[NYTr] Venezuelans to vote on People's Power

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Workers World - Nov 15, 2007 issue
http://www.workers.org/2007/world/venezuela-1115


Venezuelans to vote on People's Power

By Berta Joubert-Ceci

Bolivar Avenue in the center of Caracas was once again covered in a sea
of red on Nov. 4 as 100,000 Venezuelans demonstrated in support of the
Bolivarian Revolution. Red is the color of the revolution and is worn
to indicate allegiance to the “proceso.” Venezuelans refer to a
person’s political affiliation as “with or against the process.”

That day launched the “Campaign for the Yes,” a political campaign to
educate and mobilize the people to vote on Dec. 2 for reform of the
1999 Constitution. The choices are “Yes” to approve the reform and “No”
to disapprove. This reform is the legal, electoral vehicle to put into
practice the changes needed to deepen the revolution and steer it
towards a socialist path—the political platform on which Hugo Chávez
won his last election by a 61 percent vote.

On Aug. 15 Chávez presented his project for constitutional reform to
the National Assembly (NA). It contained 33 changes. On Nov. 2, when
the NA submitted its proposal to the National Electoral Council, the
number of changes had jumped to 69. This was the result of intense
debates within the NA, including proposals submitted to the legislative
body from social groups and organizations.

If the reform passes on Dec. 2, Venezuela’s Constitution will be the
most advanced in Latin America, with the exception of revolutionary
Cuba. It will transfer and guarantee power to the people, making
participatory democracy a strong vehicle by, among other things,
restructuring local government to facilitate the revolutionary
organization of various social formations and the government funding of
communal projects proposed and directed by the people themselves.

This territorial restructuring, according to the text of the Reform
Project, includes the establishment of communes, which “will constitute
the basic and indivisible territorial nucleus of the Venezuelan
Socialist State where the citizens will have the power to construct
their own geography and history.”

Among other changes: the government will have a larger role in the
Central Bank; diversity will be recognized, including rights for gays
and people with disabilities, and discrimination will be prohibited;
the president will serve a term of seven years instead of the present
six and can be re-elected as many times as the people want; the work
day will be reduced from eight to six hours and the voting age will be
lowered to 16.

The development of a socialist structure in all institutions and the
recognition of Poder Popular (People’s Power) in all areas of the
government apparatus exist throughout the Reform Project.

There is a special section on international relations. A paragraph in
Article 152 states, “The exterior policy of the Republic should orient
itself in an active way towards the configuration of a pluripolar
world, free from the hegemony of any center of imperialist, colonialist
or neocolonialist power.”

Article 302 addresses the rich resources of the country: “For reasons
of sovereignty, national development and interests, the state earmarks
for itself the activities of exploration and exploitation of liquid,
solid or gaseous hydrocarbons ... especially those in the Orinoco
strip.”

In general, these reforms increase the potential for autonomy and
sovereignty of the nation—key goals of the Bolivarian Revolution, in
order to further development on behalf of the masses and attain social
justice.

It is not surprising, then, that Washington, the Venezuelan
pro-imperialist oligarchy and their stooges would be especially
infuriated with these proposals. The opposition both inside and outside
Venezuela has used the media to air charges of a “constitutional coup,”
“the loss of freedom and civil rights,” and that President Chávez will
be “dictator for life.”

They are particularly angered by the proposed changes in the
presidential elections, as if Chávez is the only president in the world
to propose this. A good response was given by Giusto Catania, vice
president of the Commission for Freedom of the European Parliament. He
said, “This constitutional reform absolutely responds to European
standards. In almost every European country exists the possibility that
a president of a republic, elected by the people, or a prime minister,
can repeat his mandate indefinitely. It happens in Spain, France, Great
Britain and Italy.” (www.guengl.org)

On Nov. 1, a group of opposition students went to the NA demanding the
reform be delayed. After deputies in the NA cordially received their
written demands, the students left in anger and chained themselves to
the NA’s gate as part of an opposition demonstration. Rocks, bottles
and other objects were thrown at the police and attempts were made to
set ablaze police cars. When it was over, seven plastic bottles filled
with gasoline were found on the street. The right-wing media gave the
protest extensive coverage.

On Oct. 29, Carolus Wimmer, a member of the Latin-American Parliament
and of the Venezuelan Communist Party, had denounced U.S. plans to stop
Venezuela’s constitutional reform. He stated that “senior United States
officials met with Venezuelan opposition groups in Prague between Oct.
7 and 9 to demand that the Venezuelan opposition ask the Supreme Court
to consider the proposed reforms as a ‘constitutional coup’ and that
they should call for social upheaval, organize acts of economic
sabotage against infrastructure, destroy the food transport and
delivery chain ... and organize a military coup with all means
possible, including bloodshed by means of Colombian paramilitaries
infiltrated in Venezuela.” (Venezuelanalysis, Diario VEA, Tribuna
Popular)

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