solidarity and disinformation about venezuela (interview with orlando chirino, september 2005)
(...) Mentioning the ILO, it is important to underline the major shift in ILO support away from the CTV and towards the UNT. In the ILO conference of June this year, the Fedecamaras/CTV complaint against the government of Venezuela was withdrawn and the CTV was voted off the ILO Governing Body. Nevertheless, in November, Venezuela will again be on the agenda at the ILO conference in Geneva. We hope that the complaint relating to the dismissal of the PDVSA white collar/administrative workers (the people who did all they could to sabotage the oil industry and destroy the Venezuelan economy during the 2002/2003 employers’ lockout) that has been referred to the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association - will be rejected. Things should certainly be easier for us with the new ILO Governing Body (i.e. without the presence of the CTV). Certain sectors within the ICFTU have been using the issue of the PDVSA dismissals to attack the Chavez government.
(...) A big challenge for the Bolivarian Revolution is to reform the inefficient bureaucratic state institutions and eradicate corruption. We need to strengthen peoples’ participation in decision-making processes at all levels of government - a sort of ongoing social-based audit (“Controlaria Social”). Our Constitution allows for this to take place. The Chavez government is encouraging the formation of local planning councils with grassroots participation. A new initiative is that of the “Mobile Cabinet” (“Gabinete Móbil”) where the president and his ministers are making visits all over the country and are talking to people at all levels (state governors, mayors, local communities, etc.).
(...) [important to question of universality] A solidarity movement should embrace all the different sectors in a similar way that the Bolivarian Revolution is doing in Venezuela (e.g. with women’s groups, indigenous groups, workers, peasant organisation, etc.). It is important to link up these different sectors in Venezuela with their counterparts in Britain.