The United Socialist Party of Venezuela and CPC

[Marxist Napoleon]

I don't really know the details, but I heard that the Communist Party of Cuba evolved from a series of "united socialist parties" during the Cuban Revolution. Can we draw parallels to this and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela? Is it crazy to dream that this could one day be the Communist Party of Venezuela? Also, what are the specific reasons for the current Communist Party of Venezuela to not join the United Socialist Party? I think they should join it, because socialism in Venezuela is something more than watered down social capitalism; it's revolution!

[bootleg42]

There already is a communist party of venezuela but they don't want to join the new united socialist party. Also the current communist party of venezuela has had a horrible history of supporting plenty of re-actionary elements in the country, including originally being anti-Chavez.

[Marxist1917]

I don't think you can draw such parallels form the Cuban Revolution to the current situation in Venezuela. In Cuba their was no hope of overthrowing Batista without revolution because he was a dictator. This require the socialist parties to work together. However in Venezuela they did not need a revolution, so I don't think you will see the Communist Party of Venezuela gaining any more power than they already have.

[ReDSt4R]

I don't think you can draw such parallels form the Cuban Revolution to the current situation in Venezuela. In Cuba their was no hope of overthrowing Batista without revolution because he was a dictator. This require the socialist parties to work together. However in Venezuela they did not need a revolution, so I don't think you will see the Communist Party of Venezuela gaining any more power than they already have.

How can you say there wasn't a revolution in Venezuela? Once Chavez was elected wasn't there armed struggle for his re-establishment into power. The bourgeoisie fought for their interest forcing the working class to struggle for their representation. Sounds like revolution to me.

Everywhere needs revolution, force is inevitable. But I do not see how Chavez would be able to reform or revolutionize the country without the forcible rev. having taken place.

Also Cuba had a minor armed struggle also. You can't give all the credit to the 26th of July movement because the working class was rebelling also causing Batista to be pressured into leaving the country (hardly a armed conflict).

The CP won't gain more support without becoming one with the working class movement so if membership and proletariat solidarity is a priority than they should join the Bolivarian revolution. Otherwise they are useless.

[chegitz guevara]

They still need a revolution in Venezuela.

[Severian]

How can you say there wasn't a revolution in Venezuela? Once Chavez was elected wasn't there armed struggle for his re-establishment into power. The bourgeoisie fought for their interest forcing the working class to struggle for their representation. Sounds like revolution to me.

Armed conflict does not equal revolution. Sometimes changes within the bourgeois order are brought about by armed conflict. Heck, sometimes armed conflict is counter-revolution.

In this case it was the struggle for the restoration of the elected government, as you say yourself. It was not a struggle to smash the capitalist state machinery and replace it with a revolutionary workers' state machinery, and so far that still hasn't happened in Venezuela. That's still in the future.

What is happening in Venezuela is extremely important, maybe the most important class struggle happening anywhere in the world right now. But the most important thing is the mass actions of workers and peasants, not primarily the maneuverings of Chavista politicians.

[Cheung Mo]

No person and no organisation becomes communist simply because it claims to be. (By that standard, the Social International has led us to throes of international prole revolution and Mao smiled from the grave every time Beijing handed arms and money over to Nepal's dictators in the name of "stability".) To argue so is no different than to argue that the Bible is true because it's the Bible. If we accept all self-avowed leftists at face value, we might as well hang all Hoxhaists from the highest tree on the basis of Bandera Roja's violent support for the imperialist reaction against Venezuelan democracy.