[NYTr] Tariq Ali on the Venezuelan Referendum

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

CounterPunch  -Dec 3, 2007
http://www.counterpunch.com/tariq12032007.html

Lessons for the Bolivarians:

Venezuela After the Referendum

By Tariq Ali

Hugo Chavez' narrow defeat in the referendum was the result of
large-scale abstentions by his supporters. 44 percent of the electorate
stayed at home. Why? First, because they did not either understand or
accept that this was a necessary referendum. The measures related to
the working week and some other proposed social reforms could be easily
legislated by the existing parliament. The key issues were the removal
of restrictions on the election of the head of government (as is the
case in most of Europe) and moves towards 'a socialist state.' On the
latter there was simply not enough debate and discussion on a
grassroots level.

As Edgardo Lander, a friendly critic pointed out:

"Before voting in favour of a constitutional reform which will define
the State, the economy, and the democracy as socialist, we citizens
have the right to take participate in these definitions. What is
understood by the term socialist state? What is understood by the term
socialist economy? What is understood by the term socialist democracy?
In what way are these different to the states, economies, and
democracies that accompanied socialism of the 20th century? Here, we
are not talking about entering into a debate on semantics, rather on
basic decisions about the future of the country."

And this was further amplified by Greg Wilpert, a sympathetic journalist
whose website, venezuelaanalysis.com, is the best source of information
on the country:

"By rushing the reform process Chavez presented the opposition with a
nearly unprecedented opportunity to deal him a serious blow. Also, the
rush in which the process was pushed forward opened him to criticism
that the process was fundamentally flawed, which has become one of the
main criticisms of the more moderate critics of the reform."

Another error was the insistence on voting for all the proposals en
bloc on a take it or leave it basis. It's perfectly possibly that a
number of the proposals might have got through if a vote on each had
been allowed. This would have compelled the Bolivarians to campaign
more effectively at grassroots level through organised discussions and
debates (as the French Left did to win the argument and defeat the EU
Constitution ). It is always a mistake to underestimate the electorate
and Chavez knows this better than most.

What is to be done now? The President is in office till 2013 and
whatever else Chavez may be the description of 'lame-duck' will never
fit him. He is a fighter and he will be thinking of how to strengthen
the process. If properly handled the defeat could be a blessing in
disguise. It has, after all, punctured the arguments of the Western
pundits who were claiming for the last eight years that democracy in
Venezuela was dead and authoritarianism had won.

Anyone who saw Chavez' speech accepting defeat last night (as I did
here in Guadalajara with Mexican friends) will not be in any doubt
regarding his commitment to a democratically embedded social process.
That much is clear. One of the weaknesses of the movement in Venezuela
has been the over-dependence on one person. It is dangerous for the
person (one bullet can be enough) and it is unhealthy for the
Bolivarian process. There will be a great deal of soul-searching taking
place in Caracas, but the key now is an open debate analysing the
causes of the setback and a move towards a collective leadership to
decide on the next candidate. It's a long time ahead but the
discussions should start now. Deepening popular participation and
encouraging social inclusion (as envisaged in the defeated
constitutional changes) should be done anyway.

The referendum defeat will undoubtedly boost the Venezuelan opposition
and the Right in Latin America, but they would be foolish to imagine
that this victory will automatically win them the Presidency. If the
lessons of the defeat are understood it is the Bolivarians who will win.


[Tariq Ali's new book, Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope, is
published by Verso. He can be reached at: tariq.ali3 at btinternet.com ]