I am thinking of the trip home a lot this Friday. This has been a unique trip that has given me insight not only into Venezuelan issues but Canadian ones as well.
The revolution is more accepted here probably because of the intense colonialism that sucked and sucks the recourses and labour out of the Latin American world into the north.
The resistance to imperialism as a result seems more advanced here than anywhere else. When people on the street talk about imperialism, they are talking from experience. The question for me, from Canada, is can they actually change their society and economy in a sustainable way.
Giving land and titles to landless people is progress but when that land is perched on a 35% angle, subject to floods and earthquakes, I wonder if they have something valuable in the long term.
The cooperative farm that we saw was inspirational. The government actually aided the takeover of the land and has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into farming equipment. But those 21 people and their children do not have a working toilet and are living in unsanitary conditions. How long can that be sustained?
We have heard from many about the bottom up community council structure that is enshrined in law but at the head of the government is a charismatic figure that could be defeated or killed. Or he could have a crazy idea that he applies to the whole country.
Would his revolution survive his downfall or death? I would hope so but we have seen what a single person like Mike Harris did to community advancement in only a few years after his first election.
We, here in the first world, say advances in equity trashed and progressive language banned.
Could Venezuela be as fragile? He has millions of followers in this country but they do not all agree with each other. There could be threats from the left and the right.
The biggest impression that I take from here is the wonderful people I have met. They are smart, caring, organized and thoughtful. Family, friends and community are important to them. Most follow Chavez because he has handed down true reform in local decision making structures and has made a difference in their lives.
His opposition is well financed but unfocused. It has the potential to bring everything to a halt, violently.
The question for me is what is next? How will I apply this to Jane/Finch. I cannot use the language of Venezuela in Jane/Finch because the context is so different. Before this, I was starting to talk about class more in local meetings and while there was some recognition here, it seems to go over the heads of some activists, academics and community members. This sounds arrogant but I do not know how else to express it differently.
I am not going to go out and join a ‘revolutionary’ organization because I still suspect many of their motives just as I did a month ago.
But I will do something even if it supporting, Frente Norman Bethune.
I believe that even the little that we can do in Canada must be done to support the direction of reforms in Venezuela and other South American countries. It is true that an economy run just by the working class could be doomed but look at our economy run by and for the moneyed class. It almost came to creating a disaster and still could.
It appears that there must be checks and balances and a mixture of controls for an economy to remain healthy for any time.
But in the face of a growing new liberal ideology that calls for no regulation and an economy focused on creating class divisions, there has to be a vigorous opposition.
In Canada that must come from social movements and unions. But they are not always up to the task.
In Latin America, it comes in the form of populous governments that can resist the IMF, free triad restrictions and military coups.
I have no illusion that we can have a major influence on what goes on in Venezuela and the other countries but every little bit can help.
Aside from education us, our presence here has impressed many who have met us. We have helped to support their belief in the international aspect of their struggles. Still, they are the ones who will be doing the real work here. And in the worst case scenario, they will be the ones who will give their lives for their beliefs in a people focus society.
I have August to mull this over before things start getting active again in TO.
I would love to be involved in something like this again in six months or so but I would want more facility with Spanish. We will see.
