Power to the People and the Triumph of Venezuela’s Student Grassroots

Guest posted by Anonymous Is A Woman

Note: This is my first post for NLS.  Thanks to Ben for inviting me to guest post occasionally.  My interests range from Virginia to the international and from politics to religion and economics.  So, for my first guest post, I am going to write on a topic a little bit different from the usual NLS material. This is because I'm sort of tired of the usual Democratic vs. Republican; NoVa vs RoVa fights. I hope to start a more international argument :)

Both the people of Venezuela and democracy were winners today as Hugo Chavez’s referendum went down to defeat by 51 to 49 percent. Chavez had called the referendum to increase his term as president from six to seven years, remove term limits so that he could run and serve indefinitely and grant himself control of the Central Bank. He also wanted the government to have the ability to detain citizens without charge during a state of emergency.

As the Washington Post reported, Chavez tried to sweeten the deal by offering a pension fund for informal workers such as street vendors, extending Social Security benefits, shortening the work day from 8 to six hours, and promoting neighborhood councils. He also proposed lowering the minimum voting age from 18 to 16. Even some of his opponents praised some of these reforms such as increasing Social Security.

Chavez originally rode to office as a populist reformer who championed the poor. His reforms have been wildly popular. But he recently moved beyond mere populism to an embrace of socialism, including nationalizing the Venezuelan oil industry and shutting down a popular opposition television station. When he first put his controversial referendum on the ballot, he was favored to win by 10 points.

A huge part of the credit for his defeat goes to the growing student opposition movement, which he has called "fascists and spoiled brats". Chavez accused them of being the children of the wealthy oligarchy.

And that may be true of a few.

But this was a wide spread movement of young idealists who took to the streets of Venezuela’s barrios, its poorest districts. Indeed, many of the students from Venezuela’s Central University are themselves the children of the lower classes. As the Miami Herald reported on November 23, young people began working the slums of Venezuela, offering practical assistance to the poor. As the Herald reported:

As Chávez accuses them of being the spoiled children of the ''oligarchy'' and moves ahead with a controversial constitutional reform that's polarizing the country, the students have launched social projects in poor neighborhoods, known as barrios.

Among their programs: a health education initiative started in August to stem the country's biggest killer --diabetes.

They call it ``Healing Venezuela.''

The student protests began when Chávez refused to renew the broadcast license of RCTV, the country's oldest network and the only opposition channel available nationwide. They're opposing Chávez's proposed constitutional reforms, which would offer a popular six-hour work day but also remove term limits from the presidency and continue to squeeze civil liberties.

''We realized that we can't just criticize the president, we have to offer solutions,'' said Desiree Zambrano, 20, the president-elect of the pharmacy school student center at Central University of Venezuela, or UCV.

As the Herald also showed, despite Chavez’s attempt to discredit the students, many of them are themselves leftists. Indeed, in a final irony to the student movements' defeat of socialism, one of their leaders is even named after a Communist dictator, Josef Stalin. Here’s the quote:

Among the leaders is Stalin Gonzalez, 26, a law student whose father was once a member of the radical Red Flag movement here. He grew up in the poor Catia district, and his father had such affinity for the left that he named his children after three towering figures of communism -- Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin and Friedrich Engels.

Stalin Gonzalez, though, said he does not regard Chavez as a leftist -- but rather as an autocrat whose administration is intent on accumulating power. Gonzalez is particularly worried about constitutional changes that would permit the president to run for office indefinitely, appoint governors to specially created federal territories and control the country's finances.

These students’ actions are a testament to the power of grassroots activism in defending democracy from an encroaching dictator. At the end of the day, even long time Chavez supporters opposed his power grab. Here’s the Washington Post’s quote:

"People who have been with Chávez do not support the reform," said Elixio Fusil, who lives in a pro-Chávez district in western Caracas and voted against the reforms. "He wants a blank check, and that's impossible. We're not stupid like he thinks. It's that simple. There are conscious, thinking people here, too."

That about sums it up! Nothing is more important than liberty and freedom. Without that there is no discussion. Congratulations to the brave students and other opponents of dictatorship who took to the streets, not in violence, but in a genuine grassroots effort to help people better their lives.

Comments

[LAS]

AIAW, thanks for this fantastic and informative post.

It was a shock--and a lovely one--when Chavez didn't get everything he wanted--we'd been repeatedly told, after all, that he was definitely going to win it all. What a nice surprise that his grab for power failed and that democracy--and the people of Venezuela--won.

This gives hope to everyone, I think, in that it proves that ordinary people CAN make a difference, that NOTHING is inevitable, and that from time to time, the good guys do actually win.

Sigue la lucha!

[Grozet]

Good post, but it missed the fact that the leftists are responsible for this mess.

It is the conservatives down there that were ready to vote no matter what against Chavez.

I am pleased that 11% of leftists changed their minds, but it is because of them that this has occured in the first place.

Chavez's defeat is due to the fact that he didn't talk to the Venezuelan union bosses before he floated his referendum.

He should have known to have obtained their blessing before he did anything.

[hogmesh]

aaah grozet, that's the nuanced analysis we've come to expect from you and your blog.

[George Templeton]

A wonderful post AIAW, but lets face it, one referendum is only to quote Russ Potts "a gnat on an elephant's fanny." Chavez still has a few more years to choke the life out of that democracy by either populist uprising from the poor or getting the military to do it for him.
I am glad some of the Venezuelan left have seen the light on Chavez, but will enough of them see the light to get rid of him when the time comes? And how can regular americans help them if possible?

[GhostofAlexanderHamilton]

Thanks for the post. It was insightful. You cannot look at the issue in Venezuela between right or left.

The transition of this country and much of South America has to be looked at from a broader perceptive of that nation's history. Just be glad the enough people had the courage to vote NO.

[200 Grande]

Chavez has promised to try something like this again. Still, this is a great story of grassroots activism and the awakening of a new generation of activists. By noting the need to offer solutions, they appear more than just an opposition movement. In the end, this is critical.

Great post.

[dems4dems]

To me, the miracle is that the votes were tabulated honestly.

[Doug in Mount Vernon]

I am happy to be able to comment on something AIAW wrote and say to her "KUDOS!" Excellently written thoughts--thanks Karen!

My partner being from neighboring Colombia and very concerned about the events in Venezuela, we are both very happy about this as well.

[Anonymous Is A Woman]

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments.

Since I spent Thanksgiving in South Florida, where the newspapers report extensively on events in Central and South America, this was very high on my radar.

It's a whole different world in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and they take their neighbors to the South very seriously, as should the rest of us.

Chavez's defeat was very encouraging. But as some posters noted, yes, he will try again. Let's hope the good people of Venezuela stay vigilant and keep valuing their freedom!