Montag
11-21-2008, 11:53 PM
The Communist-Socialist Party Split: An Interview With a PCV Mayoral Candidate
November 21st 2008
by James Suggett
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3971
excerpt:
In the Municipality of Libertador, where the capital city of Mérida state, Venezuela, is located, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are running separate candidates for mayor in this Sunday's local elections. This represents an ideological clash within the Patriotic Alliance, a coalition of leftist parties that recognize President Hugo Chávez as the leader of Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution. It could lead to a divided Chavista vote, allowing the most prominent of several opposition candidates, University of the Andes Rector Lester Rodríguez, to win. The PSUV candidate is the incumbent mayor, Carlos León. As this defining election for the future path of the revolution draws near, Venezuelanalysis.com interviewed Fredys Terán, the Communist Party candidate for mayor of the Municipality of Libertador.
Fredys Terán, candidate for mayor of the Municipality of Libertador, what political program do you propose for the municipality once you are elected?
Our principal objective is to convert this into a socialist municipality. To begin to move toward this we have, as a tactic, a municipal constituent assembly. This will not be convened by us; it will be convened by the people and communities of the municipality themselves, so that it has an original character. It shall make a reality out of Article 5 of the national constitution, which emphasizes that sovereignty rests non-transferably in the people.
The people must definitively understand that they have the power, independently of whether there is a mayor or a governor!
But, we have these institutions, like the Mayor's Office and the Municipal Legislative Council, which are structures of the representative democracy of the Fourth Republic. We have to break away from these structures. And when I say this I am not referring to the buildings. I am not going to arrive with a giant machine and knock down the buildings. We are going to tumble, to overthrow the bureaucratic structure that is there in representative democracy. Together with the constituent assembly, we propose the creation of new spaces of participation.
Beyond this, our program has transversal axes, such as the undying defense of the environment, because this city and this state should be defended environmentally above all else.
Another proposal is, having the profile of a socialist municipality, that collective rights be prioritized above individual rights.
For example, with regard to the transportation issue, surely some people will appeal to the constitutional right to free transit, and say this is an individual right. But, there is a collective right, which is to be able to move about. What are we doing, sitting in our vehicles for an hour in traffic? The individual right to free transit is not fulfilled.
So, by prioritizing collective rights over individual rights, which is a characteristic of socialism, we are going to begin to shape this socialist municipality, and the citizens and the community of Mérida will understand the real difference between a socialist city and a capitalist city.
What does your candidacy mean for the revolutionary movement in Mérida and in the rest of the country?
Well, look, I am a militant of the Communist Party of Venezuela, the party that nominated me, which has been promoting scientific socialism and opposing imperialism in this country for 77 years.
So, what does it mean for the revolutionary process in which we are living? A bolstering and a radicalization. Our proposal is radically different from the proposals of the current mayor, who calls himself socialist and a militant of the [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] PSUV, and of course from the proposals made by the opposition candidates.
In perfect consonance with what the President of the Republic proposes, we propose a socialist movement, and this has to be radical in form. We are not going to achieve this with small reforms. And I am sure that the majority of the population of this municipality and this state is in agreement with us in this proposition.
November 21st 2008
by James Suggett
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3971
excerpt:
In the Municipality of Libertador, where the capital city of Mérida state, Venezuela, is located, the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are running separate candidates for mayor in this Sunday's local elections. This represents an ideological clash within the Patriotic Alliance, a coalition of leftist parties that recognize President Hugo Chávez as the leader of Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution. It could lead to a divided Chavista vote, allowing the most prominent of several opposition candidates, University of the Andes Rector Lester Rodríguez, to win. The PSUV candidate is the incumbent mayor, Carlos León. As this defining election for the future path of the revolution draws near, Venezuelanalysis.com interviewed Fredys Terán, the Communist Party candidate for mayor of the Municipality of Libertador.
Fredys Terán, candidate for mayor of the Municipality of Libertador, what political program do you propose for the municipality once you are elected?
Our principal objective is to convert this into a socialist municipality. To begin to move toward this we have, as a tactic, a municipal constituent assembly. This will not be convened by us; it will be convened by the people and communities of the municipality themselves, so that it has an original character. It shall make a reality out of Article 5 of the national constitution, which emphasizes that sovereignty rests non-transferably in the people.
The people must definitively understand that they have the power, independently of whether there is a mayor or a governor!
But, we have these institutions, like the Mayor's Office and the Municipal Legislative Council, which are structures of the representative democracy of the Fourth Republic. We have to break away from these structures. And when I say this I am not referring to the buildings. I am not going to arrive with a giant machine and knock down the buildings. We are going to tumble, to overthrow the bureaucratic structure that is there in representative democracy. Together with the constituent assembly, we propose the creation of new spaces of participation.
Beyond this, our program has transversal axes, such as the undying defense of the environment, because this city and this state should be defended environmentally above all else.
Another proposal is, having the profile of a socialist municipality, that collective rights be prioritized above individual rights.
For example, with regard to the transportation issue, surely some people will appeal to the constitutional right to free transit, and say this is an individual right. But, there is a collective right, which is to be able to move about. What are we doing, sitting in our vehicles for an hour in traffic? The individual right to free transit is not fulfilled.
So, by prioritizing collective rights over individual rights, which is a characteristic of socialism, we are going to begin to shape this socialist municipality, and the citizens and the community of Mérida will understand the real difference between a socialist city and a capitalist city.
What does your candidacy mean for the revolutionary movement in Mérida and in the rest of the country?
Well, look, I am a militant of the Communist Party of Venezuela, the party that nominated me, which has been promoting scientific socialism and opposing imperialism in this country for 77 years.
So, what does it mean for the revolutionary process in which we are living? A bolstering and a radicalization. Our proposal is radically different from the proposals of the current mayor, who calls himself socialist and a militant of the [United Socialist Party of Venezuela] PSUV, and of course from the proposals made by the opposition candidates.
In perfect consonance with what the President of the Republic proposes, we propose a socialist movement, and this has to be radical in form. We are not going to achieve this with small reforms. And I am sure that the majority of the population of this municipality and this state is in agreement with us in this proposition.