Green Left Weekly's Lara Pullin, participant in the first Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Brigade, interviewed Nelson Davila, Venezuelan revolutionary and charge d'affaires at the Venezuelan embassy in Canberra.
When we were in Venezuela, we heard a lot of discussion about "socialism of the 21st century". The most popular slogan seemed to be "Another world is possible — only if it is socialist!"
"Socialism of the 21st century" sums up the Bolivarian revolution at its present stage of development. The new concepts President Hugo Chavez is implementing draw on the rich theoretical history of socialism — analysing the good and the bad experiences. We have developed two very important foundations of the revolution based on solidarity and the cooperative spirit — that is endogenous [national] development and the missions.
By solidarity, we mean inter-human and inter-community. And with the cooperative spirit, we are developing new economic units, financed by the state to initiate development that is the antithesis of capitalist production. Capitalist production upholds the ideals of individual success and accumulation of capital. Our cooperatives are based on working together. Structurally, the finances and administration are shared and no-one can dominate over the other.
Endogenous development is our internal vision, where everybody has a role to play in the economic development of one united Venezuela — no longer "two countries" of exploiters and exploited or excluded, living side by side, as capitalism dictates. Missions are the new form of human development, delivering social programs such as health through Barrio Adentro, education through Mission Robinson ... This is the vision that pushes 21st century socialism — to deliver what capitalism/neoliberalism has historically failed to do, and is incapable of delivering. The old way has shown it's a failure, and morally corrupt. Imperialism — globalisation — is a disaster for the countries of the South. Endogenous development counters this and confronts imperialism and individualism. Che Guevara's "new human" is becoming reality in Venezuela as our people control their own destiny.
The revolution also needs a legal framework to underpin it, and while the Bolivarian constitution provides that basis, it is now time to amend that to ensure that democratic participation is carried out and the revolution can advance. The Bolivarian constitution should actually reflect the program for socialism of the 21st century. In Venezuela, elements of the state still reflect the old system. We need a totally revolutionary state that facilitates democratic participation for people. The wealth of the nation must be at the service of the people. Our economy is strong, and we have reserves to last us, if necessary, for three years without being dependent on external income/exports.
Petrol money has to be directed towards endogenous development of the country and the new institutional and economic base of the revolution. Income from the petroleum sector (PDVSA) funds all the social missions and cooperatives. And further, the land titles must be granted to cooperatives and people actually living on and productively using the land — another example of socialism of the 21st century, because the new Venezuelan concept maintains private property, but ensures that there is no concentration of ownership, through the checks and balances of the National Land Institute.
The foreign debt of Venezuela is all inherited from the old regime, when neoliberal policies incurred great debt to the World Bank and the IMF. No public debt has been incurred since Chavez was elected. In fact, Chavez has established the International Development Fund as a way to facilitate solidarity for countries of the South, such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands after the tsunami, to whom we didn't loan money but gave it as a donation, and now for New Orleans. This is a practical expression of solidarity with the South and traditionally poorer or excluded peoples.
Can you comment on the upcoming National Assembly elections set for December 4?
These elections are very important, as President Chavez has declared that he wants the strength to change the constitution as soon as possible. At this coming election, he would like a clear mandate of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly to be pro-Chavez forces. This will reflect a mandate to change the Bolivarian constitution to reflect democratic socialism rather than democratic participation. This is the discussion occurring in Venezuela at the moment. The name of the republic could also be amended to include socialism explicitly, such as the proposed Bolivarian Socialist Republic of Venezuela. The new Venezuela is a socialist Venezuela.
Recently, outrageous incitements to violence towards Chavez have been made by Pat Robertson, friend of the White House, as well as threatening postures such as the gathering of US naval ships off the coast of Venezuela. How prepared is Venezuela to deal with these threats?
Well I already mentioned the strength of the economy to withstand intervention. The economic threat is probably the biggest threat, whereby the US intends to duplicate the oil strike of 2003. But it will not have the same effect this time. We withstood that test due to the combined resolve of the Venezuelan people behind their president and the strength of the economy. Both factors are even stronger now.
Venezuela's oil is the ultimate goal of the US government. We have enough reserves for over 200 years of the world's energy needs, so they are desperate for this. The US tries to influence and manipulate Venezuelan workers, but ... the new leaders of the workers' organisations are prepared for this, and each day through the missions the revolutionary process is strengthened. Of course the opposition will continue to try to win over cooperatives and workers, but we are prepared.
The other front that the US and its interests are attacking us on are the plans that Chavez has discussed concerning attempts on his life, and Plan Balboa. Plan Colombia is also an expression of the US political and military force against the Bolivarian revolution. And we are seeing every day an intensification of the use of the media against us, as they say that Chavez is a dictator and we are a totalitarian state. But they are free to say this, to publish this. If the press has the freedom to criticise, they contradict themselves. We have a peaceful revolution, so we use the laws to counter this and manage the press.
We have a new law of social responsibility — for example, the owners of the press have never paid taxes, the press doesn't want to pay its taxes, but the new laws demand some reciprocity from the press back to society. The press ... often broadcast political messages for the opposition, as a political donation from that press to those parties or opposition figures they support. They should pay for using this frequency and time. And the Ministry of Communication has now calculated the amount they owe the Venezuelan state. So this is a legal manner to confront the press, and it is an important ideological question for the Venezuelan people too, so that they can understand how the press manipulates them, and we are running that ideological campaign.
We are informing the population about Radio Marti for example, broadcast from the US so that the people of Cuba are bombarded with what the US government thinks they should be hearing. We know that the US also has plans and a wish to start transmitting what it thinks our citizens should "know" — this is an ideological battle, between two ways of viewing the world. Our way is the Bolivarian revolution led by President Chavez — their way is global imperialism led by President Bush.
Australia feels very far away from Venezuela. What is a revolutionary diplomat doing here?
The world has no borders! And these days with the internet and modern communication we are not so far away. We can be united, and the solidarity from Australia is very important. President Chavez's strategic map of the world is about multi-polarity, it is about defying the old divides of North and South, and forming alliances in all regions. The ideas of the Bolivarian revolution aren't copyrighted to Venezuela. These are universal ideas, and they are exportable — for all of humanity to share. Love for others, solidarity, love for life, for nature, for being humans — we share these qualities with Australian people who want to join the struggle of this nature.
Chavez restructured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2004 (after resoundingly winning the recall referendum), creating the five regions, North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and my area called Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. We have a revolutionary approach to international relations, and it needed new revolutionary leaders to develop the process. Many career diplomats were not identified with the revolutionary project, but it is critical to the revolution and international relations that our diplomats are totally identified with the Bolivarian revolution. I've been a revolutionary for 35 years. So I am not from that tradition of "cocktail diplomacy" — entertainment, golf, bowling or tennis parties. This is a political appointment under international agreements to carry out the work of the ideological diffusion of the revolution. I am a long-term revolutionary activist on loan to the diplomatic corp as we convert to a revolutionary diplomacy.
[Davila started out as a student activist, and was a founding member of Chavez's MBR-200 movement, the revolutionary group formed inside the armed forces. He has been a member of the ideological commission Command of Maisanto, the coordinating body for the mass campaign to defeat the opposition's attempts to recall Chavez in the August 2004 referendum. He was an instructor for the Centres for Ideological Formation and a member of the radical Movement for Direct Democracy, both led by veteran revolutionary William Izarra.]
From Green Left Weekly, September 28, 2005.
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