Book Review: The Venezuela Reader: The Building Of A People’s Democracy

author : Greg Rosenthal topic : book review | petrolium | Venezuela

The Venezuela Reader: The Building Of A People’s Democracy

Edited by Olivia Burlingame Goumbri

Book review by Greg Rosenthal

Following the example of Cuba’s humanist approach to guaranteeing its people the right to quality education and health, Venezuela has embarked upon a historical mission to eliminate poverty in a country where nearly 70% of the population is poor. As Chavez consistently reiterates, the only way to end poverty is to empower the poor and marginalized.

Any country in the Global South, with the interest to actively fight poverty, defying the powerful interest of corporations, wealthy elites, and the logic of global neo-liberal capitalism are certain to have many enemies, domestic and international. With ever persistent threats from the Bolivarian experiment’s powerful opponents, the Hugo Chavez government has taken grand steps to redistribute the country’s oil wealth to provide much needed services to the poorest communities.

The collection of articles in the book, The Venezuela Reader: The Building Of A People’s Democracy, edited by Olivia Burlingame Goumbri, has successfully grasped and articulated the complexity of life in Venezuela. Most notably, the reader highlights the substantial accomplishments of the ‘Bolivarian Revolution’ through its popular new Constitution and social ‘Missions’ that serve the poor. In addition, the reader has captured the enormity of the opposition to Chavez and the ‘Bolivarian Revolution’. The articles bring to life the opposition who privately control nearly all of the media, have high positions within Venezuela’s oil company, and are receiving support and collaboration from the United States government. The value of the reader is its ability to critically incorporate these two opposing elements and how they play out in today’s Venezuela.

The first section of this book sets out to highlight how the Bolivarian Constitution--created by the Venezuelan people--along with the Land Laws and Missions have been constructed to bring power to the poor.

The Land Laws are permitting the government to redistribute land. Private land over a certain size that lay idle—formerly latifundios—is being given to people and cooperatives to cultivate and live on. This marks a total transformation from the colonial order, where the Spanish crown allotted massive estates to wealthy families, resulting in 75% of cultivatable lands concentrated within 5% of the population.

The Constitution guarantees the right to education and quality healthcare for all. Although the Constitution laid out plants, it was the Missions that put words in action. The sheer will, self-sacrifice and commitment of the Venezuelan people have built the results of the Missions. Through Mission Robinson, illiteracy has been eliminated. Primary education is now free and universal. Adults are now able to complete their GED free of charge by Mission Ribas; and Mission Sucre provides grants for higher education. These Missions have also led to the construction of thousands of schools throughout Venezuela.

With the help of tens of thousands of Cuban doctors, through the program Barrio Adentro, Venezuela has been able to provide medical clinics offering treatment, prevention and education to some of the poorest Barrios. The program also involves training Venezuelans to become doctors and to update the formerly privatized medical system.

Mission MERCAL has been able to provide state-subsidized food at 25% of market price, providing food to families who could not otherwise afford food.

The Missions and social programs were made possible through the initiative of the Chavez government and the state-owned oil company. Venezuela is the world’s fourth largest oil producer, and with the state-controlled oil company, PDVSA, profits are redirected to contribute to the well-being of the populace.

Similarly, an article in the reader explains how Venezuela has utilized its oil to create cooperation with its neighbors through trade alliances and loans. For example, providing goods at preferential rates to others in the Americas and Caribbean … even bartering oil with Argentina for cattle, leather, and soy and with Cuba for doctors and medical equipment. The regional alliances have also allowed for the Global South to take a stand against U.S. neo-liberal initiatives, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

The Bolivarian Constitution was approved by 87% of the electorate. This text incorporates progressive language and acknowledges the rights of people and groups who have historically been disenfranchised. Three articles in the reader pay particular attention to the extent of the Constitution.

The first one, written by the international organization, the Global Women’s Strike, gives much deserved praise to Article 88 of the Constitution, being “the first in the world” to recognize the importance of compensating women for the vast social wealth they produce through work in the home. The Article states the following:

“The State guarantees equality and equity between men and women in the exercise of their right to work. The State recognizes work in the home as an economic activity that creates added value and produces social welfare and wealth. Housewives are entitled to Social Security in accordance with the law.”

The acknowledgment by Venezuela of the reproductive labor of women that has gone without remuneration, and the desire to right this wrong, proves to be an example worth emulating. Although not mentioned in this book, the largely Roman Catholic country has made no efforts toward guaranteeing women the right to abortion or the protection of queer people from discrimination.

In 1498, Christopher Columbus landed in South America which subsequently resulted in the near-annihilation of Indigenous people of the Venezuelan region. For five hundred years they have been terrorized. Under the new Bolivarian Constitution, “the social, political, and economic organization of Indigenous communities, as well as their cultures, languages, rights, and land” are protected. Additionally, the government may not encroach upon and in fact, must protect the land, resources, culture and economy.

As mentioned, the Constitution makes careful note of peoples historically disenfranchised; but according to the authors of another article on the Constitution, this is not always the case. In this important article, the authors point out how the Constitution and the Chavez government have not addressed racism against Afro-Venezuelans and extreme poverty rates amongst Venezuelans of African descent. With strong support from Afro-Venezuelans, the authors state that the Chavez government has not met the needs of this community in “public education and policy programs to address the marginalized social status and racial and cultural discrimination against Afro-Venezuelans.”

The latter half of the book is a series of thorough articles recalling the power and tyrannical tactics and maneuvers of the powerful anti-Chavista interests, simply dubbed ‘the opposition’. The opposition is primarily composed of elites; the former de facto rulers of Venezuela--owners of the media, corporations and large private firms, managers within the PDVSA, and the not-so-hidden fist of the United States ruling class. Their primary goal is to reclaim power from Chavez and return to neo-liberal capitalism.

Several of the authors go into detail about the oil strike and the now famous “media coup” as shown in the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. Following that is a very detailed analysis of the role U.S. intervention plays in the opposition, and their latest attempt to oust Chavez in a referendum.

According to Venezuelans, April 11, 2002 marks history as the first “media coup” ever. Media concentration in Venezuela is so great that the opposition controls almost all of the media outlets in Venezuela, numbering 95%. Eva Golinger, Esq. constructs an image depicting the extent of the private media’s foreknowledge as well as participation in the April 11, 2002 coup. “All the private media owners were present in the palace cheering on as the coup leaders assumed power and dissembled Venezuela’s democratic institutions.”

Another decisive blow was unleashed by the opposition in December of 2002, this time at the heart of the country‘s economy. The Oil Strike, as it was called, was in fact not a strike at all, but a lockout “by bosses, owners and managers” of the workers from PDVSA, the state-owned oil company. The Venezuelan private media spun this as a workers’ strike. The lockout, lasting a little over two months, caused a total crisis to the economy.

In a subsequent article, the same author, Golinger, brings to light shocking information connecting the United States government’s support and funding of the opposition. Golinger goes the next step to make connections of how similar the U.S. imperial strategy in Venezuela is to other Latin American countries the U.S. has brutalized.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) funded by Congress and the State Department was initially created to quell the ’communist threat’. From the U.S. government, millions of dollars have been funneled to the opposition by way of the NED. Similarly, USAID and the AFL-CIO’s international Labor Solidarity center are guilty in the same manner, funding and supporting the coup, lockout and referendum.

“Similar to its role in Chile, Nicaragua, Haiti, Panama and the Philippines, amongst other nations, the U.S. has taken it upon itself to influence the future of Venezuelan politics.” The author goes on to display in detail the tactics the U.S. is using in attempts to topple the Venezuelan government, also used in Chile to topple Salvador Allende, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Goulart in Brazil, and the list goes on.

The Referendum, which was supposed to be a victory for the opposition, turned out to be a fait accompli for Chavez and a testament to the success of the Bolivarian Revolution, despite its total support by U.S. corporate and government elites.

The closing article is appropriately concluded by Gregory Wilpert, editor of http://www.venezuelanalysis.com . In his final paragraph, Wilpert makes the following conclusion directed toward those on the Left who are skeptical of the Chavez government and or any government, “While individuals and their communities indeed have to change in order to change the world, states also have to give them the space and opportunities to do so.” Without room from repression and violence, social movements are unable to clear a space for themselves to grow and flourish. In fact, this may be the very essence of the Chavez government’s role in Venezuela that is due critical support.

At least three articles seem to simply fill space and could preferably be left out altogether. With strong content in nearly every article, some of the authors fail to provide documentation of their work which tends to leave their arguments unreliable.

In total, this book is well worth the read for those interested in learning the intricacies of the Venezuelan experiment and what has been done thus far to empower the people of the Americas in the face of powerful opposition, backed by the U.S. government, Washington Consensus and transnational capital.

Greg Rosenthal is an undergraduate student at The Evergreen State College, studying in Venezuela.