Democracy & Social Progress – why trade unions are supporting Venezuela

Chair of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign Jennie Bremner responds to Rob Marchant’s recent open letter.

Dear Rob,

The TUC support for the recent conference “Venezuela: defending the majority not punishing the poorest”, to which you objected in your recent letter, is entirely consistent with the TUC Congress decisions of 2005 and 2007 which unanimously passed resolutions backing the advances in social process and democracy underway in Venezuela since the Chavez-led government was elected in 1998.

This is part of the strong support for Venezuela amongst the British trade unions and wider labour movement. In addition to the TUC resolutions mentioned above, there is also support for Venezuela from over 15 national trade unions including the four biggest; Unite, UNISON, GMB and CWU. 13 national unions backed this particular conference. Further, during the last parliament, over 100 Labour MPs signed motions welcoming developments in Venezuela.

None of this support would be possible if there were denials of trade union freedom in Venezuela, nor would this support be possible if it were not for the real social gains for the majority of the population in Venezuela in recent years.

Social Progress in Action

Myself and many others from the union movement – for example, a TUC delegation in 2006 led by Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady, and including the UNISON Deputy General Secretary (Keith Sonnet) and current TUC International Development Spokesperson (Gail Cartmail) – have seen for ourselves Venezuela’s democracy in action, and its inspiring social transformation.

It is clear why trade unionists would support a government that has acted to reverse a tide of privatisation and neo-liberalism that had seen real incomes collapse and poverty peak at 70%. Furthermore, one in ten adults had been illiterate and many denied access to proper healthcare. All of this was despite the country’s vast oil wealth.

I went to the country during the September 2010 National Assembly elections, and saw the inspiring sight of hundreds of people – of all political persuasions – forming queues from early in the morning to cast their vote. I was also privileged to visit new health and education programmes that are bringing public services to the majority of the population for the first time.

Now working people are amongst the main beneficiaries of these policies that have transformed the country. Illiteracy has been eradicated after 1.5m people learnt to read and write in just two years and free education is now a constitutional right. A free National Health System has been introduced for the first time, estimated to have saved 240,000 lives, with infant mortality halved and life expectancy up. And since 1998 four million Venezuelans have been lifted out of poverty, with poverty rates falling by half and extreme poverty by two-thirds.

In addition to trade unions a number of international agencies have endorsed the social achievements of the Chavez-led government. For example, talking about programmes that provide 12 million people with high quality subsidised food to tackle malnutrition, a UN spokesperson recently said, “In times when we have food prices soaring and more than a billion people dying of starvation, Venezuela does just the opposite and has noticeably reduced the rate of malnourishment”.

The World Bank has said that Venezuela’s “programs, aimed at helping the poor, includ[ing] free health care, subsidized food and land reform.. succeeded in decreasing poverty levels by 30% between 1995 and 2005, mostly due to an increase in the real per capital income.”

Venezuela has also met the UN Millennium Development Goals – including on poverty, gender equality and many more – ahead of schedule, unlike the many countries that are going to miss them.

Trade union rights

The support unions give to Venezuela can be further explained when one considers the expansion of trade union rights taking place alongside these social changes.

In particular, in 1999 a new constitution was introduced after being endorsed in a national referendum when the Venezuelan people got to vote directly on their constitution for the first time. Specific examples of the expansion of trade union constitutional rights in this constitution include:

• Article 95 which enshrines freedom of association and organisation.

• Article 96 which enshrines the right to collective bargaining in the private and public sectors.

• Article 97 which enshrines the right to strike.

Additionally, the constitution also contains a large number of articles regarding social and human rights which supplement specific union rights, such as rights to social benefits and pensions, health and education.

This is why the overwhelming majority of trade unions in Venezuela support the progressive government, which of course they wouldn’t do if their freedoms were being violated.

Democracy and increased participation

It is unclear where the evidence for your claim of a lack of democracy in Venezuela comes from. At last September’s parliamentary elections the party that Hugo Chavez leads won 48% and the main opposition 47%, with 186 political parties participating and a turnout of 66%.

The opposition have taken their seats and are involved in bodies of the parliament – in short, even a right-wing opposition that has previously sought to organize a coup and other non-democratic ways to oust the elected president is accepting this electoral process. And the democratic process is stronger than ever. There have been a total of 14 national elections and referenda since 1998, with Chavez and his supporters winning 13, and immediately accepting the result in a referendum they lost in 2007. It is interesting to note that this number – 14 – of elections in Venezuela under Chavez is equal to the amount there were in the preceding 50 years.

Participation is also at record levels, with more than six million people added to the electoral register since 1998. These elections have been declared free and fair by a range of international observers from the EU, Carter Centre and many others. Furthermore, according to the 2010 well respected regional Latinobarometro report, 84% of Venezuelans said they support democracy, the highest percentage in the region.

Freedom of speech and assembly – a dramatic contrast with Venezuela pre-1998

Statements about the Venezuelan government dominating the media or there being no access to free press are simply false. Venezuela’s democratic system includes a very free media, as anyone who has ever been to the country can attest for themselves. It is a media overwhelmingly privately owned by vocal opponents of the government, with more than 86% of the media on public airwaves privately owned and operated. More than 184 channels broadcast freely through cable networks. Regarding TV audiences, a recent survey showed the state share of audience is very small – currently only 5.4% – while private, opposition-owned channels dominate the television audience, with 61.4% watching privately owned TV channels, and a further 33.1% watching paid TV. As I saw for myself, there is fierce debate and criticism of the government in several Venezuelan newspapers – a testament to the freedom of expression and press in the country.

Indeed, access to media and information is increasing in Venezuela. Last December a government scheme to increase internet usage by providing free access via “Infocentros” won a UNESCO Prize, along with the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education in the United Kingdom. Now Venezuela ranks third globally in terms of how many of its internet users sign on to Twitter and surveys indicate it is one of the countries with highest Blackberry penetration.

Freedom of assembly in Venezuela is also strongly maintained. Demonstrations both for and against the government are regular occurrences – clearly showing that political opinions can be freely expressed.

All of this is a drastic shift from the governments prior to Chavez, with state massacres and repression, including the Caracazo massacre in 1989 where up to 3000 people were killed after protesting against the then government’s IMF-inspired economic policies of austerity.

No such human rights abuses have taken place in Venezuela under its current government. In fact, the only comparable assault on human rights was the coup of April 11th/13th 2002 carried out by Chavez opponents to try and remove the elected government. In those two days 19 people were killed by the Metropolitan Police, and dozens injured.

Recently the head of the Accion Democratica, a party vehemently opposed to Chavez, admitted that this coup was pre-planned and that the decree abolishing the elected government had been circulated amongst a wide range of conspirators the week prior to the coup. This means that the mass killings of innocent people on the day of the coup which was then used as justification for the military to intervene into politics; the widespread violence during 11th-13th; the calls by the military chiefs in calling for Chavez to go; and the subsequent abolition of all of the branches of the democratic government – were all pre-planned by opponents of the Chavez government as part of a Bush backed attempt at regime change.

Despite these actions the coup conspirators received a Presidential amnesty, which Chavez called “a matter of turning the page” adding “We want there to be a strong ideological and political debate – but in peace.” Many of those pardoned are leading members of the opposition participating in politics today and even holding posts. Nothing could possibly indicate the civil freedoms in Venezuela more than this.

Ultimately though, the future is for the Venezuela people themselves to decide. This is the core principle of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign – that it is the right of the people of Venezuela to determine their own affairs free from outside interference. This is not an abstract matter – the history of Venezuela is littered with irrefutable evidence of US interference in Venezuela, and evidence that today US government bodies are pouring millions of dollars into the country aimed at destabilising the elected government.

The trade union movement and many others are to be commended for supporting social progress and Venezuela’s right to determine its own future.

Jennie Bremner
Chair, Venezuela Solidarity Campaign