On November 23rd, the AFVN organized a film screening of the documentary film “Nicolás”, part 1 in The Hague. This was organized in cooperation with the Venezuelan Embassy in The Netherlands. After the screening, both the AFVN and the Ambassador made some remarks about Venezuela and the current geopolitical moment.
The AFVN noted the significance of President Maduro’s background as a public transit worker and the bourgeois disdain for this background as symbolic for the Bolivarian Revolution itself. Just like how they feel a worker should not be allowed to become president, in the same way, this class is indignant about the fact that the workers and the poor masses of Venezuela are now the ruling class, not the urban comprador bourgeoisie. Not only does this embody the fact that the Bolivarian Revolution is a revolution in the Leninist understanding, but this understanding of populism as the basis of working class politics should serve as a lesson for leftists across the Western world, which all too often take on anti-populist politics instead.
The Ambassador elaborated on Bolivarian socialism as a form of socialism with Venezuelan characteristics. Much like the socialism in China, there is plenty of room for private enterprise in Venezuela, but the key sectors such as energy are in state hands. This dominant position is then used to direct the economy according to the state plan. To supplement this state role, the communes play a very important role in the country’s economy and economic sovereignty, organising the population to produce cooperatively and defend their Revolution, if necessary through armed struggle as we see today. Additionally the Ambassador emphasized political pluralism in Venezuela, describing how the governing Coalition does not just consist of Maduro’s PSUV, but a whole host of revolutionary parties. This includes, despite some popular myths, factions of the Communist Party of Venezuela.
Finally, the AFVN called attention to the fact that the Netherlands through its colonial possessions in the Caribbean neighbors Venezuela. It is an established fact that The Netherlands cooperates with the US on intelligence in the region, so there is a real risk of our country becoming complicit in an attack on Venezuela, putting the lives of its own citizens on the island in jeopardy. We therefore reiterated our call to refrain from any form of cooperation with the US on military matters in the region.
