Venezuela: what has really happened and what may lie ahead
Venezuela has once again been making headlines around the world. Explosions, military movements, international pressure, mutual accusations and a great deal of confusion. To understand what has happened so far, it is necessary to look beyond the propaganda, both from the Venezuelan government and the US, and from those who defend one gang or the other.
It’s nothing to do with democracy or freedom
The first thing that needs to be made clear is this: the US is not acting out of a desire to defend the Venezuelan people, nor out of love for democracy or human rights. We have seen this many times before in other countries. When a major power intervenes, directly or indirectly, it does so to defend its own economic and strategic interests.
Talk of fighting drug trafficking or restoring democracy serves to justify actions that, at heart, are about political control, natural resources and regional power.
Nor is it about defending ‘sovereignty’
On the other hand, the Venezuelan government and its allies present what has happened as an imperialist attack on national sovereignty. But here is another uncomfortable truth: the Venezuelan state does not represent the interests of the majority of the working class.
For years, millions of people have suffered from inflation, low wages, forced emigration, deteriorating services and repression. All this happened without direct foreign intervention, under a government that claimed to rule on behalf of the people.
Will there be any real change?
There is much talk of ‘regime change’, but in reality what is happening is, at most, a change of administrators within the same system.
As long as there is:
- wage labour,
- production for the market,
- social inequality,
- a state that protects the property and power of a minority,
the lives of the majority will not fundamentally change. Changing a president or a ruling group does not change the system that produces poverty and insecurity.
Will there be more attacks or more pressure?
No one can predict exactly what will happen, but there is a clear logic: as long as Venezuela remains a strategic country because of its oil and geographical position, the pressure will continue, whether military, economic or diplomatic.
This does not depend on whether a government is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but on how states function in a capitalist world in constant competition.
The role of China and other powers
Some believe that China or Russia are a fairer alternative to the United States. But these powers do not act out of solidarity, but out of their own interests. China invests, lends money and negotiates to secure access to resources, economic benefits and international influence.
It is not a struggle between good and evil, but a dispute between great powers, where the workers get caught in the middle.
Internal betrayal?
There is much talk of betrayal, but such language tends to confuse more than it clarifies.
High-ranking officials, the generals and politicians do not betray the people, because they have never governed on their behalf, but rather in accordance with their own interests and privileges. When they switch sides or negotiate, they do so to protect their position, not to improve the lives of the majority.
Who loses out in all this?
The answer is clear: the working class in Venezuela, as well as in the United States and other countries.
Workers do not decide on wars, they do not benefit from sanctions, they do not control resources, and they always pay the price with more insecurity and less of a future.
An uncomfortable but necessary conclusion
What is happening in Venezuela will not be resolved by choosing between Maduro or the US, nor between Washington or Beijing. They all operate within the same system, a system that puts profit and power above human needs. As long as that system remains intact, crises will repeat themselves, with different names and different countries, but with the same losers.
The real solution will not come from leaders, armies or foreign powers, but from the conscious organisation of ordinary people, here and around the world, to build a society where production and wealth are at the service of all and not just a few.
SOCIALISTA MUNDIAL
(Translated from a contribution to a discussion on our Spanish-language Facebook page)