The comments by the peasant and fighter for land rights were echoed by others the Militant spoke to as news accumulated that the two-month antigovernment stoppage had "crumbled," in the words of the Associated Press. "Workers in all industries" except oil have "returned to their jobs," noted the February 4 AP report, while production in the oil fields and refineries has risen significantly. The opposition coalition formally called off the "strike" February 4 in all sectors except oil.

The strike was "more like a lockout," said Yhonny García, a unionist in Maracaibo, in a phone interview with the Militant the same day. García is a member of the Bolivarian Workers Force union federation, which supports the government of Hugo Chávez. He lives in Maracaibo, capital of the western state of Zulia, where much of the country’s oil drilling and production is concentrated.

"The supposedly ongoing oil strike is now just a show for the bosses to save face," García said. Most of the 30,000 workers at Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA--the state-owned petroleum company), he said, "stayed on their jobs for the last two months. The majority of the 10,000 managers and administrators who did strike have now been fired, and the new management is pro-Chávez."

"Oil production is now up to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to 3.2 million before the strike," García added. It fell to 250,000 bpd in mid-December. "The employers did hurt the economy bad. But politically, working people are now stronger."  
 
What was behind bosses’ ‘strike’?
Fedecámaras, the country’s main business association, was the dominant force in the Democratic Coordinator opposition coalition that called the stoppage December 2. The action was backed by the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV). The coalition demanded Chávez’s resignation and called for early elections. U.S. officials initially backed this stance, but--after Chávez made clear he would not accept that demand--took a public position of promoting negotiations between the two sides. Chávez became popular as a military officer in 1992 when he led a failed coup to oust the Democratic Action (AD) regime. AD is now among the political parties in the coalition. In the eyes of millions of working people, these opposition forces are responsible for impoverishment and for widespread repression.

Elected president in 1998, Chávez was reelected in 2000 with huge popular support against the traditional capitalist parties.

Capitalist relations have remained intact under his administration, with power remaining in the hands of the wealthiest capitalist families. At the same time, the Chávez government has aroused the ire of the capitalists with some measures that impinge on their prerogatives. They include an agrarian reform law, protection for working fishermen from overfishing by large commercial companies, and use of some state funds for cheap housing and other programs.

Worried about the increased expectations of working people that have been generated, the Venezuelan rulers have set about overthrowing the government. In April 2002 about a third of the military’s high command, with support from the dominant capitalist families and Washington, ousted Chávez in a coup. Chávez returned to power in two days, after mobilizations by working people forced divisions in the military.

Largely purged of dissident officers, the armed forces supported the government in the latest crisis.  
 
Class struggle intensifies
"During the boss lockout, workers, peasants, students and others opposed the attempt to oust Chávez," said Antonio Aguillón, a unionist in Caracas. "It was the same forces that defeated last year’s coup." Along with the oil workers who, with the help of National Guard troops, restarted production, have been peasants fighting for land. Students held assemblies demanding universities reopen. Several large protests, including one of several hundred thousand in Caracas January 23, countered the many pro-strike mobilizations.

In a few cases, workers took over shut-down production facilities and demanded the government reopen them. According to García, unionists occupying Texdala, a textile factory in Maracay, and Central Carora, a sugar mill in Lara, also demanded workers control of production. The Bolivarian Workers Force is now demanding legislation that would nationalize companies that repeat similar lockouts, he said.

Under this pressure, the government took several measures that dealt blows to the opposition coalition. On January 17, for example, National Guard troops in the industrial city of Valencia seized the Empresas Polar beer warehouse, along with the Panamco water and soft-drink facility--an affiliate of Coca Cola--and reopened them.

Five days later the Supreme Court canceled a non-binding referendum on Chávez’s rule that had been set for February 2 by the National Electoral Council. Chávez has continued to dismiss demands by the opposition to shorten his term. He instead insists that the opposition must now collect enough signatures on petitions if they want to push for a referendum on his rule in August, which is provided for in the country’s constitution.

As the strike crumbled, Chávez decreed additional measures. These included setting a fixed exchange rate for the bolivar, the country’s currency, to 1,600 to the U.S. dollar--a 16 percent revaluation--and foreign exchange controls to stop wealth being siphoned out of the country. The most popular new measure set price ceilings for a range of essential goods and services.

"We were elated to hear about the maximum prices," Armando Serpa said February 6. "Because of the strike, inflation and unemployment are up and people are hurting." He also said that the government is acting a little more promptly in response to the intensified demands by peasants for land.  
 
National Guard attack on land struggle
"This is a contradictory process, however," said Serpa. "Two weeks ago, a local National Guard colonel led army troops who kicked out hundreds of peasants occupying land for the last two years from Companía Inglesa. We don’t know who’s behind this action but we are fighting and we’ll find out."

Inglesa, which is run by British capitalists, is one of the largest landowners in Venezuela. Peasants took over half a 12,000-acre farm owned by that company in early 2001. Serpa has been a member of the land committee that organizes the occupation, and helped host a tour of the land for visiting Militant reporters last July.

Since mid-January, peasants in the area have occupied the local offices of the National Institute of Land (INT), which is overseeing land expropriation and redistribution efforts. The peasants have succeeded in pressuring the government to start an investigation of the National Guard attack.

Workers are organizing similar efforts to press for their rights, Aguillón said, emphasizing that "this is necessary because the bosses are now reopening the plants but many workers are laid off, especially the more militant."

On February 15, meetings of oil workers are beginning nationwide to press for more workers control in the industry, said García. The leaderships of the large steelworkers union and several other unions have called for the formation of a new labor federation with the working title of UNETE (Unite) in response to the CTV’s backing for the lockout.  
 
 
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