Which way for Venezuelan Revolution?

international | anti-capitalism | press release Friday July 07, 2006 11:00 by Kevin Wingfield - SWP info at swp dot ie

Ex Chavez Minister speaks out

Roland Denis, a former Minister of the Hugo Chavez government in Venezuela, will be speaking at three locations in Ireland. He is a guest speaker at meetings organised by the Socialist Workers Party.
The locations are:

* Cork: 11 July 8pm Victoria Hotel, Patrick St
*Dublin 12 July 8pm ATGWU Hall 55 Middle Abbey St
* Galway 13 July 8pm Foster Court Hotel, Foster St

Ex-Minister of Chavez Government speaks in Ireland

Roland Denis, a former Minister of the Hugo Chavez government in Venezuela, will be speaking at three locations in Ireland. He is a guest speaker at meetings organised by the Socialist Workers Party.

The locations are:

* Cork: 11 July 8pm Victoria Hotel, Patrick St
*Dublin 12 July 8pm ATGWU Hall 55 Middle Abbey St
* Galway 13 July 8pm Foster Court Hotel, Foster St

He will speak about the ongoing Revolution in Venezuela and what still needs to be done.

Biography:

Roland Denis is a leading revolutionary in Venezuela. He was a member of the Chávez government (in 2002-2003) as vice-minister of planning, but resigned after ten months, together with the minister, in protest at the lack of grass roots involvement in the planning process.

An organiser and activist since the 1980s, he was a founder member of the 13 April Movement, a grassroots organisation struggling to deepen the Bolivarian Revolution.

On the 11th April 2002, Hugo Chavez was overthrown by a US-sponsored coup. Mass demonstrations forced the coup plotters to flee and brought Chavez back. April 13th symbolises the beginning of the revolutionary process in Venezuela when the ordinary people came to the fore. Roland Denis has been in the thick of these struugles against wealth and privilege.

WHAT HE SAYS

“In terms of future development of the revolution there are two alternatives. The first is that the right recovers enough strength for a politics, violent or non-violent, able to defeat the whole Bolivarian movement, and the second is a much more profound institutionalisation of the movement than at present. But this is something which is still dependent on a profound struggle taking place between the movement and the institutional power of the state.”

“Our idea is to create a movement of workers. As well as the recuperated factories there are other projects. In the big state-owned enterprises—above all aluminium with 1,500 workers—comrades in the movement are developing experiences of direct workers’ control.”

”There is a class struggle in Venezuela, but not a revolution that has triumphed. A revolution is possible in Venezuela, but it is only a possibility. For us it is about Latin America in general. So far things have only advanced a little way. This is the question in Ecuador, in Bolivia, in Brazil, etc. In Venezuela it is a little better, while things in Colombia are terrible. What we have to do now is build a political strategy —not for the government, but for a popular revolutionary movement that can drive the movement forward. We need to build that movement together with the rank and file of the Chavista movement, who are using the same language as us.”
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