Blogs

What only a few days ago seemed like a remote prospect has suddenly become a real possibility. The Colombian military's brutal massacre of 21 (at last count) guerrillas with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Peoples Army (FARC-EP), including Raul Reyes, the FARC's chief negotiator and spokesperson, in Ecuador on March 1 marks a dramatic leap in the United States' plan to potentially trigger off an armed confrontation between Colombia and Venezuela.

“In order that December 2 never happens again” Chavez argued on Saturday that it was necessary to go on the offensive with the “United Socialist Party of Venezuela as the spearhead and vanguard” of the revolution. “Enough with betraying the people. We have arrived here to make a real revolution or die trying”.

Chavez uttered these words as he opened the founding congress of the provisionally named United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). This speech was the latest in a series of reflections, following the defeat of his proposed constitutional reform last December 2.

During last year’s "state of the nation" address, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez outlined his plan to speed up the revolution over 2007. Central to this was the "5 motors" that were to drive the revolution forward, along with reiterating his call to form a united socialist party of the revolution.

With the defeat of the referendum on constitutional reform - one of the motors - the false start of the motor on new geometry of power which was tied to the reform, a poor showing on the other 3, and the new party still non-existent, Chavez end 2007 in a difficult position.

Since then much has been made about the direction the revolution will take partly Chavez's talk of "putting the brakes" on the revolution and his cabinet reshuffle. An article in the New Statesman even went as far as to say that Chavez was doing a U-turn on his socialist project.

However his speech for the "state of the nation" address today to the National Assembly gave a bit of an insight into what we can expect this year.

Not long after hearing a loud bang, we were told at work that our building was being evacuated. "There's been an explosion and everyone has to get out of the building" I was calmly told by a fellow workmate. As we approached the stairway (we are on the 20th floor so it would have been a hell off a walk down!) we could see residents from the apartment below climbing up with their faces covered. It turned out that a tear gas grenade had been set off on the 14^th floor.

Following Chavez’s call to not “leave the streets for one single day in the 27 days that remain” of the campaign to approve the proposed constitutional reform, the Yes campaign has kicked into gear. Within the space of a week there has been a dramatic change in the mood here in Caracas, as the “red hurricane” has unleashed itself across Venezuela. In the eye of the storm are the PSUV militants, members of the new United Socialist Party of Venezuela, who are the motor force behind the campaign

Can you imagine: the Bushes and Clintons in the White House for fifty-two years; or, a janitor at a local university voting for whom the next university president will be; or, the U.S. invading Spain to bring democracy to the country? As the Four Jacks and a Jill sang in the late 60s, “It’s a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack.”

Yesterday a massive red sea took over the streets of Caracas to kick off the campaign in favour of Chavez's proposed constitutional reform. I haven´t seen any official figures, but the march was clear BIG - it was smaller than some of the others i have been on and was definitely less than a million but clear a few 100,000 participated. Its important to remember that this was to kick off the official campaign, and no doubt the closing march will be much bigger.

            In the October 15 issue of the Venezuelan newspaper, Ultimas Noticias, I noticed an advertisement sponsored by the government that had a dark skinned woman as the principal figure.  I decided check the ads in the full color magazine that accompanies the newspaper on Sundays.  Not one dark-skinned person appeared in any of the commercial advertisements.  

I want to thank Venezuela Analysis for the invitation to share some of my thoughts through this website. I currently contribute columns regularly to Narco News and to 21st Century Socialism. What I would like to do here is share shorter reflections of an expatriate, looking in on Venezuela and looking out from here at the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Five years ago Juan and Maria were tired of the dust that filled their barrio home day after day. One evening at supper they decided that it was time to do something about it. They visited their neighbors and called a meeting to discuss how to pave the street that ran in front of their houses.