Review of
Which Revolution, directed by Asociación Civil Ciudadania
Activa, Venezuela 2004
Bolivarian Venezuela: People and Struggle of the
Fourth World War. Directed by Marcelo Andrade and Kesang Serpa, Venezuela
2004
WE WERE in a state of shock after the first film, Which Revolution.
The first of a double-header on the recent revolutionary movements in
Venezuela, it is a vicious, crude, reactionary diatribe against the working
class and poor of Venezuela, who rose up in defence of the populist leader,
Hugo Chávez, in 2001/02.
Manny Thain
The lock-out by oil bosses to try and bring down the Chávez government was
shown as a mass strike. Demonstrations organised by the right-wing opposition
– which did involve important sections of the middle classes (not just the
rich) – were shown as representative of ‘the nation’.
None of this, however, gelled with the eye-witness reports at these
tumultuous events. One such participant, Celso Calfullan (Socialismo
Revolucionario, CWI Chile), was disgusted at what he was seeing on the screen!
The most disgraceful episode concerned the shooting of protesters on one of
the main demos in April 2002. Fortunately, the second film, Bolivarian
Venezuela: People and Struggle of the Fourth World War, went through those
scenes step by step, exposing police snipers controlled by the right-wing
mayor of Caracas.
It traced Chávez’s rise to power back to mass protests in the late 1980s
against sudden price rises in basic goods, transport and fuel. This was the
beginning of the neo-liberal offensive – the ‘fourth world war’. This mass
movement culminated in a massacre by state forces on 27 February 1989. Nothing
was the same again.
Chávez won elections in 1999 – having led a failed coup in 1992 – on a wave
of mass support. He introduced a new constitution. The film charts his course.
What is clear is the sheer scale of the movement supporting him.
Mass uprising
When the right-wing opposition (backed by the US) staged a coup in April
2002 and Chávez was arrested, the working-class and poor poured onto the
streets in a mass uprising. They laid siege to the presidential palace. The
army was split and Chávez was released to take power once again.
The film also gives a picture of the character of the movement. Although
there is much talk of participation, it is not clear how far rank-and-file
organisation has gone. It looks more like programmes to tackle food shortages,
provide education, shelter and medicines are handed down to the poor, rather
than genuinely involving them in decision making and organisation.
Nonetheless, the support this has generated runs deep: ‘They can carry out
40 coups if they want, but they’ll never come back,’ shouts a woman’s
defiance. This is seen as an anti-rich, anti-imperialist struggle, one uniting
the whole of Latin America.
Unfortunately, although Chávez has implemented programmes to alleviate some
of the worst symptoms of capitalist and imperialist exploitation, he does not
attempt to treat the whole disease. The ruling class in Venezuela still own
and control the economy and the mass media. The tragic events of Chile in
1973, when a left-wing socialist government was backed by the mass of the
population, only to be brutally crushed by the CIA-backed coup of General
Pinochet, is the ominous shadow hanging over the workers of Venezuela.
Bolivarian Venezuela does not analyse Chávez’s programme, or point up
the need for democratically organised economic and political control in the
hands of the working class. What it does show is the enthusiasm of workers and
poor to fight for a cause they believe in. It shows their guts and
determination. It shows that revolution is possible.
This is part of the Discovering Latin America: Third Film Festival,
which runs until 5 December in various cinemas in London. The wide-ranging
programme includes feature films, documentaries and seminars from many of the
continent’s countries.
