Chavezism

[redcannon]

can anyone please explain the fundemental beliefs of Chavezism? why is it looked down upon in other Latin American countries and what ties does it have to a Bolivarian revolution?

[blake 3:17]

This article gives a decent breakdown...


Venezuela Shakes the Empire
Why Socialists Support the Bolivarian Struggle
for Sovereignty and Latin American Unity

By John Riddell

Why do socialists in Canada support the Venezuelan revolution?

There is much to admire about Venezuela today: impressive mass mobilizations, community and labour activism, significant social gains, an inspiring commitment to a socialist future.

But Venezuela’s importance today to the workers’ movement lies above all in the leading role it is playing in a new upsurge of anti-imperialist struggles internationally.

This is not always easy for socialists in advanced capitalist countries to understand. We tend to interpret Venezuela in terms of our own experience of workers’ struggle against exploitative bosses and corrupt, repressive governments. We are often less sensitive to the aspects of Venezuela that are different, particularly its oppression by world imperialism, the impact this has on Venezuelan society, and how Venezuela is fighting back against the Empire.Full article. (http://www.socialistvoice.ca/Soc-Voice/Soc-Voice-114.htm)

Edited to add: More from Canuckistan:
In the Winter of 1999, I heard similar arguments being used by young conservatives. They were reading the tea leaves after the momentous “Days of Action” movement in Ontario (Canada), when 11 city-wide strikes were waged against the far Right regime led by Mike Harris.

“The problem with the Left”, as one buttoned-down, martini-guzzling conservative explained, “is that it doesn’t have chutzpah.” “Sure, labour leaders can orchestrate large protests, and lefties can sway public opinion a little, but that alone won’t make us back down. In the end, the Left pulled its most powerful punches, and that’s why we won.”

My walk home that night was memorable, largely because there were elements of truth to what I had overheard. When it became clear only a province-wide strike could challenge the ruling conservatives in Ontario, labour leaders had blinked.

When and where, I wondered, would we see radical government with nerve?

Oddly enough, eight years later, the world is witnessing such a government, but not from the Left in el Norte.

Instead, Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution – epitomized by the leadership of President Hugo Chávez – has demonstrated increased momentum in seeing through a dramatic process of social change. Full article. (http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/03/07/960/)

[BreadBros]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 04:00 am
can anyone please explain the fundemental beliefs of Chavezism? why is it looked down upon in other Latin American countries and what ties does it have to a Bolivarian revolution?
I dont think I would really say there is a "Chavezism". Basically Chavez is an anti-imperialist. Venezuela and the rest of Latin America have been very held down by American economic domination, American military intervention in Latin America and the influence that international economic groupings (IMF, WTO, World Bank) have had on Latin American politics. These are policies are enforced by the traditional leaders of most Latin American countries who are essentially American cronies and whose policies have resulted in an incredibly unequal economic situation in Latin America with most people living in dire poverty. Chavez has been the voice of the poor in Venezuela (to a degree, there are also plenty of critiques of his actions on this site and throughout the net) and has sought to use populist support to reverse this history, give more power to the working classes and ease poverty. It can be said to be essentially a populist "democratic socialist" ideology. It should also be said that some degree of nationalism also exists in Chavez's actions. If you want to read more about the reforms of Chavez in Venezuela on a concrete level you should read about the Bolivarian Missions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Missions).

I don't think it is really looked down upon in other Latin American countries, Chavez tends to be an incredibly popular among the Latin American masses. The governments of other countries look down on him because they're American cronies/tools and they recognize him as a threat to their power and their economic interests.

The Bolivarian revolution began as simply a term to describe Chavez's rise to power with the support of the Venezuelan populace and the reforms I mentioned above. Today I guess it could be used to describe the political tendency/trajectory that Chavez represents as it has been enacted throughout Latin America. Fidel Castro in Cuba, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, and Rafael Correa in Ecuador are all allies of Chavez and represent his ideas in their respective countries to some degree, forming the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Alternative_for_the_Americas) trade grouping (although obviously Fidel has been around long before Chavez). Nestor Kirchner is also a friend and sympathizer of Chavez although he is fairly moderate.

If you want to know more, you should read these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_coup_attempt_of_2002

[Cheung Mo]

Ortega is at least as moderate as Kirchner: What Ortega believed 20 years ago and what Ortega believes today are very different things. Ortega has become a very devout fundamentalist Christian with a lot of friends among the reactionary clergy and has openly opposed the nationalisation of private and corporate property.