Stuart Munckton

According to a February 22 article by Venezuela Analysis commentator Jonah Gindin, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced on February 20 that the recently expropriated paper company, now known as the Venezuelan Endogenous Paper Industry (Invepal), would be “co-managed” by the workers and the state and would develop a plan to meet all of Venezuela's paper demand.

The government is promoting a new economic model it refers to as “endogenous development”, which aims at developing Venezuelan industry, to be “co-managed” by the industrial workers. The enormous paper factory, which covers 5600 hectares over four states, had been occupied by 350 workers since the company, then called Venepal, attempted to sack the entire work force in September 2004.

In January, the Venezuelan government met the occupiers’ demand to nationalise the company under workers’ control. Chavez announced that the ultimate authority in the company would be a workers’ assembly, which he said would eliminate bureaucracy and merge production and administration.

Gindin reported that the government is “working on a plan to bring all basic industry into the state-run endogenous development model”. Gindin referred to plans to introduce similar workers “co-management” into the state-run mining and processing centre and aluminium processing plant.

Chavez insisted that any other company that attempted

to dump its workforce along the lines of Venepal would

also be seized.

Inspired by the success of the paper workers, the

workers at National Valve Construction,

which makes valves for the oil industry and was

also abandoned by its owners, have re-launched their

demands for nationalisation under

workers' control.

From Green Left Weekly, March 9, 2005.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.

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