Venezuela

1
Venezuela Revolution
Marxism Day School January 14, 2007

• Riaz Ahmed

2
Venezuela Facts

• Women Killed in Afghanistan
• Incredible Devastation
• Child Rearing Working Women
• Obstacles to feed, house, clothe
• Same in Palestine, Columbia, US
• War/Globalisation
• Combined Effect
• Devastating for War-Zone Women
• Rich Countries Fund for War Cuts on HealthCare,
  Education
  

3
Venezuela Facts

• Gains of Women Lib 1960s/1970s
• Globally
• Marriage/Divorce/Property/Abortion rights, work
  outside home, less dependency
  
• War Globaliszation Devastating

4
Hugo Chavez

• Chavezs Bolivarian Revolution
• Started in 1998
• Improved Peoples Conditions
• Through Big Projects
• Education, Health Improvements
• First time Oil Wealth Used for People
• Increases Popularity

5
Elections Dec 2006

• Once Again Chavez Won!
• 62 Vote, Greater than last
• Elections on Class-Basis
• Opponent Manual Rozales
• Posed as Honest, Decent
• Supported Coup Against Chavez
• Speaks for Elites, Neo-liberalism
• WB/IMF Policies Ruined People
• Chavez Supporters
• Urban Poor, Peasants, Organised Workers

6
Across Latin America

• Effect of Chavez Victory
• Popular Movements All Over Latin America
• November Ecuador Popular Candidate Wins
• December Nicaragua Ortega
• Bolivia, Mexico
• Washington Upset!
• Already Facing Defeat in Iraq
• Made Actions Against Others Difficult
• Supported Rozales, Earlier Coups

7
Defeats of Imperialism

• Important
• Manner of Defeats of US
• Through Popular Movement
• Failed one coup, referendum 2002, bosses strikes
• Chavez
• Elections Begnining of New Era
• Last Year Revolution Should be Socialist
• Meaning? Not Clear
• Says there should be debate

8
Problems

• Opposition of Elites
• Within Chavezs Camp
• 60 Poor
• Bad Housing/Working Conditions
• Wealth Majority in hands of Old Elites
• Why? Various Reasons
• Majority Ministers Band-wagoners
• Seeking self projection/wealth
• No Stake in Revolution

9
Next Stage

• Obvious Changes in Power Necessary
• Chavez Central But Not Personally Or Through
  Dictats
  
• Question of Control
• New Trade Union UNT
• Announced after elections We the millions of
  workers voted for Chavez knowing that bureacracy
  dominates and there is corruption and immediate
  problems are not being addressed

10
Calls for Mass Mobilisation

• UNTs Call Brought Chavez to Power
• Economic Boom
• But Private Capitalists Benefit
• Private Capital Controls Media/Economy
• Deepening of Bolivarian Rev
• Will Put Pressure on Private Capital
• Workers, Peasants Urban Poor Central to
  Revolution
  
• Their Capacity to Act, Confidence, Organisation

11
Women Oppression

• Globalisation of Man
• Base Theory of Patriarchy
• WarMongers
• Condaleeza Rice, Indira Ghandi, Benazir
• Responsible for deaths of millions
• Top Bosses Post-feminist era
• Women Oppression Continues
• Capitalist System Class Division, Reaps
  Benefits
  
• Majority of Women
• Poor, Working Class, Standard Declines Despite
  Gains of Formal Equality
  
• Theory of Patriarchy
• Influneces Feminists/AntiCap-Anti-War/Nationalist
  Activist

12
Womens Movement

• US
• Early 20th Century to 1950s
• Union Rights Struggle included fight for womens
  liberation
  
• McCarthyism Anti-Communist Witch Hunt,
  influence of Stalinism
  
• Buried Ideas that stressed liberation and
  solidarity
  
• 1960s Movement Started by
• Civil Rights Groups/students
• Not traditional political or left or socialists

13
Womens Movement

• Modern Women Lib Movement
• Born in US
• Grew out of CivilRights/Anti-Vietnam
• Amidst struggle upturn 60s/70s
• Women involved in anti-war/anti-racism
• Also recognised their own oppression
• Got Higher Education
• But own no house, give up career, less paid
• Moralism/Gender Stereotypes clashed with
  experience of organizing to change the world
  
• Problems Islolation from broader/working class
  movement still grows

14
Pakistan Women Lib

• 1950s Largely Begum Led
• 1960s Many Women Led Student and Lib Movement
• 1970s Various Concessions including
  institutions/accesses
  
• 1970s Anti-Zia/Anti-Zina Movement largely
  democratic, women lib seen as democratic lib
  
• 1980s From Street to Mainstream
• Call not from liberation from Oppressive society
  but equality with men in capitalism Leading
  section wealthy woman

15
Women Lib

• Rise of Radical Feminism rejecting politics
  altogether
  
• We ask not if something is reformist,
  radical or revolutionary or moral. We ask
  is it good for women or bad for women? We ask not
  if something is political. We ask is it
  effective? Does it get us closer to what we
  really want to do in a fastest way? (New York
  Radical Feminist)

16
Rise of Radical Feminism?

• General Downturn of working class struggle in 70s
  and 80s
  
• Blunted/fragmented women move
• Suppression of Democratic Politics Zia Regime
• Failure of bourgeoise resistance
• Failure of democracy
• 1990 Soviet Debacle
• Internalisation of Women Liberation
• Human Rights Activism, Specific Issue Based
  Isolated Campaigns
  
• Out of Streets Into Lobbying
• Instead of fighting Obscurantist --Seeking State
  Action Against Islamists
  

17
Party of Gen Musharraf

• 9/11, Gen Musharraf, US Anti-Islamism
• Women NGO Movement finding common ground with
  state
  
• MMA Brutal Cohabits With State/Musharraf
• Brutality of Gen Musharraf/Imperialism Ignored
• Superficial State Actions
• Not liberating women
• Seen as pleasing USA

18
Need for Renewal

• Historically
• Working Class Fought Against Capitalism and won
  women benefitted
  
• 1871 Paris, 1917 Russia, 1960s/2000 World-wide,
  2005 Venezuela
  
• For a Women Liberation as part of General
  Struggle against capitalism and all forms of
  oppression
  
• Women Oppression Part of all societies
• Specific in Capitalism
• Women home/office work profit
• Working Class Men/Women Labour