[Marxism] Some thoughts on the outcome of the Venezuelan referendum

[Jon Flanders]

On Mon, 2007-12-03 at 20:40 +1100, Stuart Munckton wrote:
> Clearly this happened has happened in an
> uneven way - it is no mean feat to convinve 4.3 million people to vote
> for the type of radical measures in the constitutional reform
> proposals. But it has hasnlt happened on a large enough scale by a
> long way.

This post reflects a lot of what I've been thinking about today. Clearly
a lot of political work has to be done yet in Venezuela to win over the
"immense majority" to a socialist perspective.

It also struck me in retrospect that 69 constitutional changes ranging
from term limits to gay rights were an awful lot for people to swallow
at once.

Certainly in a sense, I prefer to 51-49 defeat to a 51-49 victory. I can
only imagine the rioting that would have gone on in the second case by
all the Venezuelan rightists. Instead they now face the likilihood of
over-reaching in the context of quite a few more years of a Chavez
presidency. Years which will give the infant PSUV time to consolidate.

As it has been pointed out, the issue of "Chavez the dictator" is now a
broken weapon, given his calm acceptance of the vote.

All in all, perhaps the best outcome for a "defeat." One that gives the
basis for further gains, if handled correctly.

Jon Flanders