First Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV - Chavez calls for the Fifth International

[At the opening session of the PSUV congress Chavez made a very radical left-wing speech, calling for the setting up of a new international, explaining that it was necessary to destroy the bourgeois state and replace it with a revolutionary state, but also referring to the bureaucracy within the Bolivarian movement itself.]

First Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV - Chavez calls for the Fifth International

November 23rd 2009, by Alan Woods - In Defence of Marxism

At the opening session of the PSUV congress Chavez made a very radical left-wing speech, calling for the setting up of a new international, explaining that it was necessary to destroy the bourgeois state and replace it with a revolutionary state, but also referring to the bureaucracy within the Bolivarian movement itself. It was clearly a speech that reflects the enormous pressure from the masses below who are getting tired of talk about socialism, while real progress towards genuine change appears to be frustratingly slow.

On Saturday November 21, the First Extraordinary Congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) commenced its sessions with the attendance of 772 red-shirted delegates. The majority were workers, peasants and students, elected by around 2.5 million voters (the total membership on paper is seven million!). The atmosphere was one of enthusiasm and expectation.

After a warming up session of revolutionary songs and a couple of opening speeches from visiting dignitaries from Nicaragua and El Salvador, Hugo Chavez opened the proceedings with a five hour speech that finished shortly after midnight.

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Venezuela’s Reformed Communal Council Law Aims at Increasing Participation

[On Tuesday the Venezuelan National Assembly passed a reform to the Community Council Law transferring the financial management of the councils from communal banks to finance commissions, and aiming to solve the problems that arose during the councils’ prolific expansion over the past three years.]

Venezuela’s Reformed Communal Council Law Aims at Increasing Participation

Published on November 25th 2009, by James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

Mérida, November 25^th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) -- On Tuesday the Venezuelan National Assembly passed a reform to the Community Council Law transferring the financial management of the councils from communal banks to finance commissions, and aiming to solve the problems that arose during the councils’ prolific expansion over the past three years.

Discussion of the law reform began early this year. The first proposal was submitted to scrutiny in 2,500 local discussion forums in which more than sixty thousand spokespeople from tens of thousands of existing community councils participated, according to the president of the National Assembly Commission for Citizen Participation, Dario Vivas.

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Venezuela Says Israeli Criticisms of Its Relationship with Iran Lack Moral Authority

[The Venezuelan Foreign Relations Ministry expressed its “repudiation” of remarks made on Tuesday by Israeli Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Dani Ayalon, who said Venezuela had become “a base for the Iranian advance on the American continent.”]

Venezuela Says Israeli Criticisms of Its Relationship with Iran Lack Moral Authority

5th November by James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

Mérida, November 5th 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan Foreign Relations Ministry expressed its “repudiation” of remarks made on Tuesday by Israeli Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Dani Ayalon, who said Venezuela had become “a base for the Iranian advance on the American continent.”

The Ministry’s official statement said the Israeli official’s comment constituted “a new aggression against the Venezuelan people” and “a demonstration of the rude, interventionist, and aggressive attitude that characterizes the representatives of the international right wing, and of the violence of the campaigns that they permanently mount against peaceful peoples and governments like that of Venezuela.”

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Official US Air Force Document Reveals the True Intentions Behind the US-Colombia Military Agreement

[An official document from the Department of the US Air Force reveals that the military base in Palanquero, Colombia will provide the Pentagon with “…an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America…” This information contradicts the explainations offered by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the US State Department regarding the military agreement signed between the two nations this past October 30th.]

Official US Air Force Document Reveals the True Intentions Behind the US-Colombia Military Agreement

Wednesday 5th November 2009, by Eva Golinger

An official document from the Department of the US Air Force reveals that the military base in Palanquero, Colombia will provide the Pentagon with “…an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America…” This information contradicts the explainations offered by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the US State Department regarding the military agreement signed between the two nations this past October 30th. Both governments have publicly stated that the military agreement refers only to counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations within Colombian territory. President Uribe has reiterated numerous times that the military agreement with the US will not affect Colombia’s neighbors, despite constant concern in the region regarding the true objetives of the agreement. But the US Air Force document, dated May 2009, confirms that the concerns of South American nations have been right on target. The document exposes that the true intentions behind the agreement are to enable the US to engage in “full spectrum military operations in a critical sub-region of our hemisphere where security and stability is under constant threat from narcotics funded terrorist insurgencies…and anti-US governments…”

The military agreement between Washington and Colombia authorizes the access and use of seven military installations in Palanquero, Malambo, Tolemaida, Larandia, Apíay, Cartagena and Málaga. Additionally, the agreement allows for “the access and use of all other installations and locations as necessary” throughout Colombia, with no restrictions. Together with the complete immunity the agreement provides to US military and civilian personnel, including private defense and security contractors, the clause authorizing the US to utilize any installation throughout the entire country - even commercial aiports, for military ends, signifies a complete renouncing of Colombian sovereignty and officially converts Colombia into a client-state of the US.

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