[lbo-talk] Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proclaimed

[Charles Brown]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proclaimed 'socialism or death' in 
finishing his rousing speech to a rally of around 10,000 people at the
Polihedro Stadium on January 27. The rally was a feature of the Latin
American section of the Sixth World Social Forum held in Caracas on January
24-29.

The forum attracted an audience of up to 100,000 people from all over Latin
America and the world, to a feast of more than 2000 public meetings and
seminars on themes of anti-imperialist globalisation and the struggle for a
better world.

Chavez said that unlike Karl Marx, when he first issued the call for 
socialism in the 19th century, 'we do not have much time left'. The 21st
century has now come, 'when the dilemma must be finally resolved'.

'Time is short. If we do not change the world now, there may be no 22nd
century for humanity. Capitalism has destroyed the ecological 
equilibrium of the earth. It is now or never!', Chavez declared. 'We 
should go toward setting up a worldwide anti-imperialist movement. We have
already taken steps in this direction', Chavez told the cheering crowd. He
commented that at the previous WSF in Porto Alegre in 2005, 'many talks were
occurring without conclusions. We are not here to waste our time. We must
urgently build a new socialist movement.'


Chavez blasted the US empire. 'It is the most perverse empire in 
history: It talks about freedom while invading and destroying other 
nations ... The empire is very powerful, but not infallible. This 
century we will bury the US empire. The empire has to face the people of
Venezuela and Latin America. It has failed in Iraq already.'


He urged the audience to 'imagine a world in which the US administration
declares peace to the world, withdraws its forces, and uses its resources to
produce medicines and food for the poor people of the world'.

Chavez contrasted the US's record to the achievements of the Bolivarian
revolution in Venezuela, with the help of Cuba, which taught 1.5 million
people to read through Mission Robinson in just two years.

'Injustice and inequality are losing: it is now up to us to define the
formula of unity for victory. We need unity of all our currents. While
respecting the right to autonomy of the movements, including the green
movement and the various political and national movements, all of us should
get together in a victorious offensive against imperialism.'

Many prominent figures in the international progressive movement were
featured on a podium, including Aleida Guevara (Che's daughter) and Cindy
Sheehan (US anti-war leader whose son was killed in Iraq). Huge applause
greeted Chavez's speech, and the rally included a rousing rendition of the
workers' anthem, 'The Internationale'.

Chavez's stress on the need for urgent international political action
against global capitalism and oppression was a major theme of the forum. The
whole conference was filled with the overwhelming influence of the
Venezuelan revolution. The 'Bolivarian spirit' was pervasive from the very
first day, when around 20,000 activists marched to launch the WSF. 

The lively and colourful march featured the banners, clothing and chants of
the many national contingents, especially from Latin America.One contingent
was a group of around 15 Australians, marching with the banner of the
Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network and chanting: 'Chavez, friend!
Australians are with you!'


A panel with speakers from the National Union of Workers, the 
worker-managed Alcasa aluminum factory, organisers from participatory
budgets in Brazil, and well-known radical intellectuals, discussed how
co-management and participatory budgeting were weapons in the struggle
against capitalism and in building a democratic socialism of the 21st
century. It also featured debate on the strengths and weakness of these
various experiments so far.

Another panel of radical Latin American economists discussed how the 
Latin American integration project known as the Bolivarian Alternative of
the Americas (ALBA) was the antithesis of the US-inspired Free Trade Area of
the Americas. The panellists discussed how ALBA gave activists a strategic
and concrete alternative to struggle for and that it must be a social
integration of peoples at every level rather than only of governments and
elites.



Another well-attended forum discussed the Marxism of Che Guevara and its
relevance. The panel concluded that while Che's thought didn't contain all
the elements of 21st century socialism, he articulated its essence by
arguing that socialism must be centered on developing new human beings
liberated from alienation, and that this can only be achieved through their
active participation in building a society free from capitalism and all
forms of bureaucracy and hierarchy.


Another forum discussed the massive achievements of Venezuela's social
missions in improving the lives of the poor communities, and their role in
transforming the communities into organised, conscious and creative social
actors in constructing a new socialist Venezuela, thus giving them a
revolutionary character in a capitalist society.


Meetings also discussed solidarity work in various countries and plans for
coordination of international solidarity activities with the Venezuelan
revolution in 2006.


The variety and breadth of topics covered the whole spectrum of debate in
the world anti-capitalist globalisation movement. As the WSF draws toward a
close, discussion is occurring on the future of the social forum movement
and the urgent tasks facing us in the coming year.


Jim McIlroy & Chris Kerr, Caracas
> From Green Left Weekly, February 1, 2006.