Comments on: Venezuela: The struggle for a united socialist party http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/12/19/1488/ Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:46:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Blue http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/12/19/1488/#comment-222751 Blue Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:11:18 +0000 http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2007/12/19/1488/#comment-222751 <p>Prediction (the article is dated November 16, 2007) that the "revolutionary leadership in Venezuela, headed by Chavez, is..beginning to turn the tide of history" seems not to have panned out.</p> <p>As a result of the December referendum, the PSUV is beginning to fall apart. Podemos, the social democratic party, defected. Chavez' top military commander has distanced himself from Chavez, with rumours that he would not participate in the coup that Chavez planned following victory of the NO forces.</p> <p>Chavez' popular support was cut in half, as compared with his previous election victory, when 3 million former supporters abstained from referendum participation. These people wonder why there are still no jobs in Venezuela and why inflation is running wild in spite of state subsidies of basic consumer goods and services.</p> <p>Opposition to Chavez came largely from students. Revolutionaries should worry when they can't muster support among students.</p> <p>In all cases, opposition to Chavez was based on fear of the anti-democratic nature of the constitutional provisions advanced in the referendum; fear that Chavez and the PSUV are indeed Stalinist.</p> Prediction (the article is dated November 16, 2007) that the “revolutionary leadership in Venezuela, headed by Chavez, is..beginning to turn the tide of history” seems not to have panned out.

As a result of the December referendum, the PSUV is beginning to fall apart. Podemos, the social democratic party, defected. Chavez’ top military commander has distanced himself from Chavez, with rumours that he would not participate in the coup that Chavez planned following victory of the NO forces.

Chavez’ popular support was cut in half, as compared with his previous election victory, when 3 million former supporters abstained from referendum participation. These people wonder why there are still no jobs in Venezuela and why inflation is running wild in spite of state subsidies of basic consumer goods and services.

Opposition to Chavez came largely from students. Revolutionaries should worry when they can’t muster support among students.

In all cases, opposition to Chavez was based on fear of the anti-democratic nature of the constitutional provisions advanced in the referendum; fear that Chavez and the PSUV are indeed Stalinist.

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