With all this talk about Venezuela and Maduro, I’ve seen a couple leftists / Marxists make some rather critical comments about Maduro’s track record, insisting that he was actually “anti-worker” and “authoritarian”. I’ve only ever heard libs and chuds call Maduro “authoritarian”, and I’ve certainly never heard anyone call the PSUV anti-worker.
However, sure enough, I looked into it a little bit and there indeed has been some conflict with the steel workers union in particular:
https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15684/
Does anyone know anything else about this? Of course at this critical moment it’s ill-advised to be talking shyte about Maduro/PSUV because there are much more important issues at play.
However, it still piqued my interest hearing this coming from a leftist/Marxist.
Anyone have anything to add?
It also does seem like there was some weird irregularities with his last election even beyond the hacking from what I can tell. But the opposition was even worse and most certainly lied. They didn’t even bother to show up to defend themselves when asked to argue their case and bring in evidence so their courts and other candidates could look over it). Every other candidate, even opposition candidates to Maduro, did.
I’d have to look more into the union things, though. It’s important to be pro-worker, but there have been reactionary unions before, and I wouldn’t doubt it in the places the CIA have been working on the most.
But like you said, it’s important not to get too caught up in arguing for or against Maduro specifically. It’s more important to bring up the US actions as a clear example of imperialism, and a destabilizing force in the region, not a bringer of justice or freedom. It helps they’ve been super open about wanting the oil this time.
Election shenanigans are irrelevant. Venezuela is under extreme duress from economic sanxtions, whose explicit purpose is to “bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government”. Engaging at all with the validity of the vote recount is worthless because libs will believe whatever the “freedom eagle burger institute” tells them, the important point to get across in my opinion is “there is no democracy under economic sanctioning, whose explicit purpose is to manipulate public opinion”
because libs will believe whatever the “freedom eagle burger institute” tells them
i’m stealing “freedom eagle burger institute”. lol
True. It’s like holding a vote with a group that you have a gun against their head and are keeping their food.
but there have been reactionary unions before, and I wouldn’t doubt it in the places the CIA have been working on the most.
For sure. It was a fascist worker’s union that brought down socialism in
He was no angel, but he was the one that angels feared
My understanding is PSUV, the various communes/collectives/unions often have friction over their material conditions. That arise out of being an exploited and then heavily sanctioned country.
It’s can be hard to say in case by case situations the difference between genuine socialists coming into conflict with organisations infiltrated by criminals and would be compradors or genuine workers protesting corrupt opportunists who should be purged.
My solidarity is with the Venezuelan people and any conflict with the USA will worsen workers conditions.
