Trip to Venezuela

[Nachie]

Hey all,

So in a few days I'm flying down to Caracas for the fuck of it, but also with excellent timing to attend the hemispheric Social Forum and - perhaps more importantly - the Alternative Social Forum. I'll also be kickin' around down there for two months scoping the situation and maybe preparing some writeups about it for the Red & Anarchist Action Network, for who I am going.

Anyway my question is, is anybody from around there or know someone down there or have any particular tips or references or questions to try and answer while I'm there? I'm up for meeting more or less anyone who might have interesting things to teach/show/tell about the situation down there.

I really appreciate any help, and if anybody else is going too then hey I'm down for meeting up, as long as you're not a Leninist or something crazy like that. Word.

- Nachie

[Stormshield]

Eeeehm... What's so crazy with being a leninist? Unless you happen to be a cappie, but I assume you are marxist as your title says.

[Nachie]

Generally speaking and with little variation, I don't like Leninists*. Nor am I myself of that persuasion. For reasons as to why, I recommend the entire history of Leninism.

* Negri, Raya Dunayevskaya, CLR James, and others who have been Leninists but in their praxis developed into radically different and more interesting directions are all cool.

[Stormshield]

The entire history of leninism applied practically (and then under extremely unfavourable circumstances lasted from 1917 to Stalin's takeover (depending on who you ask), that''s not such a long time... And certainly it did, under those circumstanced, work pretty good!

Develop your point beyond that you don't like the entire history of it, please! :)

[Nachie]

so you're saying that there has not been a single valid Leninist movement since Lenin's death? that alone should be grounds for the doctrine's dismissal!

even so he had enough years to slaughter the sailors of kronstadt, the makhnovists, other anarchists, and unknown numbers of non-bolshevik workers. the total destruction of the international communist movement also began under lenin and not stalin's comintern, as is generally reported. particularly in western europe, the bolsheviks immediately began using underhanded methods to cut anti-statists and Marxists off from the Official Communist Movement ™, which was consolidated from hundreds of extraparliamentary organizations in constant and growing alliance with the anarchists into a few obedient, COLLABORATIONIST Parties. this is definitive of the Leninist experience.

Look, Leninists are scum. History speaks for itself. I have no interest in wasting time debating a Leninist and never will. We are on opposite sides and I WILL view them as just another enemy. This thread has already spun completely off topic so I am pessimistic about its potential. If anybody wants to post something that's actually about Venezuela, I'll be checking back.