Tag Archives: revolution

Oct
14
2010
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VenEconomy: The Costs of the Venezuelan Revolution

This article was originally posted in The Latin American Herald Tribune

Venezuela is paying a high price for the imposition of the Castro-communist project.In the interests of the revolution, the regime has been legislating grotesquely outside the bounds of the Constitution and, resorting to farcical illegality, wiping out private property by dint of “expropriations,” which, in fact, is no more than pillage by those who abuse their power in the belief that it is eternal.

 

These mass “expropriations” of private companies are costing the country dear, not only because this practice has meant the destruction of the domestic productive apparatus, but also because of investments that have not been made. In the first quarter of 2010, direct investment was -US$1.8 billion.

It is proving equally costly in terms of jobs lost, shrinking domestic production, shortages, and inflation caused by the overwhelming and patent managerial incapacity and laxness of the government officials with whom Chávez surrounds himself.

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Oct
8
2010
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Chavez: “Nobody and nothing will stop the Bolivarian revolution”

This article was originally posted by Pravda

“There will be no pact with the bourgeois nor lack of revolutionary balance,” said Chavez who is also president of the PSUV. He said the priority will be to advance the construction of socialism in the rhythm that circumstances require. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that nothing or nobody can stop the advance of the Bolivarian Revolution, the process of change began more than a decade ago. He made a call to deepen the changes undertaken in 1999 so daring in its execution, but based on the principles of more detailed planning and with a scientific character.

“We must create the conditions for accelerating the expansion of socialism, to be gradually substituting capitalism to be replaced for the new model ,” Chavez insisted.

During a meeting held the previous day with the elected representatives of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), he urged the organization’s members to work tirelessly with views towards the 2012 presidential elections.

It is necessary to create the conditions for achieving an overwhelming victory in next elections, he pointed out.

Chavez recalled that right-wing forces have not discarded the option of a coup to overthrow progressive movements that have emerged in the region and advised the opposition not to make mistakes, he stressed.

In referring to the new composition of the Venezuelan parliament, which will assume office in January 2011, he affirmed that it will enact laws much more revolutionary than the current National Assembly.

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Sep
30
2010
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The revolution checked

AFP 300x168 The revolution checkedThis article was originally posted by The Economist

AFTER five years in the wilderness, Venezuela’s opposition is back in parliament and in contention. By winning 65 seats in the 165-member, single-chamber National Assembly, in an election on September 26th, the Venezuela Unity coalition dealt a blow to the hopes of Hugo Chávez, the leftist president, of exercising indefinite hegemony. Even worse for the president and his claim to be leading a popular revolution was the fact that the overall vote of 5.4m for the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) and its communist allies, was just below that of their opponents (5.7m).

Only blatant gerrymandering of constituencies and an electoral reform that abolished proportional representation allowed Mr Chávez to keep control of the legislature. Even so, he failed to retain the two-thirds majority he had said was vital for his regime’s future. Without it, the government must negotiate appointments to key posts, such as supreme court justices and members of the electoral authority (the CNE). And it cannot pass, or amend, laws which affect constitutional rights. Particularly irksome will be the fact that it may not be able to muster the 99 deputies required to authorise Mr Chávez to rule by decree, as he has been wont to.

In his 11 years in power Mr Chávez has profited from the opposition’s mistakes, which have included an attempted coup in 2002 and an ill-judged boycott of the previous legislative election in 2005. Over that period he has won a dozen national votes (the only exception being a constitutional referendum in 2007). The opposition’s rehabilitation began with a strong showing in big cities in a regional vote two years ago. For the legislative election, its multitude of constituent groups managed to hammer out a united front. Their success increases the chance that they will unite behind a single candidate against Mr Chávez in the presidential election that is due in two years’ time.

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