August 12, 2023
Marxism-Leninism Today, an online magazine of Marxist-Leninist thought in the United States of America, condemns the anti-democratic Venezuelan Government campaign to dismantle the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV).
On Friday, August 11, 2023, the TSJ (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia – Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela), imposed a leadership on the PCV who were not elected by the party membership.
This group, which the TSJ imposed on the PCV, is made up of PSUV members and former members of the PCV some of whom were previously expelled from the PCV. None of the TSJ court-appointed “new leaders” are members of the PCV and a number of them are government employees. The Court made its ruling without holding a hearing or having any evidence presented.
The PCV is the oldest political party in Venezuela. As recently as November, 2022 the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) at its 16th Congress elected all its leaders.
In its effort to prevent anyone from running to its left in next year’s presidential election the Maduro government has resorted to the most undemocratic methods, instituting a judicial trampling of the rights of all Venezuelans.
The PCV was in an electoral alliance with the PSUV until 2020 which ended when the PCV, and other leftist parties, rejected the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies by the Venezuelan government. These policies included the privatization of state enterprises, and attacks on the salaries of the working class. The PCV, and other parties, have struggled against these neo-liberal polices.
The Venezuelan Government responded with an onslaught of defamation and attacks against the PCV and other left parties. In 2020 the PSUV implemented a policy of liquidation against many left parties using legal maneuvers, much like the current anti-democratic attack against the PCV, practically destroying the Patria Para Todos (PPT), the Tupamaros, and other left parties. It is evident that the Venezuelan government is trying to silence the left and eliminate any electoral competition from the PCV and its allies.
Marxism-Leninism Today calls for hands off the PCV and for guarantees for the PCV’s political independence. MLT calls on all democratic forces to join the call to support the PCV.
Today it is the Venezuelan Communists who are under attack but it is the democratic rights of all Venezuelans which the government is seeking to restrict.
We call on all to defend democracy in Venezuela. Hands off the PCV! Restore the elected leadership of the PCV!
The Editors, Marxism-Leninism Today
1.For a Supreme Court to intervene in a party and remove its leadership is nothing but lawfare. It does not matter that the leadership of the VCP, now apparently removed, is an ultraleftist group that has collaborated with the pro-US Venezuelan right wing. That is not the business of a Supreme Court. 2.MLT provides no evidence that the Venezuelan Supreme Court decision was made by the Maduro government. 3.The Supreme Court statement on their decision listed the party card numbers of those who appealed to the Supreme Court to make this decision, and no basis is presented by anyone whether… Read more »
With regard to Stan Smith’s point #8.A recent article by Steve Ellner posted on Orinoco Tribune states this ” In the first place, the PCV was unequivocally opposed to the “imperialist enemy,” that is US imperialism. In none of its declarations did the party minimize the severe consequences of the sanctions.” Regarding Smith # 2 point he should look no further than the U.S. Supreme Court and its ‘justices’. And with Smith’s point # 1, it would be good if he gave some proof of the PCV leadership being “… an ultraleftist group that has collaborated with the pro-US Venezuelan right wing.” Steve… Read more »
Steve Ellner’s article does say “The PCV recognized the harm that sanctions produced but failed to emphasize the issue. Thus, for instance, the party’s Tribuna Popular published 84 articles on current Venezuelan politics in the newspaper’s nine editions between July 2020 (when the PCV broke with Maduro) and January 2022, and none of them focused on the international sanctions and other actions carried out by Washington against Venezuela.(7) This lack of emphasis on imperialist aggression would suggest that the PCV leadership failed to contextualize the government policies” ” https://orinocotribune.com/objective-conditions-in-venezuela-maduros-defensive-strategy-and-contradictions-among-the-people/ Similarly, MLT’s statement above says not one word about the US blockade. Supreme… Read more »
I urge readers to read the entire Steve Ellner article. Nothing in the article supports the current attack on the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV). Nor do I believe that Ellner would associate himself with the effort to overthrow the PCV existing leadership. For Smith to use Orinoco Tribune (OT) as an authoritative source in this dispute is like citing the NYTimes as an authoritative source on Cuban Socialism. Even a brief look at what OT has posted leads one to see their outright hostility toward the PCV. Smith writing, “Orinoco Tribune has had some articles about the VCP ultra-leftist playing with the US… Read more »
The Steve Ellner article was published in Orinoco Tribune. People may read Orinoco Tribune to learn some more about the Venezuelan CP. I raised several points in my first comments, and whether somebody thinks the VCP is or is not ultra-leftist, – I suppose now, was or was not – is basically irrelevant to the points I made.
Orinoco Tribune (OT) is a source for information on Venezuela. But it is a hostile and biased source for information on the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV). A political party making a mistake, if you think they did, should not have to fight off a government effort to change its leadership.
I strongly applaud Stan Smith for his taking a principled position in opposing having a political party’s leadership be determined by a Supreme Court. But like the editors of the Orinoco Tribune, he seems to either misunderstand or disregard the fact that this is not a factional fight inside the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) – but instead it is some operatives loyal to the PSUV that are using a couple of former PCV members in an attempt to silence the current PCV leadership by “legally” hijacking control of the PCV. When the PCV joined other left parties/groups (including a… Read more »
Readers should not lose sight of the essence of the statement by the MLT editors that denounces the hijacking of the leadership of the Venezuelan Communist Party by the Venezuelan Supreme Court. The PCV should enjoy the same status as any other constituted political party.
Those who don’t believe the Maduro government or the PSUV ruling party had a hand in this outrageous decision should insist that both denounce this unjust ruling by the Supreme Court. That would be helpful.