Two articles by members of the National Independent Autonomous Workers’ Coordinating Committee discuss the implications for workers of Maduro’s inauguration, after the disputed July 28 presidential elections, and his proposed constitutional reforms. Both can be read in full here https://links.org.au/venezuela-maduros-inauguration-ushers-new-cycle-class-struggle-plus-constitutional-reform-new ----------------------- Maduro’s inauguration ushers in new cycle of class struggle Alberto Salcedo ....Amid this political crisis, imperialism is exerting pressure through economic sanctions imposed by the US and European nations. Maduro’s new economic model has become extremely neoliberal and seeks to open up the economy, through dollarisation, suppressing wages and tax exemptions for the most privileged economic and transnational sectors. Furthermore, a secret transfer of assets was carried under the protection of the Anti-Blockade Law, which allowed for changes in the shareholding structure of mixed-owned hydrocarbon companies. This led to private companies becoming majority “partners” or even direct owners, violating the Organic Law of Hydrocarbons, as part of the privatisation process in the oil sector. Millions of workers and popular sectors have had their living conditions destroyed, plunging them into the most precarious conditions they have endured in 25 years of the Bolivarian government [which began with Chávez’s first term in 1999].... ----------------------- Maduro’s constitutional reform: ‘New economy’, same objectives Salvador De León Putting the cart before the horse is an apt expression for the tendency to stick to strictly circumstantial analyses of reality. The smoke left behind by the polarisation between Nicolás Maduro and María Corina Machado has distracted from a much-needed analysis of the real dynamics of power and social agreements within Venezuelan society today. The fact that bosses’ organisations abstained from supporting Edmundo González’s inauguration, and the distant stance of the United States and “right-wing” governments in the region, marks a new precedent in the government-opposition confrontation of the past 27 years. On one hand, bosses' organisations are focused on maximising benefits from their agreements with the government (tax incentives and de facto weakening of workers’ protections). [US President Donald] Trump’s soft stance simply reflects the agreements that exist between the Venezuelan state and the oil lobby, and his strategic need for cheaper oil prices...
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