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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element" dir="ltr"> <font
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href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14690">https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14690</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Neoliberalism, Hell No!</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">By Elias Jaua - Horizonte en
Disputa - October 14, 2019<br>
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<p>Recent events these past weeks leave no doubt that
the people are very wise.</p>
<p>The strong popular rejection of [Mauricio] Macri's
government and its policies in Argentina (1); the
institutional crisis in Peru (2); social upheaval in
Colombia, unfortunately amid a new massacre of social
leaders (3); and social protests and political
instability in several countries in the region and the
popular rebellion in Ecuador, in development, (4) are
evidence that our societies have been innoculated
against the neoliberal recipe.</p>
<p>In Latin America, all of us were sold that recipe,
which was applied in the early 1990s, under the idea
that monetary restriction was an antidote to the evil
of inflation. Privatise, reduce social "spending,"
freeze wages, liberalise imports and prices, weaken
labour relations, these were the main steps to be
taken to cure the economic ills stemming from our
"populism.”</p>
<p>"Hold on a bit longer, austerity is only for the
short term, later on the champagne glass will trickle
down to everyone," was the meta-story of the
monetarist choir of the time, and it is the same line
used today.</p>
<p>However, the cure turned out worse than the disease.</p>
<p>By the end of the 1990s, the region's gross domestic
product (GDP) had fallen dramatically. Poverty and
inequality had also increased, and there was a drastic
deindustrialisation and loss of sovereignty over our
resources. Chaos, as well as social and political
violence among other aggravated evils, prevailed in
all our nations.</p>
<p>In the first decade of the 21st century, our peoples'
struggle against the previous decade’s neoliberal
model created the conditions for the emergence of a
popular democratic leadership that<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/773">
attained</a> political power in most Latin American
countries.</p>
<p>This leadership enabled the development of a
sovereign and inclusive economic model in each of
these countries.</p>
<p>We, the Venezuelan people, alongside Commander [Hugo]
Chavez, were the forerunners of this insurgency
through the [Caracazo]<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11868">
popular rebellion of 1989</a>, the<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11185"> 1992
[4F] military rebellion</a>, Chavez’s 1998 electoral
victory and the popular adoption of the first
constitution that safeguarded against neoliberalism,
the current<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/constitution">
Bolivarian Constitution of 1999</a>.</p>
<p>Sound state intervention in all our countries during
the period of the so-called progressive governments
allowed the region to maintain sustained GDP growth.
This was achieved through policies including the
recovery of economic control, the defence and
restoration of sovereignty over our assets and
resources, the restitution of labour and social
rights, the expansion of the purchasing power of the
working people, and the support and massive financing
for national production.</p>
<p>As such, both the historic social inequality and
poverty decreased, and we would become the region with
the greatest political stability in the world and with
significant advances in the integration and unity of
our peoples.</p>
<p>As we contrast the two models and their results, no
one can be surprised with what is currently happening
on the<a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Progressive-Govts-Movements-Back-Ecuador-Protests-20191008-0012.html">
streets of Ecuador</a> and other countries.</p>
<p>The people are not going to let themselves be
sacrificed again for the sake of a model that offers
them hunger today and breadcrumbs tomorrow. People
have proved that we can live with equality, justice
and dignity, and they will fight for it. They will
always fight.</p>
<p>Here in our homeland, we must cast out any doubts
about the urgent need to recover our model of economic
control. If we want to avoid greater ills, we must
ignore the siren chants of monetarist fundamentalism.
It is in the midst of economic<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14685">
aggression</a> and<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14615">
blockade</a> when we must stay furthest away from
the neoliberal fallacy.</p>
<p>Today, the phrase of Commander Chavez is more
relevant than ever: "Neoliberalism is the way to
hell." Likewise is the reaffirmation of our economic
path through the<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/7497">
2012 Homeland Plan</a> which we approved some 7
years ago when we<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/7331"> last
elected Hugo Chavez as president</a>. Chavez told us
in that plan that "We will continue to shape a system
of social relations of production, based on the values
of knowledge and work and at the service of the full
satisfaction of the human needs of our people."</p>
<p>Alongside [Simon] Bolivar, we can say that faltering
is losing ourselves. It is through Chavez’s way, and
no other, that our people will clear the horizon
towards a better future.</p>
<p>Neoliberalism, hell no!</p>
<h3>Notes</h3>
<p>(1) Public cutbacks, real wage decreases, spiralling
inflation, and the agreement of huge IMF aid packages
for Argentina have meant that Macri is trailing in the
initial voting tendencies to the progressive and
Kirchner-esque candidate of Alberto Fernandez in the
upcoming Argentinian presidential elections, scheduled
for November 24.</p>
<p>(2) Sitting Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra
dissolved the opposition controlled parliament late in
September and called for early parliamentary elections
in order to force through his nominations for the
Supreme Court, sparking accusations of a coup and
international and local condemnation.</p>
<p>(3) Protests, led by left wing sectors and students,
have rocked the Colombian capital Bogota in recent
weeks. Likewise, the return to arms of a faction of
the FARC-EP has sparked a new wave of persecution
against social leaders, mayoral candidates, and trade
unionists in the country.</p>
<p>(4) Indigenous and left wing groups have led
anti-neoliberal protests in Ecuador this week, which
stormed the parliament building, forced the government
of Lenin Moreno to move to the country’s second city,
and brought the capital Quito to a halt. The protests
were sparked by Moreno’s move to eradicate a state
subsidy on fuel and agree to an IMF bailout package
conditioned on labour law changes and other austerity
policies. Moreno was eventually forced to walk back
the measures.</p>
<p><em>Elias Jaua is a former vice president of
Venezuela, and has also held offices including the
minister for education, communes, agriculture, as
well as foreign minister, during the governments of
Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. He is a member of
the national leadership of the ruling United
Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).</em></p>
<p><em>The views expressed in this article are the
author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of
the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.</em></p>
<p><em>Translation and additional notes by Paul Dobson
for Venezuelanalysis.</em></p>
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