Rodriguez gives no date for vote despite pledging elections at UN


This is completely in line with the previous PSUV position. It's not even a concession. They have always maintained that they have free and fair elections. She is the rightful legal successor to Maduro, and she is promising to uphold the existing democratic norms of her country. That she isn't taking an outwardly hostile tone towards the nation which enjoys total military superiority over them during a diplomatic mission at the UN may come across as a betrayal to certain ultra-leftists in the US, but it would seem that the Chavistas in Venezuela do not share the same view.

A Lemmygrad comrade

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[–] 46 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

Personally, I try to view the Chavistas themselves, who the commune movement is supporting, and who is most actively opposing Delcy Rodriguez as my way of viewing the situation. I begin with the class struggle as it actively exists in Venezuela, with the PSUV in charge of what has never been a consolidated revolution. Class struggle is incredibly sharp in Venezuela, with a powerful bourgeoisie that at the moment stands in opposition to the PSUV, while the PSUV still holds support on the ground from the commune movement.

This, to me, spells the actions of the PSUV post-kidnapping as a survival tactic and strategic retreat to hopefully prevent a ground invasion. I do not have a clear-sighted view, but I do have more trust in the fact that on the ground, the commune movement supports the PSUV, while the bourgeoisie still opposes the PSUV. If the PSUV collapses and/or alienates the communes, then we will know that this strategic retreat was incorrect. For now, that moment is not here.

Venezuela is not socialist. It never has established a dictatorship of the proletariat. What it has is a progressive party and an incomplete revolution, one that at the moment most lives on in the commune movement. The PSUV plays a progressive role as long as it continues to have connection with that commune movement and help progress it, essentially forming dual power. This is what makes the Chavista revolution so unique, it's a combination of a reformist party needing to actually rely on revolutionary dual power structures to continue existing.

All she has done is promise elections at an undetermined point, which as others have said is consistent PSUV policy.

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  • [–] 21 points 4 days ago (5 children)

    i completely agree with you. very good summary

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  • [–] 27 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

    Thanks, comrade! I also see this as a particularly interesting revolution because I expect it to have many lessons for the US if the DSA ever took power, which is relevant to me as someone organizing in the US. We know reformism is a dead-end, but what if groups were building dual power and established ties with the DSA? What should Marxist-Leninists do if the wave of DSA support continues, when we know it cannot establish socialism within the capitalist state apparatus?

    The lessons from the Chavista revolution can help inform movement in the US. Obviously conditions are vastly different. There's no empire pressuring the US, and there's no dual-power movement either. But studying the Venezuelan experience with the sort of reform-revolution going on right now gives us a glimpse into what one potential future of organizing in the US Empire itself may look like.

    Again, I'm not a reformist, nor am I advocating for the DSA.

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  • [–] 14 points 4 days ago (1 child)

    yes its very inspiring to people in europe as well. LFI, melanchons party in france, is thinking of a similar strategy of using presidential power to create room for bigger mobilizations and dual power.

    the party im is is pretty classically marxist-leninist, but we advocate for learning from all movements. and in the french 2027 presidential elections it has been a big topic of conversation.

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