SOCIALIASM VENEZUELAN STYLE
Ruth Hunter

The bridge taking our tour from the Caracas airport to the city was
down. For the next three hours we were rerouted over winding dangerous
mountain roads, holding our breaths, as our taxi hugged the road overlooking
steep canyons below. Several accidents stalled the tedious descent into
the flat land surrounding Caracas, Venezuela. The plus side was seeing one of
the social programs initiated by the Bolivarian Revolution--named after
Simon Bolivar, the liberator of South America. Numerous medical clinics
frequently appeared on the roadside populated by small villages of hillside squatters.

We were traveling with the Marin Interfaith Task Force, (MITF) to the
three-day conference of the Social Forum of the Americas. In addition, in
the rest of our two-week tour, we would visit social programs that were
changing the lives of the poor through participatory democracy. They
partnered with the government and defined their needs in a shared
relationship that supported the policies of equal opportunity for the citizens of Venezuela.

The outreach to eliminate poverty was the vision of President Hugo
Chavez when he first took office in 1999. In his words, "We are leveraging
all the power of our national oil industryŠfor the comprehensive development
of our country. Petroleos de Venezuela, (PDVSA), actually belongs to the
Venezuela people". True to his words, profits from oil are budgeted to
finance social programs. In spite of the convulsions surrounding the
Bolivarian government, perpetuated by a failed opposition, there are
established programs, under PDVSA to eliminate illiteracy; to provide free
education, health care, discounted food, training and equipment so that
those in poverty can create their own path to collective wellbeing.

One of our first stops was at the Endogenous Center Fabricio Ojeda,
housing a shirt co-op, a clinic, and urban gardens. The young women working
busily sewing "T" shirts, sweat suits, overalls and cloth bags appeared
relaxed and welcomed us. They lived in the barrio surrounding the
development center, working under the umbrella of the Mission Caras, one of
the many programs financed in part, from oil profits.

The large airy room was humming, machines whirling away as 196 workers
prepared large orders for distribution. Many were eager to share their
enthusiasm for their enterprise. They spoke about the family environment
and group decisions made including equal salaries based on profit. Between
shifts, we saw children running around the aisles greeted warmly by workers.
One of workers assured us that having their community in charge meant more
than the salaries, it was "what socialism is all about".

We left early the following morning to a visit the Citizen¹s
Participation Center, high in the mountains. Multiple programs were
described, including wonderful demonstrations. The center-based activities
are financed in part by organic coffee raised on land purchased with tourist
donations. They also receive funds under Mission Robinson, the PDVSA
program, to eliminate illiteracy in Venezuela. The community center is the
pivotal area for those living in the Chamisa Barrio. A young dynamic teacher
spoke about the support they have received from the Marynoll Missionaries
and lay workers, who aided them in the development of organic healthy crops
using the worm culture for fertilizer. She also described the educational
literacy programs for young and old. Here, children are encouraged to attend adult activities.

After her talk, a group of young men gathered and began drumming. Two
men, surprisingly tall for indigenous people, did a graceful dance, wielding
large sticks that presumed to attack each other, as both skillfully managed
to avoid bodily contact. This was followed by a young couple doing a dance
while one of the drum players attempted playfully to disrupt them but was
ignored by the young woman as they glided away..

We were privileged to visit these programs under the guidance of Lisa
Sullivan, our tour leader and Marynoll lay worker. She has lived in Venezuela for twenty one years and raised her three children in the barrio
we passed on our way to see Barrio Libertad Bolivariana, a prospective
community. The folks we met were in the process of reclaiming unused land,
and beginning to clear the undergrowth. They will receive help from
Guaicaipuro Mission, PDVSA, to "provide direct support to the indigenous
communities of the country to bring about an overall change in their quality
of life". Looking at the overgrown vegetation, it was hard to image it would
some day be a community similar to the one we passed below the hill before
that one had been cleared.

The next week, prior to the conference, we toured health clinics staffed
by Cuban doctors, then on to Las Lajitas, a large organic farm, which
included a carpenter and yogurt co-op We left the farm trudged down a steep
hill where we visited a women¹s group. Other social projects included an
interesting afternoon at the chocolate farm, walking through the orchard
where trees yielded strange protuberances that held the cocoa seed. Women
from this family co-op put on a demonstration, as we watched the process
which finally yielded chocolate.

I have mentioned a few of the social programs we visited. Participants
all had one feature in common enthusiasm for the opportunities in their lives since President Chavez¹s vision became their reality. These programs
and many more are under the supervision of Colonel Rodriquez, PDVSA.,head of
all the innovative social projects that are helping to eradicate poverty.

This is a revolution like no other. Beside the support of the majority
of the military, Chavez has no intention of turning Venezuela into a
communist government. He has declared that he uses the tools of capitalism
to create socialism; that the government will continue to support private
industry with the condition that their enterprise has a social content for
the workers. Even though the Chavez government is no utopia, even though the
opposition continues to make small waves supported by 20% of the of the
middle and upper classes, the economy is growing as each passing month
strengthens the presidency, brings into fruition a healthier, educated and
political civil society to achieve the vision that will someday eradicate poverty.