Politico – July 30, 2024
Israel urges NATO to expel Turkey over threats to ‘invade’
BY SEB STARCEVIC
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has demanded that NATO expel Turkey over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s threats to send troops into Israel.
“In light of Turkish President Erdoğan's threats to invade Israel and his dangerous rhetoric, Foreign Minister Israel Katz instructed diplomats … to urgently engage with all NATO members, calling for the condemnation of Turkey and demanding its expulsion from the regional alliance,” the Israeli foreign ministry said Monday according to media reports.
Erdoğan told a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) earlier on Monday that Turkey “must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”
“Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we will do [something] similar exactly to them,” Erdoğan said, referring to Turkey’s past military interventions.
His saber-rattling sparked a furious response from Israel and contributed to fears of a wider regional conflict.
Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, whose party is the largest in the Netherlands, called Erdoğan an “Islamofascist” and “totally nuts” in a social media post on Sunday, adding that Turkey “should be kicked out of NATO.” Wilders has long proposed expelling Turkey from the alliance. The Netherlands, unlike Israel, is also a NATO member.
Turkey joined NATO in 1952 and has the alliance’s second-largest army. NATO does not have a specific mechanism to suspend or expel a member, though members may voluntarily withdraw.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed the possibility of creating such a mechanism in 2021, saying it “would never happen.”
Erdoğan says he'll never bow down to Israel's threats
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz’s scandalous social media post threatening him, as he said he would not be intimidated by such threats.
“We are members of a nation whose national anthem begins with “Fear not..” Disrespectful messages of clowns behind their keyboards will not daunt us. They cannot stop Tayyip Erdoğan from raising the voice of truth,” he said in an address to members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Tuesday.
The president said no matter how ugly Israel gets, they will not be able to stop him from screaming the truth.
Noting that Israel’s barbarities in Gaza have turned the blockaded enclave into the world’s largest extermination camp, Erdoğan said Western leaders and institutions responsible for ensuring international safety have merely been watching the atrocities for the past 300 days.
He warned that the lawless Israeli state does not only threaten Palestine and Lebanon, but humanity as a whole.
“Israel is the only country in the region that seeks to ensure its security through aggression, massacres and land grabs, acting like a terrorist organization,” Erdoğan said………
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/erdogan-says-hell-never-bow-down-to-israels-threats
Türkiye slams Israeli FM’s threat aimed at Erdoğan
The Turkish government on Monday hit out at Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz’s scandalous social media post threatening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Katz, known for his anti-Turkish posts amid Türkiye’s rising criticism of the Israeli administration’s massacres in Gaza, likened Erdoğan to Iraq’s ousted leader Saddam Hussein. Erdoğan said on Sunday that Türkiye might intervene in Israel to stop the killings. Katz’s post said Erdoğan followed in the footsteps of Saddam and should remember what happened in Iraq.
In response, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reminded Katz of the fate of Adolf Hitler, “a perpetrator of genocide.” “Netanyahu, another perpetrator of genocide, will have the same fate. Those trying to destroy Palestinians will be held accountable just like the genocidal Nazis did. Humanity will stand with Palestinians. You cannot destroy Palestinians.”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a separate statement that Erdoğan was the voice of conscience of humanity. In a social media post, Fidan noted, “International Zionist circles, particularly Israel, are in a hurry to suppress this righteous voice. The history has the same consequences for all genocide perpetrators and their supporters.”
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said in a social media post that “impertinent” statements by the Netanyahu administration, “which is being judged by the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide and war crimes,” were “null and void.”
“Humanity will eventually win, but Hitlers of today and those with the Nazi mindset will have the same end as they had in the past,” he said.
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/turkiye-slams-israeli-fms-threat-aimed-at-erdogan/news
Global Researh – July 29, 2024
The Impact of the Houthis on American Maritime Geopolitics
By Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz
Since 1945, American geopolitics have relied heavily on sea power and the dollar’s dominance. This strategy enabled the U.S. to win the Cold War in 1989 and declare a unipolar world. By fortifying key maritime chokepoints and controlling global sea trade routes through allies, bilateral agreements, bases, and naval presence, the U.S. dominated global trade and finance. As George Friedman, the founder of the American think tank STRATFOR, wrote in his 2010 book, “The Next Decade”:
“American power is based on the oceans… Global trade depends on the oceans. Whoever controls the oceans controls global trade… The U.S. controls all oceans. No power in history has achieved this. This control forms the foundation of U.S. security and its ability to shape the international system. Without U.S. approval, no one can navigate the seas.”
American Naval Power Is Ineffective
Today, things are not going as Friedman predicted. Since December 2023, maritime trade, which depends on the oceans and six strategic chokepoints, canals, straits, and nodes, has been significantly disrupted.
The U.S., which has been losing ground in every field and recently lost all moral and ethical values by applauding Netanyahu, the architect of the Gaza genocide, in the American Congress, cannot control the global maritime traffic flow at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The strategic strait, located between Yemen and Djibouti and only 25 km wide at its narrowest point, is now at great risk.
This situation has triggered developments that will disrupt global maritime trade. About 50 ships, carrying 7 million barrels of oil and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), used to pass through this strait daily. These quantities have now decreased by about 60%. The reason is the inability to prevent attacks by Iran-backed Yemeni Shia Houthis against Israel and Western-linked trade ships and even warships, amidst the ongoing civil war since 2015.
As the Israel-Palestine conflict, which began on October 7, 2023, enters its ninth month, and in a context where the conflict has turned into a one-sided disproportionate use of force against mostly women and children under Israel’s firepower, the Yemeni Houthis are implementing a strategy of direct attacks on trade ships and the warships protecting them to create an asymmetric impact and deter Israel from the massacre, which they see as state terrorism. These attacks pose serious threats of death, injury, sinking, and damage to ships, their crews, and their cargo. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) reported that as of November 2024, the interests of at least 65 countries and 29 major energy and shipping companies have been affected by Houthi actions, leading them to change their routes to avoid Houthi attacks.
Houthis at Sea
The first Houthi attack on Israel occurred on November 9, 2023. Since then, the Houthis, affiliated with the Ansarullah organization, have carried out around 150 attacks or attempted attacks in the surrounding seas, mainly in the Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. Initially, they launched drone attacks from 2,000 km away on the Israeli port city of Eilat in the Red Sea. They then began attacking Israeli-flagged/owned ships using the narrow military geography advantage of the strait with missiles, armed drones, and surface vehicles. On November 19, 2023, the Houthis hijacked the Israeli “Galaxy Leader” ship in the Red Sea and took it and its crew to Yemen. On November 25, 2023, they carried out a drone attack on the “Kalandra” ship of the Israeli ZIM company off the coast of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. On November 27, 2023, they attacked the American destroyer USS Mason and the nearby Liberian-flagged ship Central Park. On December 9, 2023, the Houthis declared that all ships heading to Israeli ports would be targeted.
Countermeasures Begin
On December 18, 2023, the U.S. announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect trade ships in the region, receiving support from Bahrain, the UK, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain. On December 19, 2023, the U.S., EU, NATO, Australia, the Bahamas, Japan, Liberia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore issued a joint declaration condemning the Houthi attacks. As the attacks did not cease, on January 3, 2024, the same countries threatened to use force against the Houthis. On January 10, 2024, the United Nations, through Security Council Resolution 2722, warned the Houthis to stop their attacks. Ultimately, on January 13, 2024, the U.S. and the UK launched Operation Poseidon Archer, targeting Houthi land targets with cruise missiles and air power. By the start of this operation, the Houthis had attacked 15 ships, causing missile damage to six and hijacking one. However, rather than decreasing, the attacks increased following Poseidon Archer. By the end of March 2024, 27 more Houthi attacks had occurred, damaging 12 ships. On February 20, 2024, the EU launched Operation Aspides for escort and protection at sea, involving France, Italy, Germany, Greece, and Belgium.
Attacks Continue, Damage Range Expands
Despite the naval escort and prevention operations initiated by the U.S. and EU since the end of 2023 and the punitive and neutralization operations targeting Houthi radar, workshops, manpower, ports, and bases, Houthi attacks are not decreasing. Between March and July 2024, nearly 100 attempts occurred. Despite the intensification of airstrikes on Yemen and the support of the Israeli Air Force, the Greek ship “Tutor” sank on June 12, 2024. Furthermore, the Houthis increased their attacks following every destructive move by Israel in Gaza. On July 19, 2024, the Houthis displayed an extraordinary capability by hitting Tel Aviv with a drone. This demonstrated their ability to acquire long-range firepower projection means, indicating that the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean could also become dangerous in the future. Israel’s retaliation by striking the Hodeida port with its aircraft signifies that Israel is officially at war with Yemen.
TWeaknesses of the Navies
Western navies’ modern air defense destroyers/frigates, with their three-layer (long-range, medium-range, and point defense) systems, have intercepted many rocket/missile/UAV attacks. However, they have not achieved 100% success, as the munitions used are very expensive and take a long time to integrate logistically. There is a vast cost difference between the missiles launched from Yemen and the air defense missiles used on modern warships. While Yemen’s weapons cost thousands of dollars, the preventive missiles used by Western navies cost millions. The prolonged presence of the American aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower in the region did not yield tangible and lasting results. American sailors felt unsafe at sea for the first time. An Eisenhower group pilot told AP:
“Most sailors, given the country’s military engagements in recent years, were not accustomed to being fired upon… The Red Sea experience was incredibly different, traumatic for the group, and something we hadn’t thought much about… It might be a new experience, but the U.S. Navy will need to adapt quickly and permanently.”
Houthi attacks were sometimes detected at the last moment. Often, these attacks penetrated multiple layers of the ship’s defense in a way not seen in modern history. AP reported that many sailors saw “the missiles launched by the Houthis seconds before their ship’s defense systems destroyed them.” According to a U.S. official speaking to CNN, the destroyer USS Gravely, on patrol, managed to intercept an approaching Houthi cruise missile with the Phalanx (CIWS) close-in weapon system after it had bypassed multiple layers of air defense.
Normalizing Maritime Trade Is Very Difficult
Even though the U.S. and EU’s operations to protect commercial traffic continue in the region, it is challenging for traffic to return to its previous statistics. The Red Sea route to Israel’s Eilat port, especially in the Gulf of Aqaba, is no longer used. On July 18, 2024, it was reported in the media that Eilat port had gone bankrupt.
Additionally, the Red Sea-Suez route’s classification as dangerous for all ships has increased insurance premiums by 6-7 times, and many companies are unwilling to risk increased damage threats. Large container companies like Maersk, MSC, OOCL, and CMA CGM have preferred the Cape of Good Hope route over the Red Sea-Suez-Mediterranean connection for the past eight months. This shift has significantly increased freight rates for tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and container shipments from China/Hong Kong. The decline in container traffic through Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea and the shift to the Cape of Good Hope route have disrupted container movements worldwide. In major hubs like Singapore, waiting times now exceed a week.
Houthis’ Past Maritime Experience
The Houthis’ attacks on maritime targets are not new. During the intense period of the Yemeni civil war that began in 2015, amidst heavy embargoes and blockades imposed by the Saudis and their allies, the Houthis carried out successful attacks on a Saudi corvette with a missile off Hodeida on January 31, 2017, on another Saudi frigate with a suicide boat on February 5, 2017, and on a Saudi tanker with guided munitions on April 2, 2018, in the same area. On June 12, 2018, a Houthi missile attack on a high-speed support vessel of the UAE, bringing soldiers and ammunition to the strategic Hodeida port controlled by the Houthis, nearly sank the vessel. Besides, from June 2017 to the end of 2018, the Houthis conducted four separate attacks on Saudi coalition warships using remote-controlled boats. On July 27, 2018, Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of Saudi tankers’ passage through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, citing personnel safety and environmental risks. Despite allocating 10% of its national income to defense spending, making it the third largest in the world with a $56 billion defense budget in 2018, Saudi Arabia could not subdue the Houthis or their maritime capabilities. Despite having the support of eight Sunni Arab states and the Saudi Air Force in the naval blockade against Yemen initiated in March 2015, the Saudi Navy could not succeed against the Iranian-backed Houthis. Despite being significantly weaker and more limited in manpower and resources compared to the Saudis, the Houthis managed to humiliate the Saudi Navy in front of the world.
High Morale of the Houthis
The moral superiority underlying the ship attacks launched against Israel on November 19, 2023, stems from this success against the Saudis in 2018. Before 2018, 3 million barrels of oil passed through Bab el-Mandeb daily, with the largest share belonging to the Saudis. Most of the processed products from the Yanbu Refinery on the Red Sea coast reached global markets through this strait. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia had reduced its dependence on this strait and the Strait of Hormuz with a pre-constructed pipeline that could transfer 5 million barrels of oil daily to the Red Sea. Considering scenarios where Iran might close the Strait of Hormuz, through which 15 million barrels of oil pass daily, turning the Red Sea into a dangerous area by the Houthis is indeed a significant blow to American naval geopolitics. The Houthis have further increased their leverage on the ground with the moral impact of these successes and the new tactics and techniques they have developed. As I have repeatedly emphasized, without a land invasion, it is not possible to eliminate the asymmetric naval warfare capability the Houthis have developed over the past 20 years. The question is: “Can the U.S. and its inseparable allies, Israel and the UK, launch a military invasion in Yemen? Can Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries be convinced to engage in another proxy war?”
Houthis Might Continue Even If There Is a Ceasefire
On the other hand, the Houthis’ ability to disrupt global trade continues despite intense airstrikes, suggesting that they might continue their anti-U.S./EU actions in the future, even if a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza. Aside from the increasing support the Houthis receive from Iran, the growing strategic cooperation between Iran, Russia, and China makes the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, under Iran’s direct and indirect influence, the Achilles’ heel in the global power struggle for the U.S. and the EU. Today, if the Lebanon (Hezbollah)-Israel conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean escalates into an Iran-Israel and Iran-U.S. conflict, the world would lose the commercial traffic in two straits crucial for energy supply. The U.S., EU, and their partners in the Far East could not withstand the consequences of this loss. This ongoing threat would also be devastating for states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, aiming to become global logistics hubs.
Houthis Are Undermining the Reputation of American Naval Power
The Yemeni resistance affects global maritime trade with its results. For instance, globally, 1,600 containers are either loaded or unloaded every minute. Or every day, 5.5 million tons of oil are transported by sea. Disruptions in the Bab el-Mandeb and Red Sea routes cause chain reactions in other areas. As a result, Israel, a state with no geostrategic depth and 90% of its foreign trade dependent on sea transportation, is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain its war economy. This situation is also crucial for U.S. support because Israel, impoverished and with fleeing investors, cannot extend the war without U.S. financial and munitions aid.
On the other hand, it can be said that the U.S. will not leave Israel in the lurch like it did with Ukraine. The U.S.-based Israel is much stronger and more populous than the Israel in the Levant. This was clearly seen in the Netanyahu show applauded in Congress last week. Thus, the U.S. will continue to protect Israel, and in this case, anti-U.S. states like Russia, China, and Iran will try every means to disrupt global maritime trade through the Houthis.
Disrupted global maritime trade will lead to a loss of power and prestige for the U.S., which has claimed to dominate the oceans since 1945. The Houthis will continue to undermine the reputation of American naval power. Preventing this is both laborious and difficult for the U.S. Without a land invasion or complete severance of maritime contact with Iran, it is not easy to stop the Houthis. If an invasion operation starts in the Red Sea, a Hezbollah-Israel and Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict would be inevitable, leading to the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, which would mean the collapse of the global economy. If the U.S. continues to applaud Israel in Congress, the geopolitical turmoil it faces will grow. The issue is who will decide on America’s geopolitical priorities. As long as American democracy and the election process are driven by Jewish finance, it is clear who will decide these priorities.
https://www.globalresearch.ca/houthis-american-maritime-geopolitics/5863947
World Socialist Web Site – July 30, 3034
Maduro declared winner of presidential vote, as Washington escalates drive for regime change in Venezuela
Andrea Lobo
The National Election Committee (CNE) in Venezuela declared the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro early Monday by a margin of 51.2 percent against 44.2 percent for right-wing challenger Edmundo González. 
The electoral body blamed a cyberattack for delays but said it counted 80 percent of the votes and that these show Maduro’s victory to be “irreversible.” As of this writing, the CNE website is still down, and no further results have been published.
As expected, the Biden administration, its puppet regimes in the region, and the US-funded Unitary Platform have refused to acknowledge the results. In a response clearly coordinated beforehand, US imperialism is instead using the elections to escalate its efforts for regime change.
Washington has repeatedly employed failed attempts to kidnap and kill the Venezuelan leadership, brutal sanctions to starve the population into submission and threats of a military invasion—all aimed at pressuring sections of the Venezuelan military and ruling circles to oust the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Despite earlier statements by opposition officials concluding that irregularities in the voting process had been rare and insignificant, opposition leader María Corina Machado immediately claimed the results announced by the CNE were the product of a massive fraud. The Unitary Platform had access to 40 percent of voting center reports, she said, and these gave Gonzalez 70 percent of the vote.
While demanding that the CNE show the records from all polling stations, Machado made clear that the exact results are really beside the point. Her main appeal was to the military leadership, subtly arguing that the large vote for the opposition makes clear that Maduro can’t secure its interests or capitalist rule any longer.
Machado declared: “Today we defeated them in votes all over Venezuela, but also the members of the Plan República [military oversight of the elections], the military-citizens know it, they were there in the front row, they saw the people with joy and hope, organized in a civic, peaceful way. They know it and the duty of the Armed Forces is to enforce the popular sovereignty expressed in the vote.”
She concluded by warning of future actions “in the coming days.”
The key to understanding the political crisis in Venezuela is that neither the PSUV regime, US imperialism nor its proxies give a second thought to the democratic will of the Venezuelan people or to resolving the humanitarian catastrophe.
All contenders in the election represent factions of the capitalist class associated with foreign powers that are squabbling over access to the profits from exploiting Venezuelan workers and the world’s largest oil reserves.
The overall strategy of Washington was summed up in plain terms by Geoff Ramsey of the Atlantic Council, a think-tank with close ties to the US intelligence apparatus. “This isn’t over,” he wrote, “Maduro has to convince the ruling elite that he can keep things under control, but both he and the military know that he can’t govern a country in flames. He’s effectively inviting the biggest loyalty test he’s faced in years. I doubt Venezuelan elites are eager for six more years of repression, sanctions, and economic catastrophe.”
Shortly after the preliminary results, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken predictably expressed “serious concerns that the results announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.”
Speaking for a power that has installed more dictators than any other—from Pinochet and Videla to Suharto and countless others— and that employs proxy wars and invasions as preferred policies for securing geopolitical and corporate interests around the world, Blinken said in a menacing tone: “The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.”
Earlier during the day, US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris wrote on X, “The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected.”
Blinken and Harris would be hard-pressed to find a less democratic society than the United States, where a group of billionaires have purchased control over all institutions and media and enforce its interests through bipartisan tyranny. With the acquiescence of the Democratic Party, the US Supreme Court not only stole an election in 2000, but has now turned the American president into a king above the law.
The threat of international action beyond the sanctions that have already devastated the Venezuelan economy poses a real threat that a new front of the expanding third world war will erupt in Latin America. For US-NATO imperialism, Venezuela is already a key battlefield in its efforts to undermine Russia, China, and Iran, all of whose governments maintain economic and political ties with Caracas and have already congratulated Maduro.
The regime of Argentine President Javier Milei—a defender of the fascist-military dictatorship under Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla—has been assigned the role of spearheading the response of pro-US forces to the Venezuelan elections. This operation follows months of meetings between Milei and other Argentine officials with the leadership of the CIA and Pentagon.
Nothing else could better express the predatory and anti-democratic character of US interests in the region than its partnership with these forces.
On Monday, Argentina led a meeting and joint statement with eight countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay) echoing the “serious concerns about the conduct of the presidential elections” in Venezuela. The document then demands a “full review of the results.”
It is worth adding that fascistic billionaire Elon Musk re-tweeted a statement by Milei denouncing a “fraud” in Venezuela. Musk added lamely, “Shame on Dictator Maduro.”
In a signal of what is to come, Milei’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich rallied thousands of Venezuelan opposition supporters to effectively lay siege to the Venezuelan Embassy in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
While not signing the Argentine statement, the pseudo-left Presidents Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Gabriel Boric of Chile, as well as the Brazilian President Lula da Silva, made similar appeals, casting doubt on the results and submissively joining the US-led push for regime change.
For its part, the PSUV has sought to preempt moves from outside or within the state apparatus to carry out a coup. Colectivos, gangs of loyalists on motorcycles, and supporters were called to protect the presidential Miraflores Palace in Caracas on Sunday night and celebrate a victory hours before the results were announced.
Having previously warned of a civil war and bloodbath, Maduro told a meeting of international observers on Saturday evening, that “the Militia is the secret weapon of the doctrine of national defense, of the war of all the people.” This was a call to armed and trained pro-government forces who act as an extra-constitutional unit of the army to stand by in case sections of the military turn against his regime.
This was followed by a statement by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino: “Count on the Bolivarian Militia for all the battles to come!”
Even while insisting that the military will not be an “arbiter” of the elections, Padrino ordered the deployment of 388,000 military, police and other security officials to patrol polling stations, guard and transport all electoral material and “guarantee order at all costs”.
This was an affirmation that, after all, the military will intervene to secure bourgeois rule, even if that means settling the election results.
In Tachira, a historically pro-opposition state bordering Colombia, men with face masks are shown in numerous videos using stun grenades and live ammunition against crowds. There are confirmed reports of the death of one man, Julio Valerio García, and several injured.
Venezuela stands on the verge of civil war, even deeper economic misery, and becoming an active front in an imperialist world war. It is high time for workers to draw far-reaching conclusions.
The fact that an unknown stand-in for Machado—a creature of the CIA, an extreme right-winger and proponent of US sanctions and even invasion—could plausibly have defeated Maduro is an indictment of the entire Bolivarian project and the pink-tide regionally.
The Chavistas have been unable to respond to US imperialist aggression and the crisis of capitalism other than by shifting aggressively to the right, relying increasingly on police state repression and becoming direct servants to the oil companies and Wall Street.
With US imperialism weakened and discredited like never before and with factions of the ruling class at each other’s throats, any revolutionary movement that represented the interests of the working class would use this juncture to fight for power and further the socialist revolution internationally.
But there is no revolutionary or genuinely left-wing alternative in Venezuela. Instead, at one point or another, all organizations claiming to fight for workers channeled popular opposition behind Chavismo, whose main role has always been to preempt any independent political intervention of the working class.
Hugo Chávez, a lieutenant coronel, won prominence in 1992 after leading a failed coup against the unpopular presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez. Two years later, amid an unraveling financial crisis and low oil prices, President Rafael Caldera freed Chávez from jail, seeing him as a useful figure to contain massive opposition against IMF austerity diktats, privatizations, high inflation, and the hated bipartisan system under the Puntofijo Pact, which Caldera had himself engineered in 1958. Chávez would win the election in 1998 having campaigned for years across the country for a constitutional assembly, along with democratic and social reforms.
After Chavez’s death from cancer in 2013, the World Socialist Web Site pointed to the fact that his government’s diversion of part of Venezuela’s oil bonanza into social programs and partial nationalizations did not “represent a path to socialism” and “made no serious encroachment on profit interests.” Instead, Chavez squandered most of the oil boom paying foreign creditors, increasing profits for transnationals and cultivating a faction in the ruling class and military leadership, called the boliburguesia, that grew rich from corruption and government contracts. Even though the GDP multiplied 4.5 times in the decade before his death, no major industrial or agricultural development took place, preparing a major downturn once prices fell.
The current social catastrophe, the growth of the far-right and the danger of civil war are primarily the responsibility of the pseudo-left tendencies who provided political support to Chavez and blocked a genuinely revolutionary alternative. This is true of a myriad of Pabloite tendencies that had long abandoned the principles of Trotskyism in the post-war period, advocating instead a liquidation into bourgeois nationalist forces.
From Argentine Gen. Juan Domingo Perón, to Fidel Castro in Cuba, Salvador Allende in Chile, Gen. J.J. Torres in Bolivia, Gen. Velasco Alvarado in Perú and Gen. Omar Torrijos in Panama, these forces repeatedly sought to subordinate workers to bourgeois reformist forces that in many cases ended up facilitating the rise of US-backed fascist-military dictators.
As the WSWS wrote in 2013, these forces:
... were drawn to Chávez’s “21st Century socialism” precisely because of their hostility to the Marxist conception that a socialist transformation can be carried out only through the independent and conscious struggle of the working class to put an end to capitalism and take power into its own hands. These petty-bourgeois political elements are instead attracted to a policy designed to save capitalism from revolution, imposed from above by a charismatic comandante. These layers have moved far to the right since the hey-day of their adaptation to Castroism in the 1960s and 1970s.
Objective developments in the past 40 years, including the dissolution of the USSR and the process of capitalist globalization, have rendered infeasible all national reformist programs. The growth of massive, urban working classes across Latin America, moreover, has made the ruling elites even more subservient to imperialism and hostile to any serious democratic reforms.
Against the growing threat of dictatorship and war, workers and youth in Venezuela and across the region must fight to build the International Committee of the Fourth International, the leadership of the world Trotskyist movement. As made clear by the tragic history of betrayals in Latin America, the first step must be a careful study of the programmatic lessons from the decades-long struggle of the ICFI against Pabloism and all other pseudo-left agencies of the local bourgeoisies and imperialism.
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