21st Century Socialism: A Global Revolution

Written by Denny Alvarez (University of California Santa Barbara)

At the turn of a century and start of a new millennium, the same problems of constant

exploitation where entire countries become regions of poverty continue, and it can be hard to

imagine a radical transformation where everyone‟s humanity is taken into account. Yet without

using this imagination to theoretically construct a freer world, no progress can be made. The

constant exploitation that has caused the retardation of countries has become the status quo, and

so, it has become crucial to be critical of this failing system if there is going to be any movement

forward. Hugo Chavez rejects this status quo and understands that Latin America can no longer

be subject to exploitation. He has used Venezuela as his way to practice this ideology and show

that another world is possible if alternatives are sought out. Chavez‟s bases his politics on the

humanity of people instead of their abstract labor, and with this mentality he hopes to achieve

21st century socialism.

Being in the Latin American region, Venezuela has endured hundreds of years of

exploitation. Its constant dictatorships made the Venezuelan people loose faith in their

government and consequently, alienation between the masses and the government was created.

It is this very faith that has been awakened under Chavez as he tapped into the revolutionary

heroic aura that was seen in the Cuban revolution. The hardships that the Venezuelan people

were going through sparked a coup de‟tat in 1992, and although it was unsuccessful, Chavez let

the people know that it was time for change. After being caught he said, “Comrades, the

objectives we set for ourselves have not been possible to achieve for now-„por ahora‟-but new

possibilities will rise again, and the country will be able to move forward to a better future…I

alone take responsibility for this Bolivarian military uprising.”(Boudin, Gonzales, and Rumbos

2006, 530) Chavez spoke to the masses directly and thus reminded them that they are part of the
revolution. He believes that the only way people can move forward is if everyone is involved in

the politics that ultimately affect them, because only then can true democracy take place. This is

the reason why Chavez accepts little notes from anyone wherever he passes. He wants to make

sure he hears the voice of the people because he is trying to create a system opposite of the

exploitative capitalist one that the rest of the world must abide to. The rest of the world must

live in a democracy where there is freedom of speech but those in power will not listen.

It is clear that because of this, Chavez has the support of the majority. After six years, his

approval went up to 70.5 per cent according to Dataanalysis which has a public opposition

against the Chavez government. This is a substantial increase from when Chavez won election

in 1998 with 62 per cent of the vote (Boudin, Gonzales, and Rumbos 2006, 530), but even with

the support of the majority, Chavez faces harsh criticism from both the United States as well as

the right wing media. The reason for this, is that Chavez is a harsh critique himself, but of U.S.

foreign policies. Chavez understands that it is U.S. imperial influence that continues to

contribute to the gap between rich and poor nations. Even within poor nations it contributes to

the unequal distribution of wealth with U.S. supported polyarchies that are not concerned with

the well being of the people, but instead, are concerned with profit maximization for

transnational corporations.

The fact that the Chavez government refuses to be a coward in the face of economic

imperialism like many other puppet democracies, is not a stubborn act of dictatorship but one of

a country that wants its own self-determination. Even though Chavez wants this imperialism to

loose its domination over Latin America, “he continues to insist that he does not want

confrontation but rather cordial relations, selective cooperation, and mutual respect.”(Boudin,

Gonzales, and Rumbos 2006, 532) He wants to work internally towards a better world by
empowering poor countries and fighting poverty. The only way to do this is by eliminating

plutocracies, nationalizing and diversifying agriculture, and most importantly, educating the

masses. This is contrast to the method used by other Latin American countries, where they rely

on inflation or war to drive people out of their homes in order to send remittances to ultimately

contribute to the economy.

Instead, Chavez has created projects like the Bolivar Missions that provide social services

and ultimately improve economic, cultural, and social conditions. Projects like these are the main

focus of a socialist government because “It‟s all about delivering life‟s basics-food, shelter,

health care-to people excluded from the benefits of the free market.”(Bajak 2006, 575)

Socialism is a movement that is contrary to capitalism because it takes the individual into

account instead of making it merely part of the equation for surplus. Capitalism tends to forget

about the individual because it is good at making profit but it is bad at distributing the wealth. On

the contrary, Socialism makes human beings more important than machines and it is this humane

aspect that is forgotten with the “free market”.

Despite how harshly Chavez criticizes the United States and their capitalist ways, it

cannot be ignored that Venezuela‟s economy is in a sense capitalistic. For example, its great oil

reserves has made Venezuela into a great trading partner of capitalist countries as well as with

the same corporations that have invaded countries, extracted resources, and left the people in a

state of underdevelopment where they only become more underdeveloped. “Venezuela is a

trading partner with the U.S. as they depend on Venezuela for 12% of its daily imports and, at

the same time, they contribute to 70% of Venezuela‟s daily exports and 50% of all Venezuela‟s

exports.”(Boudin, Gonzales, and Rumbos 2006, 532) Venezuela and the United States are only

ideological enemies but are joined together by the global economy.

 This global economy cannot be ignored because it has intertwined all countries of the

world into one where every nation is separated from its identity. It is only then that capitalism

can truly manifest itself as a realm of injustice and poverty making it impossible to ignore the

rules of capitalism. If one compares Venezuela with a similar event, which is the Cuba/United

States relation, one can see why it is that Chavez has chosen to become an economic partner,

even when he understands the negative effects they are ultimately contributing to the world. For

example, the Cuban blockade is a perfect example why completely distancing oneself from the

capitalist economy can bring about more problems for development than benefits. Unlike Fidel

Castro, Chavez has understood that it is impossible to completely ignore the failing system and

has decided to work from within to change it, and thus create a 21st century Socialism. At the

same time, it is hard to change the system from within because the system may change the

individual instead. This is a corruption that has been seen in previous attempts to create a

democratic socialism.

Even so, the same way it is hard to ignore that Chavez is involving Venezuela with

imperial forces, it also can not be ignored that he is giving hope to many romantic

revolutionaries that have been imagining a better world. Like Rory Carroll stated, Chavez is

“not really a champion of the poor as his supporters around the world believe, he is the best

chance of forging an alternative to neo-liberal capitalism.”(Carroll 2008, 567) He has done this

by finding new alternatives like modeling an organization on the European Union, which is an

alternative model of economic development called the Bank of the South (BANCOSUR), as well

as by creating a trading alternative called Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America

(ALBA).

The ALBA movement is part of this alternative that has been successful “in resisting the
U.S. imposition of the FTAA, and its record-breaking economic growth have made Venezuela a

world leader in alternative economic development, a model for social movements and people

throughout the region and indeed the world.”(Boudin, Gonzales, and Rumbos 2006, 541) ALBA

is an alliance that strives for radical social change that will ultimately benefit the masses that

would otherwise be stuck in their continuing history of exploitation. This is the reason why

Chavez is widely seen to be at the center of Latin America‟s transformation by not subjugating to

trade agreements like NAFTA.

Many also say that Chavez‟s oil projects could have detrimental effects on the Amazon,

and even though the revolution does not justify environmental destruction, every revolution has

its mistakes. It is up to the revolutionary to find new alternatives so there will be fewer mistakes,

and so the environment will not be sacrificed. The real sacrifice is actually the time and effort

put into finding solutions. The problem is that many times when sacrifice is mentioned no one

wants to take part in it, and only demand change without any personal input. The decisions

Chavez has taken which would affect the Amazon are economical decisions and to do otherwise,

would need some theoretical analysis in order to find a less detrimental way of keeping the

Venezuelan economy going. It is this very ability to theorize that has kept Chavez in power so

long and it is also this ability that has allowed him to find alternatives and ultimately, support

from the masses.

It is also crucial to understand that what actually helped Chavez come to power were his

promises on reform, and these are being done internally. For example, Chavez has been a great

advocator of educating the public and because of this, he has gained the support of the masses.

Fifty-four per cent were in favor of the referendum that would end term limits thus allowing

Chavez to be president as long as he is elected democratically. Also, thanks to the social reforms
that have been accomplished under Chavez, the youth has become invested in their politics,

history, and culture which allows new generations to understand their politics and keep the

revolution moving forward.

Even when there was an attempted coup in April 2002 that was funded by the United

States, it failed because the masses protested in the streets and demanded their democratically

elected president to be put back in office. This attempted coup was not the only obstacle

Venezuela faced because they had to overcome the oil blockade and the continuing pressures

from U.S. imperialism. Yet, the support for Chavez made him a president of the people where

he made sure that the people‟s voices were being heard because he was able to bring the state

down to the level of the people.

Whether it is critiques on environmental destruction or supposed dictatorships, the

revolution faces obstacles that are manifested worldwide. It faces a global enemy with

worldwide support from exploited individuals who can not think beyond the U.S. propaganda of

a free market or acknowledge the failures of capitalism because it is beyond their realm of

comprehension. U.S. imperialism has conditioned these capitalistic ideals because it fears a

domino effect where more nations will see this alternative and choose revolution instead of

oppression. What business giants and government officials truly fear is loosing their grasp on

the monopoly over resources and not the subjugation of people to a “dictator.” It is their own

greed that makes them interpret what freedom is and feed that interpretation to the people they

exploit. The difference is that the masses that were previously colonized with the promise of

civilization and a ticket into heaven, are now bribed with fake promises of profit and material

gain. Therefore, it is up to the individual to either become part of the problem or part of the

solution, because the only way the revolution will truly take place, is by uniting those that want
change with projects like ALBA. In other words, capitalism is a worldwide problem that

negatively affects more people than it helps, which means, that a global problem like capitalism

can only be fought with a global revolution.

Works Cited

Barak, Frank. 2006. “Socialism is Love.” Santa Barbara News-Press, 575.

Carroll, Rory. 2008. “The Long Slide.” The Guardian, 567.

Chesa Boudin, Gabriel Gonzales, and Wilmer Rumbos. 2006. “The Venezuelan Revolution: 100
Questions--100 Answers.” 530, 532, and 541.