Eyewitness to Venezuela's historic vote

James Vega

Arturo Griffiths wanted to go to Venezuela. Before long, he was 
travelling to Caracas as part of a documentary film crew. And he 
brought his son along, too, "so he could experience, firsthand, 
an exercise in participatory democracy."

Griffiths, is a member of the Service Employees International 
Union and a long-time community activist and on his return he 
spoke to the US People's Weekly World about his experiences.

"I was able to observe the recall referendum  the campaigns being 
conducted by the opposition forces as well as Chavez' 
supporters", Griffiths said. He saw mass rallies, including the 
pro-Chavez rally in the capital of over 1 million on August 14. 
He interviewed both pro- and anti-Chavez people on the street, 
and visited community centres, health clinics, schools, and 
polling places.

Mass participation

Particularly striking, Griffiths said, was "the mass 
participation of those sectors of the population who have 
traditionally been excluded from the political process — women, 
indigenous people, people of African descent, progressive trade 
unionists, peasants, and poor shantytown dwellers". Until 
recently, he said, many people in these categories were not 
registered to vote. But by Election Day, about 95 percent of the 
eligible voters from these groups were registered and ready to 
cast their ballots.

On Election Day, "the lines extended for many blocks", he said. 
"People were at the polls at 5 am, even though it started at 7 
am. The polls did not close until 2:30 am the following day." The 
result was a decisive win — 59 percent — for the Venezuelan 
president.

President Chavez' "Bolivarian Project", which began with his 
election to the presidency in 1988, created a "path to 
empowerment" for these groups, Griffiths said, based on tangible 
socio-economic reforms.

Redistribution

Griffiths said the Bolivarian Project's fundamental aspects are 
redistribution of the country's oil wealth to the poor in the 
form of social programs and land reform; rejection of "neo-
liberal" economic policies of "free trade," privatisation, state 
austerity, and deregulation, all of which favour big business 
over the ordinary citizen; participatory democracy and greater 
local self-government; and affirmative action that gives 
preferential treatment to previously excluded groups in 
financing, housing, educational and health programs.

In the shantytowns of Caracas, Griffiths said, "I personally saw 
people receive dental and eye examinations, and get eyewear 
products and on-the-spot prescriptions". The Venezuelan 
government has been assisted in providing these services by large 
numbers of Cuban doctors and health professionals, who are there 
by special agreement with Havana.

Literacy, public works, jobs

Other government-sponsored programs include adult literacy 
campaigns, university scholarships for poor and working-class 
students, public works projects, employment training and 
affordable housing laws. Over 130,000 families benefited from 
land reform in 2003, and another 100,000 are to be provided with 
land by the end of this year.

The opposition to Chavez, Griffiths said, is concentrated in the 
traditional, lighter-skinned elite of the country — the 
"oligarchy," elements of the middle class, the right-wing-
dominated media, the more conservative elements of the Catholic 
Church, and the leaders of the old-line trade union federation, 
the CTV.

Poverty and oil

"They were declaring that President Chavez must be overthrown", 
he said, and that the country needed to return to its traditional 
setup. That setup condemned 70 percent of the population to 
poverty, even though the country is the fifth largest exporter of 
oil in the world.

Griffiths, who is of Afro-Panamanian ancestry, made special note 
of President Chavez' attention to the interests of people of 
indigenous and African descent.

"I had the opportunity to visit the coastal area of Naguita, 
where a new school was inaugurated with the name of the Rev 
Martin Luther King Jr. This location is primarily Afro-
Venezuelan, and I asked what impact, if any, the Bolivarian 
Project has had on their community. They said 'for the first time 
we have hopes and aspirations', and Chavez is actually doing 
something to improve the conditions of the most marginalised."

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People's Weekly World