media regarding the confidential negotiations carried out by the governments of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. According to the reconstruction of the Spanish newspaper “El Pais”, which has not yet been officially denied, the idea would be to open a direct conversation between Gonzalez Urrutia and Maduro, but removing Machado from the scene, clear winner of the primaries carried out by the opposition last October but made ineligible on the basis of controversial rulings of administrative justice first and then criminal justice. A leader who has always been indigestible to the government authorities, considered – also by virtue of past pronouncements in favor of a military attack from abroad – a member of the “radical” opposition accused of plotting against the national order in the pay of the USA. The end point of this negotiation would be a new election, to be held before the end of the year, with a renewed promise to adhere to international standard.”
I don’t know how realistic this is but it can’t be ruled out. Or how reliable the news agency is but it seems to a leading Italian one.
According to it, the Maduro government has apparently passed on the famous “actas” — the full results — to the Supreme Court examining the elections, so somebody else has got them. Surely they will be leaked at some time?
Apparently the Supreme Court has to come up with something by next Friday.
Is this serious? It reads like an account of the battles between mods and rockers of yesteryear:
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/amp/when-the-wild-ones-terrorised-the-seaside-306623/
Anarchists living up to their reputation. And from the ACG who are supposed to the best of that bunch.
I see the black blob were were there. They must be jealous that they couldn’t organise so many battles with the police in so many places over so many nights.
We don’t participate in demos on a point of principle
I don’t think that’s true, is it? It depends on what the demonstration is for. After all, we have organised our own demonstrations for socialism in Trafalgar Square. And then there are trade union demonstrations. Ok, we don’t take part in them as a party with our banner but individual members do as class-conscious workers.
In any event we are often at (if not on) a demonstration with some reformist aim we don’t agree with, handing out leaflets and selling the Socialist Standard.
Even though it might have nothing to do with socialism I can’t see anything wrong in principle with workers gathering to stop other workers from being attacked by racists.
Account from Bristol of counter-demonstration. Much more of them.
Huge counter demo in Bristol sends clear message that far right not welcome – as it happened
