Jesús Rodriguez, founder and editor of Venezuelan anti-imperialist news website Orinoco Tribune, interviews Comrade Joti Brar on the divide in the world communist movement over the question of imperialism (principally, on whether or not Russia is imperialist), on Trotskyism, on the the way that Venezuela is surviving the west’s brutal economic warfare, on the recent upswing of fascism in Europe and other topics. Comrade Joti also gets the chance to pose some questions to Jesús about the situation in Venezuela.
Jesús asks why it is that so many so-called ‘Marxists’ in Europe, especially in Britain, talk about ‘imperialism’, but seem to have no understanding of VI Lenin‘s definition of the term, and routinely lump together the USA, Russia, and China under the same heading. This vital misconception leads to the conclusion that the present war in Ukraine must be an interimperialist conflict between Nato and Russia – and ultimately leads western leftists of this type to side with their own ruling class in denouncing ‘Russian aggression’ and championing Ukraine’s ‘right to self-determination’.
In the last part of the interview, Joti asks Jesús about the open dispute between the PCV and the PSUV. In essence, despite Comrade Jesús’s lifelong connection to the PCV, he believes that the present rupture between the two parties is the result of the PCV’s leadership having been coopted by a Trotskyist line. He points to a sudden break in its analysis in 2019, which resulted in the PCV labelling the Maduro government as ‘neoliberal’, castigating it for making strategic retreats under great economic pressure, and leading to a most damaging break in the alliance that formerly existed between the two parties.
Jesús highlights the unnecessary and dangerous disruption of the unity of the Venezuelan masses at a time when they are faced with an incredibly arduous struggle for the survival of their Bolivarian anti-imperialist revolution.
The major contradiction in the world today remains that between the oppressed and oppressor (imperialist) countries. This fundamental reality has not changed. But the PCV’s present leadership refuses any longer to recognise the reality of anti-imperialist struggle and the need for a united front against the main enemy of the Venezuelan masses, choosing instead to blame the government for all the difficulties the Venezuelan people are facing.
Whatever has led to this dangerous situation, it clearly behoves sincere communists to find a way back towards a united anti-imperialist position. There can be no justification for removing those who ought to be the most disciplined and best motivated class-conscious fighters from the revolutionary front when the country is under sustained attack on all fronts by imperialism.
A more thorough breakdown of the schism between the PCV and the PSUV can be read on the Orinoco Tribune website.
