The Twenty-First Century Socialist Movement in Venezuela

Venezuela is in the midst of a very dynamic period in the history of their nation. It began with the landslide victory of President Hugo Chavez in 1998. His campaign centered on giving the poor majority in Venezuela a larger share of the country's wealth and providing that majority with a larger voice. He calls this the

Bolivarian Revolution after Simon Bolivar, a 19th century revolutionary leader. As an unapologetic socialist, Chavez has worked tirelessly to remove the concentration of wealth and power from the nations few rich landowners and return it to the people from whom it was stolen during the colonial period.

Most people in North America had not heard of Hugo Chavez until 2002 when the elite, angry at having to share their wealth, attempted a coup. It lasted only 47 hours during which time the Venezuelan people took to the streets, marched up to the Miraflores presidential palace and demanded their president back. It is rare when the masses win over the power elite. It is even rarer when we have video record of it. Since then, Hugo Chavez has been even more beholden to the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan people feel that they finally have some control over their own country.

Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution has not sat well with the United States to the north. The success and popularity of this social democracy threatens the power and profits of the large corporations who have a stake in the region. The Guardian has reported that The U.S. Navy aided in the 2002 coup. The Observer links the Bush team to the coup. Even former U.S. president Jimmy Carter claims that it was likely that the U.S. was behind the coup. This has made Hugo Chavez a very outspoken critic of the U.S. and it's foreign policy.

Socialist Venezuela and the capitalist U.S. are at ideological odds with one another. Whereas the socialists hold that the nation's resources should benefit the entire nation equally the capitalists believe that wealth and power are reserved for those who win the capitalist game. So, when Chavez takes ownership of oil companies or food giants like Cargill and hands them over to the people of Venezuela, the capitalist countries become more determined to fight back.

Since 2001, Hugo Chavez as taken back some 5 million acres of unused farmland and has given it to small local farmers or used it to create public enterprises aimed at growing affordable food. This has angered many large estate owners and has led to the kidnapping, beating, and killing of local farmers and those who help organize them. Just this week, farmer activists have united and begun a protest against these estate owners. It is very apparent that the Venezuelan people are still behind Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution.

The future for the socialist movement in South America looks promising. Because Chavez has kept his focus of creating a better society for his people rather than using his power for his own personal benefit the neighboring countries are beginning to take notice. Evo Morales was sworn in as Bolivia's first indigenous president in 2006. He won the election by an absolute majority which is rare in Bolivian history. Morales, of the political party Movement for Socialism (Spanish acronym MAS), has had difficulty fighting the established elite and is under constant threat of assassination but he is holding his own because he has the backing of the people. The indigenous people of Ecuador are holding Rafael Correa's feet to the fire and gave him the courage to sign with ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) in June of 2009. The ALBA Social Summit of 2009 being held during October 15-17 is expecting delegates from 40 different countries.

The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has, to date, been highly successful. The fight for a truly socialist society in which the people control the means of production is still on-going and dangerous but there is tremendous hope among the people that they will win this thing. And, although the political rhetoric of Hugo Chavez can be grating to western ears, he has been loyal to his people and they love him for it. This movement can be a great thing for the people of Venezuela and all of South America. As long as they don't give up they can finally restore the balance of power in the region. And Christopher Columbus rolls in his grave.

Learn more about this author, Sandi Crain.
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