I am reading a lot about Chavez and a move to more workers participation in campanies in Venazula. This sounds really good. It is long coming that a small group of shareholders can tell everyone else that they are the only ones capable of understanding business. The only business that some seem to understand is the business of chains, nails, whips and no workers rights.
The movement is northern spain adequatly supports the statement that worker owned and managend cooperatives cna be just as productive in addition to all the qulatitive gains. I feel that a copmany that has a greater involvment of the staff, male and female, will inevatbly be more succesfull becasue of the greater diversity of views and the greater awarness of risks and health and safety. No longer can some justify there expertise based on chaining people to thier press's and sewing machines and not leting them learn.
Toby

RECENT YOUTH FESTIVAL SHOWS GREAT PROMISE BUT ALSO POINTS TO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AHEAD

The success of the 16th World Festival of Youth and Students in Caracas, Venezuela, earlier this month bodes well for the city’s upcoming hosting of the World Social Forum, which will also be held in Karachi, Pakistan and Bamako, Mali, simultaneously from 24th to 29th January 2006. The youth wing of the Bolivarian Movement in Venezuela, with 6,000 eager and helpful volunteers, did an impressive job handling the logistics of housing and feeding more than 17,000 delegates from 144 countries for over a week. However, there were several problems that need to be seriously addressed if Caracas is to accommodate the 100,000 political travelers expected next year.

The biggest complaint at the festival by far was transport. Fleets of buses were laid on, shuttling delegates between the newly-completed villages that most internationals were staying in and the various venues around the city centre (as well as trips to poor neighbourhoods, or barrios, to observe the numerous social programmes, community organisations and cooperatives). The initial chaos which saw delegates stranded sometimes overnight had settled down by mid-week, but there were waits of normally over an hour while buses filled up, plus another hour for the journey to or from the villages, which were up to 20km outside of Caracas.

Spending four hours a day like this was probably the main reason many of those who could afford it (and who didn’t speak Spanish, thereby limiting the casual conversation that others found the most rewarding aspect of the festival) opted to stay in hostels nearer the venues, which for a week cost far less than the festival registration fee for “1st World” delegates ($300 for North Americans, compared to only $30 for the Colombian delegation, while over 1,400 Cuban delegates were flown in for free). With the Venezuelan government contributing over $8-million to the festival, some delegates felt a bit ripped-off.

There were plenty of festy freebies for those lucky enough to find them (books, films, t-shirts, backpacks, bottle-openers, even postage stamps) but basics like pens, paper and even programmes were in short supply. All the venues supplied radio headsets for multiple translations but there were very few actual translators to take advantage of this technology. Every night people could choose from numerous open-air hip-hop and salsa parties but buses left as early as 10pm and taxis back to the villages were very expensive. Delegates were told point-blank by soldiers they were not allowed to leave the housing without permission from their group leader, which made many feel like they were staying in a prison compound.

Another accommodation option, which may be the key to a successful WSF, was camping. Official tents sponsored by the mayor were put up in the semi-autonomous permanent space “Tiuna el Fuerte” (a play on the name of the main military barracks in Caracas, Fuerte Tiuna) which also had themed films and parties every night of the festival. In the barrio La Vega a media co-op, together with the local community, organised an alternative youth camp for the week, quite separately from the official festival, with workshops, discussions (including one about starting a Venezuelan indymedia in time for the WSF) and healthy food cooked in a communal kitchen. In return people helped out with chores around the neighbourhood such as painting the basketball-court walls. Most unexpectedly the journalist John Pilger turned up there on Saturday doing research for his new documentary about the Bolivarian Revolution.

Feeding the delegates was an ongoing challenge, with the obvious opportunity to showcase the delicious local food sadly wasted by the festival organisers. Instead of traditional Venezuelan delights such as arepas and empanadas, almost every meal consisted of a plastic disposable lunchbox filled with a ham and cheese roll, a piece of fruit and some sweets. Someone must have been making decent money out of all this because a dozen community-kitchens across the city would have been cheaper, easier and a lot tastier.

Although some delegates (particularly those from Venezuela, of which there were over 3,000) complained that the political agenda, encompassing over 100 seminars, plenaries and debates, was too narrow and hardly reflected “youth” issues, this shouldn’t be a problem at the WSF, which is generally considered more “horizontal” (ie autonomously organised) than the “vertical” (hierarchical and authoritarian) structures behind the WFYS. In certain respects, this authoritarianism was justified, as many delegates were under 18 and Caracas is still a very dangerous city. The highest priority for the organisers clearly had to be the security of delegates and there were doctors, firemen and soldiers stationed at all events.

The organisational hierarchy did lead to problems though, with the emergence of an elitist clique which called the shots but wasn’t much help when things went wrong. For example, a Peruvian delegate with an appendicitis was allegedly forced to wait six hours before the president of the Venezuelan National Preparatory Committee (CNP), David Velasquez, personally approved him being sent to hospital. Members of the US delegation claim that after being beaten up by delegates from another country for refusing to sell a girl from their group, they were accused by the CNP of being on drugs and making the whole thing up. And when a delegate from the UK, panicking that he wouldn’t be able to return home after his passport and money were stolen, rather naively secretly taped a conversation with the CNP, he was physically intimidated and locked in a festival office for four hours.

The delegate, Mauricio Lopez-Arenas, is Colombian but has been living in the UK for over five years and is doing a degree in Latin American studies at London University. Stranded in Venezuela without money, a passport or any ID, he turned to the festival organisers for help, who instead circulated a memo stating that he was in fact a well-known right-wing paramilitary. There have been reports of delegates being detained at the border on their return to Colombia (where he has to go to fly back to the UK) with their details recorded and “subversive” materials such as festival papers and videos confiscated. None of this seemed to matter to the CNP, who fobbed him off saying there was nothing they could do, with one member even telling him that he’s just not important enough for them to care about. Luckily a young Bolivarian from the Vice-President’s office leaped to Mauricio’s defense, taking him under his wing and providing a far better example of solidarity than anyone from the festival itself.

Preparation for the WSF is an opportunity to learn from the problems and mistakes of the WFYS, and the organisational structure this time seems to be much more inclusive. Gone are the secret plenaries with hidden agendas; now there are open meetings almost daily in Caracas and active working groups on issues such as Methodology, Logistics, Camping and Communications. If the horizontal spirit of the WSF is allowed to flourish and the challenges of transport, accommodation and security can be overcome, January should be an excellent opportunity to experience Venezuela’s peaceful and democratic revolution at its very best.

pix:

“The Liberator” Simon Bolivar keeps an eye on Monday’s opening ceremony
 http://ecuador.indymedia.org/images/2005/08/10957.jpg

Young Spanish comrades at the front-line in the fight against Imperialism
 http://ecuador.indymedia.org/images/2005/08/10958.jpg

Internationals carry the Venezuelan flag at the festival’s opening ceremony
 http://www.festivalmundial2005.org.ve/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_0249.JPG

Mixing pop and politics at the Peace and Solidarity Concert on Sunday
 http://www.festivalmundial2005.org.ve/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10001/0012corr.jpg

A co-operative food market is held every Saturday in semi-autonomous zone Tiuna el Fuerte
 http://ecuador.indymedia.org/images/2005/08/10959.jpg


more about mauricio's situation:  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/08/322027.html

published in the morning star 2005-9-5

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/322609.html

Helping the Blind to See

SO, US televangelist Pat Robertson has ordered his million-strong “brownshirt” army to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

This powerful Bush ally, who sells “miracles” on live TV to people who really believe that he has a hot-line to God, may just be protecting his turf - after all, the Venezuelan president has just announced on his own television show that he, too, will helping the blind see again, only for
free.

Mission Miracle is a new social programme which sends poor Venezuelans to Cuba for sight-restoring eye operations.

It has been tremendously successful and Chavez recently announced that it will be extended to countries across the hemisphere, including the US.

What this means is that poor north Americans without health care will be able to fly, at Venezuela’s expense, to Cuba - probably via Venezuela, as the Bush regime has drastically increased the penalties for US citizens who visit Cuba - where they will receive surgery from Cuban doctors. They can be accompanied by a relative or friend, also for free.

More proof that the Venezuelan administration genuinely believes in global revolution comes in the form of his offer to provide cheap oil to poor US communities, primarily for heating fuel during the winter.

Up to half of the skyrocketing price of oil goes to profit-hungry middle men, according to Chavez, and he wants to deal directly with the consumer.

Venezuela already owns a chain of petrol stations and refineries across the US, called CITGO, which could be used to implement such a scheme. Chavez has even offered to sell cheap oil directly to progressive groups in the US, such as the Black Caucus.

Venezuela was the first country to offer aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, though Chavez criticised US evacuation plans as far worse than those in Cuba.

CITGO pledged $1 million and gave food and shelter to 2,000 residents of Louisiana in one of its refineries there.

Two mobile hospital units have also been promised by Venezuela, as well as rescue specialists, generators, water purifiers and 50 tonnes of canned food.

The US government hasn’t yet accepted this generous offer, instead telling people to give money to the Red Cross, as well as to a charity named Operation Blessing via the website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Tellingly enough, Operation Blessing is run by Pat Robertson and is being investigated for allegedly transporting diamond-mining equipment to Africa instead of medical supplies, which was what it fundraised millions of dollars for.

While the rich in Venezuela complain that Chavez is wasting “their” money on foreigners, supporters of this country’s peaceful and democratic revolution - especially those living in poor neighbourhoods (barrios) - see this as an essential element of foreign policy, building solidarity with primarily poor people deep inside the US empire.

The problems of poverty and lack of health care, education, social security and dignified employment affect people all over the world and the solutions have to be global also. Bolivarian socialism, the new political philosophy of the Venezuelan masses, may hold some of the answers.

At its heart, Bolivarian socialism aims to redistribute power to the poor people and to include them in the decision-making of their own country.

Free universal education and health-care are crucial to achieving this, but they are not enough on their own to bring about true equality.

In some ways, the most revolutionary aspect of the political process here has been the rapid growth of the co-operative movement and the establishment of hundreds of “endogenous nuclei” across the country. Mission Vuelvan Caras, another of the numerous new social programmes in Venezuela, is responsible for co-ordinating and developing this movement of workers’ power.

An endogenous nucleus is a community in which there exist several co-ops working together, making products or offering services that complement and co-operate with each other. For example, when farming, trucking and kitchen co-ops establish links like this, they become a secondary co-op.

These can then provide products, services and education to the community, strengthening their democratic and inclusive nature and unlocking the potential of the people, the community, the country and even the hemisphere itself.

Economic liberation is only a part of this - more important, according to one Vuelvan Caras worker, is “changing the way we see ourselves and other people.”

Co-ops are revolutionary because they allow workers to own and manage the means of production.

The government provides start-up microcredits to enable the purchase of equipment or office space, gives training and education if necessary and helps to find markets and customers for the co-op to sell to.

As the movement grows stronger, government resources should become less necessary and an entirely new, self-sufficient economic system will co-exist with and then eventually replace the capitalist, profit-driven machine which currently dominates the world.

The fact that the co-operative model can be exported to any other country makes it a credible threat to the corporate empire, as workers across the planet realise that they can run their businesses better than their bosses did and take inspiration from the self-empowerment of the Venezuelan people.

Another key element of Bolivarian socialism is the nationalisation of failed and bankrupt corporate industry.

Paper and oil-valve factories are two examples of this and Chavez has said that any more companies that go under will be taken over and run by the workers themselves.

Another popular concept being implemented is that of co-management, whereby workers have the right to be part of the decision-making process and are given real powers - for example, to set some of their own budgets.

Although not as radical as the entirely worker-owned and managed model, this is a big step towards a democratic economy and far more logical than the government expropriation of productive private industry.

One of the most profound aspects of all this is how the Venezuelan people are now debating what socialism really means and the ways in which their vision differs from previous interpretations in countries such as Russia, China and even their close ally Cuba.

The constitution establishes that the state should be “decentralised.” This is important in respect to decisions being taken at a local level, rather than by privileged cliques at the top of hierarchical political power structures.

The Bolivarian movement’s grass-roots activists are very conscious of this ongoing struggle and protests against their own elected representatives - even Bolivarian ones - are not uncommon, as is the sense that their only defence against corruption is popular participation and pressure from below.

There is also a debate between the “libertarian” and “authoritarian” tendencies within socialism. Venezuela is, in fact, quite a libertarian country. For example, driving without seatbelts or crash-helmets, through red lights and even under the influence of alcohol, is not particularly frowned upon, though they are all illegal.

Graffiti and murals are everywhere and protesters will often bring out a spray-can during demos to scrawl spontaneous slogans on street walls.

The government even came close to decriminalising personal-use quantities of drugs, though this legislation was stalled and then defeated at the national assembly.

There are currently very harsh penalties for any kind of drug use and the police generally see this as a way of extorting money from careless and unlucky tourists.

Although it is easy money for the cops, there seems to be a rather half-hearted aspect to their shake-downs, perhaps because of the contradiction between this and their job of fighting - often very serious - crime.

It is openly and commonly said that many policemen here are extremely corrupt and, since the US-backed coup of 2002 they are seen by many Venezuelans simply as puppets of Uncle Sam.

Soldiers, however, are much more respected and are genuinely regarded as being on the side of the people.

The collaboration with the communities of the military rank-and-file against the coup and bosses’ lockout later the same year, as well as their role in facilitating many of the social programmes throughout the barrios, has brought about a new civil-military alliance that will make any further coup or sabotage attempt much more difficult.

The rich and powerful opposition to Chavez, however, are not giving up without a fight. From provoking conflict in the streets, to their leaders meeting with Bush in the White House, they are planning something big, probably around the next general election in December 2006.

Many of the middle class have completely bought into the idea of Chavez-the-demon, a madman who is hell-bent on taking their homes and cars away from them.

This is exactly the line that the private media have been selling since he was first elected and the irrational hatred is part of what is stopping Venezuela from healing itself.

On the Bolivarian side, there is still deep resentment of the coup-massacre and lockout-sabotage that the middle-class helped to facilitate, perhaps unwittingly.

If there is ever to be any kind of reconciliation - although that might take a miracle - it is crucial that both sides re-evaluate what they have been taught to think about the other, change the way that they see themselves and society and make the ever-present government slogan “Venezuela: ahora es de todos (now is for all)” a reality.