Venezuelans Register as "Members" of the PSUV “Vanguard�

[Die Neue Zeit]

The original article didn't have quotation marks around the word "members." I put it there because I'm worried about the obvious similarities with the "Democratic" and "Republican" so-called "parties" in the US:

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6488



By Tamara Pearson

Mérida, September 13th 2011 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – President Hugo Chavez announced this morning that the registration period for “Vanguard Patrols” of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) would be extended by another week because “there are still a lot of members registering”.

Over the last six weeks the PSUV has had hundreds of registration tents set up in all the states of Venezuela in order to conduct a census, to then reorganise the PSUV structure in the lead up to regional and presidential elections next year.

In what Chavez referred to as the “vanguard” or “cadre” patrols of the party, almost two million people have registered so far, out of the total six million party members. The “Vanguard Patrols” are made up of 10 to 20 people.

To register in the patrols, all people need is Venezuelan ID and don’t necessarily have to be members of the PSUV, they could also be members of other Bolivarian revolution supporting organisations, such as the Venezuelan Communist Party, or not members of any organisation.

After the registration process finishes the PSUV leadership plans to call for “assemblies” of patrol members, predicting that it will carry out a total of 11,000 such meetings.

In those assemblies, “We’ll discuss an agenda which will include the Red Book [the PSUV’s program], the declaration of principles, the programmatic bases, the statutes, and finally, we’ll begin forming the patrols,” said Aristobulo Isturiz, PSUV vice-president for the central region.

The new stage in reorganising the PSUV would include “ideological training workshops,” said Alirio Liscano, PSUV executive member in Merida state, and according to Jhonny Meza, another PSUV leader, the Patrols will not just fight “the electoral battle, but also will aim to consolidate this change process that is being lived in the country, headed by President Hugo Chavez”.

The “patrols” are also a PSUV campaign strategy that it has used in various elections, where people are assigned to voting booths near where they live to ensure voting is fair and to encourage their neighbours to vote.

“This registration of vanguard patrols is one of the key elements for forming the bases of an active party that is articulated with the people and that constructs socialism,” said PSUV national leader Blanca Eekhout.

[Geiseric]

Red Shirts?

[Veovis]

I'm not a big fan of the militaristic "patrol" terminology. What was the word used in Spanish?

[Die Neue Zeit]

Red Shirts?

I was referring to the very concept of a primary election, which the PSUV is employing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election

The Democrats and Republicans don't have "political parties" in the European sense:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election#Primary_classifications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election#Primaries_in_Europe

The term "closed primary" is misleading, because voters can declare themselves Democrats or Republicans at the point of registry, without being substantive members.

The bottom line is: how many real members does the PSUV have?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Sounds like an interesting development, hopefully it leads to improvement.

[eyeheartlenin]

Two questions about the PSUV: Didn't someone report from Venezuela, years ago, when the PSUV was new, that the party was largely hollow, without very many strong local branches? (I seem to remember that.)

Also, would anyone know: Does the PSUV program call for replacing the bourgeois Republic of Venezuela (with a workers' state) or expropriating the bourgeoisie in Venezuela? (I am sure the answer is no, in both instances, but it would be nice if someone who knows could confirm that.)

Believe it or not, I don't have an ax to grind; I am just interested in Venezuela.

[The Vegan Marxist]

The PSUV today is strong with over a million members, and yes, the PSUV wants to replace the bourgeois republic of Venezuela with a communal Socialist system.

[Rusty Shackleford]

maybe the 'patrols' will change over time into something like the Cuban social workers, or maybe the PSUV can organize its own sections like that. Either way, this seems like a damn good way to mobilize the party and its allies.

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ Emulating the "Democratic" and "Republican" so-called "parties" in the US? :confused:

[Rusty Shackleford]

^^^ Emulating the "Democratic" and "Republican" so-called "parties" in the US? :confused:
what? are you talking about 3 posts above you or referencing my post?

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ Your post.

[Ocean Seal]

Two questions about the PSUV: Didn't someone report from Venezuela, years ago, when the PSUV was new, that the party was largely hollow, without very many strong local branches? (I seem to remember that.)

Also, would anyone know: Does the PSUV program call for replacing the bourgeois Republic of Venezuela (with a workers' state) or expropriating the bourgeoisie in Venezuela? (I am sure the answer is no, in both instances, but it would be nice if someone who knows could confirm that.)

Believe it or not, I don't have an ax to grind; I am just interested in Venezuela.
I don't believe that they call for a worker's state, but I do believe that they at least say that they want to expropriate the bourgeoisie. Between saying and doing there is a long road however.

[Rusty Shackleford]

^^^ Emulating the "Democratic" and "Republican" so-called "parties" in the US? :confused:
The point of a party is to serve and lead the people. Plus, the Dems and Republicans dont do social work like the Cubans do.

[eyeheartlenin]

I don't believe that they call for a worker's state, but I do believe that they at least say that they want to expropriate the bourgeoisie. Between saying and doing there is a long road however.

I thank RedBrother for his reply; there is a great book that I read years ago and still remember, Edward Boorstein's The Economic Transformation of Cuba, and what Boorstein reported is directly relevant to Venezuela: within 24 months of the rebel army's victory over the batistiano army, 80% of Cuban industry had been nationalized, laying the basis for a planned economy.

It is instructive to compare that with Venezuela, with Chávez' 12 years in power, and one wonders what percentage of Venezuelan industry has been nationalized; is it even 10% or 20%, after twelve years?

Anyway, my point was, in a real revolution, as in Cuba, the exploiting class gets expropriated, and if one accepts that position, then chavista Venezuela, as far as I can tell, is undergoing some other process than "revolution."

Believe it or not, it really is not my intention to start some kind of flame war. If people want to believe, as the Grantists do, that Venezuela is in the throes of revolution, they are entitled to do so. But even Chávez' fervent admirers, like the Grantists, have recently written critically of the Venezuelan process, and not for the first time.

[Ocean Seal]

I thank RedBrother for his reply; there is a great book that I read years ago and still remember, Edward Boorstein's The Economic Transformation of Cuba, and what Boorstein reported is directly relevant to Venezuela: within 24 months of the rebel army's victory over the batistiano army, 80% of Cuban industry had been nationalized, laying the basis for a planned economy.

It is instructive to compare that with Venezuela, with Chávez' 12 years in power, and one wonders what percentage of Venezuelan industry has been nationalized; is it even 10% or 20%, after twelve years?

Anyway, my point was, in a real revolution, as in Cuba, the exploiting class gets expropriated, and if one accepts that position, then chavista Venezuela, as far as I can tell, is undergoing some other process than "revolution."

Believe it or not, it really is not my intention to start some kind of flame war. If people want to believe, as the Grantists do, that Venezuela is in the throes of revolution, they are entitled to do so. But even Chávez' fervent admirers, like the Grantists, have recently written critically of the Venezuelan process, and not for the first time.
Yes, the way in which I made the post was to highlight that I don't believe that Chavez has any plans to go through with complete nationalization (at least anytime soon) although he says that he will.

[Jose Gracchus]

The point of a party is to serve and lead the people. Plus, the Dems and Republicans dont do social work like the Cubans do.

No Democrats do any social work? That's news.

[Jose Gracchus]

I thank RedBrother for his reply; there is a great book that I read years ago and still remember, Edward Boorstein's The Economic Transformation of Cuba, and what Boorstein reported is directly relevant to Venezuela: within 24 months of the rebel army's victory over the batistiano army, 80% of Cuban industry had been nationalized, laying the basis for a planned economy.

It is instructive to compare that with Venezuela, with Chávez' 12 years in power, and one wonders what percentage of Venezuelan industry has been nationalized; is it even 10% or 20%, after twelve years?

Anyway, my point was, in a real revolution, as in Cuba, the exploiting class gets expropriated, and if one accepts that position, then chavista Venezuela, as far as I can tell, is undergoing some other process than "revolution."

Believe it or not, it really is not my intention to start some kind of flame war. If people want to believe, as the Grantists do, that Venezuela is in the throes of revolution, they are entitled to do so. But even Chávez' fervent admirers, like the Grantists, have recently written critically of the Venezuelan process, and not for the first time.

How was Cuba rocked by a 'social revolution,' especially in Trotskyist terms?