Question about Venezuela...

[BIG BROTHER]

Venezuela has been suffering from shortage of food, and in the media they always tend although not directly to blame Chavez for that.

Could somebody explain me the situation, and tell me why is there a shortage of food?

[Dominicana_1965]

The primary reason for "shortages" in Venezuela are caused by the capitalist producers (and small-scale distributors) who are holding back and transporting the food in order to gain profits from the need of these products. Although tons of food has been recovered by the Venezuelan state the sabotage continues being carried out by the latifundistas. Due to these actions some of the price controls have been reduced, increasing the prices of basic needs like milk. Meaning that the Venezuelan state has been taking, as usual, a more reformist attitude towards the capitalists by doing what they demand.

A contributing factor is based on a consumption increase (around 16% last time I checked), which represents the income boom for almost every single class in Venezuela, especially the working-class. Aside from the increased income is the food that is subsidized by the Venezuelan state which places the prices of items at very affordable prices for the masses. Such state bodegas like the Mercal.

The Venezuelan state has only seized unproductive land, although both meat and milk production have increased by 20%, most of the state's land is not being utilized.

[bootleg42]

There was a video shown on la hojilla (a program on Venezuelan state channel that exposes the lies of the right of Venezuela and of most of latin america, a VERY good show but most of it's videos were taken off youtube recently...no shock) that showed the private owners of food production intentionally hiding away loads of food (milk and chicken in particular) and putting it in warehouses.

Also it is well known that many of those same private owners intentionally sell the food to colombia instead of selling it to the people of Venezuela.

If any of you know spanish, you should watch the TV show "La Hojilla" on Venezuelan state television which you can google for. It's on at night around 10-1 at night. I watch it a ton. All your answers are there.

[BIG BROTHER]

All right, thanks a lot. I'll try to watch the show.

[spartan]

The Venezuelan government should just nationalise all public industries and take away private property and be done with it.

That way we wont have this tense situation that we always seem to get around Venezuela and these types of issues.

Sure America will be able to portray them as an evil Commie Dictatorship but who gives a shit as long as the people have access to food (Surely that is what matters most?).

[renegadoe]

The Venezuelan government should just nationalise all public industries and take away private property and be done with it.

The fact that Chávez has not is indicative of the historical nature of his "revolution." He is just a populist riding the age of reform which South America is now entering. He's not even close to a socialist, let alone a real revolutionary.

[Bandito]

I would just add,dangerous populist.
People from around the world see him as a revolutionary,but the real case is very much different. That can cause missunderstanding that can be more dangerous than his presidency,in perspective.

[RNK]

I agree, to a degree. I believe Chavez is about as leftist as a bourgeois politician can get. But he's still a bourgeois politician. His actions are still dictated by the confines of capitalism. Sure, he's done great things, but now the people of Venezuela have to move on...

[Sankofa]

I agree, to a degree. I believe Chavez is about as leftist as a bourgeois politician can get. But he's still a bourgeois politician. His actions are still dictated by the confines of capitalism. Sure, he's done great things, but now the people of Venezuela have to move on...

So you're saying that the Venezuelan people have to start the revolution themselves, with out Chavez; even over throwing him to do so?

[Dominicana_1965]

So you're saying that the Venezuelan people have to start the revolution themselves, with out Chavez; even over throwing him to do so?

The Venezuelan working-class (which has through the PSUV delegates and various grass-roots organizations) has rejected all forms of reformism and bureaucratism, which is embedded inside the current Venezuelan state.

The current Venezuelan state is still a capitalist state, there hasn't been a revolution..the capitalist state hasn't been overthrown, and the capitalist mode of production continues on.

So yes comrade, the Venezuelan working-class must ignite the overthrow of the current state apparatus and implement a workers' state, even if it includes kicking out Chavez.

[Sankofa]

I was aware that the bourgeoisie hadn't been eliminated yet...

Why has Chavez waited so long to over throw the ruling class? It certainly couldn't be because he's afraid of hurting his reputation with the United States.

Would the current situation with Colombia make it a bad time for any internal conflict in Venezuela?

[Dominicana_1965]

I was aware that the bourgeoisie hadn't been eliminated yet...

Why has Chavez waited so long to over throw the ruling class? It certainly couldn't be because he's afraid of hurting his reputation with the United States.

Would the current situation with Colombia make it a bad time for any internal conflict in Venezuela?

Well a vital point in Venezuela is that the bourgeoisie will not be eliminated at all (under the current capitalist state of course). Chavez doesn't have any intentions of overthrowing the ruling class, he has made it clear various times. He continues to defend private property, matter of fact the capitalist class is, despite their idiotic rants, gaining much more now than before.

One can't take the ready-made state machinery and do whatever one pleases with it, which is why the working-class of Venezuela must overthrow the current capitalist state & ruling class that has no intention of being removed.

[Comrade Castro]

Food shortages= almost exact mirror of the kulak situation in the USSR in the 30's, rich rural business owners dump the food or sell it to Colombia...trucks are decommisioned constantly on the frontier carrying huge amounts of food, with government food market (Mercal) labels on them! I wish Chavez would go Stalin on them and nationalize the food industry, shoot or enslave those who resist. They deserve it. He probably won't though, because he is in the end a moderate. Many people in Venezuela are now radicalized, however. Many truly want to bring about a true Marxist-Leninist revolution, even if Chavez doesn't. Lately, people have been taking some radical matters into their own hands...let's see what happens over the next few years. I can't wait until my family and I move back, I want to organize radical communists as much as possible. This does not end with Chavez. Rather, many feel that what has happened so far within the confines of the bourgeosie state is merely the beginning....

[Schrödinger's Cat]

The fact that Chávez has not is indicative of the historical nature of his "revolution." He is just a populist riding the age of reform which South America is now entering. He's not even close to a socialist, let alone a real revolutionary.

Or, you know, he's trying to work through democracy. :rolleyes:

[Digitalism]

speaking of Venezuela, I don't want to divert the topic, but I just feel it's the right place to ask this without starting a new thread. What was the thing that happened over there recently, late 2007 was it? All I remember was mass protests on the streets shown on TV and Chavez. Did Venezuela make a transition towards socialism, some kind of revolution? sorry if I sound uneducated, simply don't know..but usually I'd go to wikipedia and read on this..i feel it's better to ask here.

[Q]

speaking of Venezuela, I don't want to divert the topic, but I just feel it's the right place to ask this without starting a new thread. What was the thing that happened over there recently, late 2007 was it? All I remember was mass protests on the streets shown on TV and Chavez. Did Venezuela make a transition towards socialism, some kind of revolution? sorry if I sound uneducated, simply don't know..but usually I'd go to wikipedia and read on this..i feel it's better to ask here.
Perhaps you're talking of the constitutional referendum?
Here is a nice article about it (http://socialistworld.net/eng/2007/12/03veneza.html).