GUADELOUPE TO HOST THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF CARIBBEAN WRITERS

BAIE-MAHAULT, Guadeloupe (April 3, 2013) - The third International Congress of Caribbean Writers will take place at the Langley Resort Fort Royal in Deshaies, Guadeloupe, French West Indies, from April 10 to 13, 2013.

Held under the theme "Our Fight for Freedom, A Collective Epic", the prestigious event takes places every two years under the auspices of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe and the Association of Caribbean Writers.

The meeting attracts numerous renowned writers from the French, English, Dutch and Spanish speaking Caribbean. Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela will have representatives.

With participants drawn from so many countries in the Caribbean and Latin America organizers welcome an extraordinary diversity of cultural heritage on display, comprising the backbone of the common Caribbean existence.

Following appearances by St. Lucia's Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott for the first edition, and noted writer Marcio Veloz Maggliolo of the Dominican Republic for the second, American novelist, short story writer and poet, Russell Banks will be the guest of honour at the third meeting this month. A committed man of letters, Banks is a prolific, award-winning writer of fiction and lectures in contemporary literature at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Banks will also lead the opening session on Thursday, April 11, with a debate about 'The historic truth or romantic fiction of Caribbean literature.

Over the four days of the writers congress, in addition to the intensive writing workshops, author meeting exchanges with the public, including school children, will take place. The main objectives of the event include increasing the awareness and adding channels for the distribution of Caribbean literature across language barriers, within and beyond the region.

"The spirit of the Congress of Caribbean Writers is that the greater sharing of our experiences and our cultural heritage remains the best way of communicating with the world. We also believe that the presentations of literary work and strengthening of the Caribbean writers network will contribute to economic development within the region and the cultural sector in particular," the organizers report.

Colonialism and Neo-colonialism in the Caribbean: An Overview

by Norman Girvan

Professor Emeritus, University of the West Indies 

St Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago

Introduction

The contemporary Caribbean (1) is one of the most politically fragmented regions for its size on earth; and one with the strongest remaining colonial presence. Political divisions and external 

control are major blocs to the consolidation of a Caribbean identity and the charting of an independent course of development in the interest of Caribbean peoples. 

They undermine the ‘fragmented nationalism’(2) and the pervasive epistemological dependency (3), that is characteristic of the regional consciousness. This situation is a direct consequence of the region’s five-century long history as area of rivalry among, and colonisation by, external powers. Political decolonisation of Caribbean countries is incomplete; indeed it has come to a virtual standstill.

Initiatives at regional cooperation and regional integration have made some progress; but face continuing challenges. Such progress as has been made result from the efforts of Caribbean people themselves; and are continuing. 

Rebellion, revolution, cultural affirmation and other forms of resistance are as integral to the Caribbean experience as are exploitation by external forces and internal elites. The tradition of struggle serves to inspire, inform and motivate current generations. Slowly but surely, a pan-Caribbean consciousness is emerging, led by the vision of cultural practitioners; and containing the seeds of a future Caribbean nation.

I am grateful to Dr Carlyle Corbin, editor of Overseas Territories Review, for his help in clarifying certain aspects of the constitutional situation of Caribbean non-independent countries and for his comments on an earlier draft of this paper. I am responsible for any errors that the paper might contain.

(1) In this paper we refer to ‘the Caribbean’ as constituting the archipelago which runs from the Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago; plus Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Belize, and Bermuda. 

(2) See Franklin W. Knight, The Caribbean: Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism . Oxford University Press, 2011.

(3) See Brian Meeks and Norman Girvan (eds.) The Thought of New World: The Quest for Decolonisation. Ian Randle 

READ THE FULL PAPER HERE

Hawaii Senator calls for exemption to Jones Act

Sen Solomon Resolutions Urge Hawaii Jones Act Exemption By Andrew Walden  Sen. Malama Solomon February 28 introduced two Senate Resolutions (SR20 and SCR42) with identical wording requesting Hawaii be exempted from the Jones Act.  Here is the full text: SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 42 REQUESTING CONGRESS TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION OR A SUNSET WAIVER FOR HAWAII FROM THE JONES ACT TO LOWER CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND PROVIDE NEW TONNAGE. WHEREAS, historically the United States has sought to protect its shipping industry through cabotage laws, such as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act; and WHEREAS, the Jones Act strictly limits the shipping of merchandise between the United States and its territories to American-built and registered ships crewed by United States citizens; and WHEREAS, eighty percent of the goods consumed in Hawaii are imported from the mainland or foreign countries, and ninety-eight percent of these goods come by ship; and WHEREAS, while transpacific shipping costs are some of the lowest in the world, especially from the United States to Asia, the freight rates between the mainland and Hawaii are some of the highest; and WHEREAS, much of the high cost of living in Hawaii can be attributed to unnecessarily high shipping costs caused by the Jones Act; and WHEREAS, such excess costs present an immense and unfair burden on the people of Hawaii; and WHEREAS, Congress already recognized the unique aspects of the Pacific region and the excessive burdens placed on it by the Jones Act when it exempted the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa from the applicability of the Jones Act; and WHEREAS, the almost total dependence on sea freight services makes the economy of Hawaii extremely sensitive to even minor restrictions or disruptions in transportation; and WHEREAS, any disruption in the delivery of oil, food, or other vital goods would severely threaten the health, safety, and security of residents of Hawaii; and WHEREAS, an exemption from the Jones Act would protect the collective health, safety, and security of the people of Hawaii and would also foster shipping competition that will economically benefit consumers; and WHEREAS, the federal Government Accountability Office by letter dated April 10, 2012, indicated that it would release a report by February 28, 2013, on its review of the Jones Act and its effect upon the economy of Hawaii, among other places; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated that the report of the Government Accountability Office will recommend that a "sunset waiver" be created to provide an exemption for Hawaii from the Jones Act that would result in lower constructions costs and allow for new tonnage and more ships to serve Hawaii; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body respectfully requests the Congress of the United States to pass legislation granting an exemption or a sunset waiver from the Jones Act to Hawaii; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body respectfully requests the President of the United States and his administration to support the Congressional legislation requested herein; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's congressional delegation is urged to request Congress to exempt Hawaii from the Jones Act; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, and members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

Puerto Rico Sees Jones Act exemption as economic tool

New Governor Seeks Jones Act exemption to grow Puerto Rican Economy. By Michael Hansen Hawaii Shippers Council   Garcia Padilla Administration seeks full Jones Act exemption to grow Puerto Rican Economy The new administration of Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla through its cabinet secretary for economic development indicated earlier this month that they would seek a full Jones Act exemption for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as recommended last year in a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, commonly known as the New York Fed. In a wide ranging interview published on March 7, 2013, in the English language Caribbean Business newspaper, Mr. Alberto Bacó Bagué, Secretary, Economic Development & Commerce Department, outlined the Garcia Padilla Administration’s plan to reinvigorate Puerto Rico’s ailing economy.  The multisectorial plan involves 15 initiatives, many of which depend upon more efficient transportation arrangements for the island including seaborne transportation.  The Secretary Bacó’s Department was formerly the Administracion de Fomento Economico and still popularly known as Fomento (Spanish meaning promotion). The Jones Act is the popular name for Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which requires that vessels be U.S.-built, U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed and U.S.-owned to transport cargo between two domestic points. 2012 Election Results Gov Garcia Padilla won a closely contested election in November 2012 defeating the incumbent former Governor Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset by a narrow 0.6% margin and assumed office less than three months ago on January 2, 2013.   The legislative election results were far more definitive.  Gov Garcia’s party, Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico, PDP (in Spanish, Partido Popular Democratico de Puerto Rico, PPD), and commonly known as “Populares,” won majorities in both chambers of the Commonwealth’s Legislative Assembly.   The PDP has a supermajority of 66.67% in the Senate with 18 out of 27 seats, and a simple majority of 55% in the House with 28 out of 51 seats. Gov Garcia is also a member of the national Democratic Party. The PDP supports an enhanced commonwealth political status for Puerto Rico similar to that of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which among other things is exempt from the Jones Act by the international treaty that led to its annexation. Former Gov Fortuño is a member of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, NPP (in Spanish, Partido Nuevo Progresista de Puerto Rico, PNP) and popularly known as the “Progresistas.”  The NPP supports Statehood for Puerto Rico.  Gov Fortuño is a member of the national Republican Party and while in office advocated a full exemption from the Jones Act for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s single non-voting delegate to congress, Representative Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia, formally known as the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the U.S. Congress, is the only member of Congress that serves a four year term.  Rep Pierluisi was reelected defeating Rafael Cox Alomar (PDP) by a margin of 1.28 %, and will serve another four years until the end of 2016.  Rep Pierluisi is a member of the NPP, but unlike former Gov Fortuño, is a member of the national Democratic Party and caucuses with the Democrats in Congress. It would seem reasonable to assume that any federal legislative measure to exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act, either in full or in part, would, during the near to medium term, likely have to be introduced by Rep Pierluisi in the U.S. House of Representatives in order to achieve any success.  Especially as the other members of Congress will look to the resident commissioner for leadership on the Jones Act issue as it applies to Puerto Rico. Among the other unique features of Puerto Rico’s political system is that all members of the Commonwealth’s bicameral Legislative Assembly – Senate and House alike – serve concurrent four year terms.  As such, the current 17th Legislature of Puerto Rico will remain in office until January 8, 2017.  Candidates for governor and the resident commissioner traditionally stand for election together as “running mates.”  The second-in-command administrative position typically held by an elected lieutenant governor elsewhere in the U.S., in Puerto Rico is the Secretary of State, who is appointed by the governor and approved by both chambers of the Assembly. There are a total of six registered local political parties in Puerto Rico.  After the two main local parties, i.e., the PDP and NPP, the third most important political party with only a single member in the Assembly is the Puerto Rico Independence Party (Spanish Partido Independentista Puertorriqueno, PIP) popularly known as the “independenistas.” Economic Background Puerto Rico’s modern economic history begins after the end of World War II in 1945 with the sharp decline of the centuries-old and once mainstay sugar and coffee agricultural industries.  To transition the economy away from agriculture, in 1948 the U.S. federal government launched “Operation Bootstrap,” which invested heavily in the island’s infrastructure and achieved initial success with introduction of labor-intensive manufacturing industries.    After the low wage industries first attracted to the island began moving to lower cost countries and causing significantly higher local unemployment, the federal government granted several tax incentives in the late 1960’s.  Those incentives led to Puerto Rico becoming a haven for the manufacturing operations of the U.S. bio-pharmaceutical, medical device, electronic and textile industries. Those 1960’s incentives and the additional tax breaks added later were terminated by 2006 leading to the so-called “Puerto Rico Economic Crisis” that began in 2005.  As reported by Jesse Drucker in Bloomberg on December 19, 2011, “In 1976, Congress added a tax credit that effectively exempted from federal income taxes the profits that U.S. companies attributed to Puerto Rico.  The combination of the break, proximity to the U.S. and plentiful industrial sites prompted multinational companies to flock to the island, with medical-device and pharmaceutical makers leading the way.  Companies separately negotiated tax holidays from the Puerto Rican government.” “By the mid 1990s, critics attacked the break as too expensive, costing the U.S. about $3 billion a year. In some industries, the tax subsidy was costing the U.S. as much as $72,000 per job, according to a study by the federal agency now called the Government Accountability Office. After a lobbying battle in 1996, the tax break was repealed, with a 10-year transition period for companies already benefiting from the credit.  ‘It pulled the rug from under our feet,’ said William Riefkohl, executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association.” When former Gov Fortuño took office in January 2008, the Commonwealth was suffering from the so-called Puerto Rico Economic Crisis as termination of the manufacturing tax credits and very large budget deficits.  Gov Fortuño and the NPP-controlled Assembly addressed the crisis with austerity budgets.  During the single Fortuño term, local unemployment rate rose to 17.2%, approximately 20,000 government employees were laid off, and the total population of island declined as a result of out-migration. Garcia Padilla Administration’s Economic Plan focuses on Shipping As Gov Garcia Padilla and the PDP ran in 2012 on a platform critical of Gov Fortuño and the NPP’s austerity budgets with the support of the public worker unions and promising to grow the economy and create jobs; putting their economic plan in to effect and achieving tangible results over the next four years is a political imperative.  They also need to deal with the Commonwealth’s structural budget deficits – the current deficit for 2013 is estimated to be $1.2 billion, and the solvency of the Government’s Employees Retirement System that has $37.3 billion in unfunded liabilities.  (See Puerto Rico’s pension system in peril, Fox News, February 1, 2013.) In his interview with Caribbean Business, Secy. Bacó endorsed the York Fed’s June 29, 2012 Report on the Competiveness of Puerto Rico’s Economy, which identified the Jones Act is a major impediment to revitalizing the island’s economy. The New York Fed recommended Puerto Rico be exempted from the Jones Act’s for a trial period of five (5) years in the same way the U.S. Virgin Islands are. Further echoing the New York Fed, Secy. Bacó explained that future economic growth in Puerto Rico will depend on more efficient transportation.  And, he said an important focus of the Governor’s 15 point economic plan is port development and capitalizing on the Panama Canal Expansion Project.   The Panama project is now scheduled for completion in 2015 and will allow for the introduce very large – approximately 13,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity –post-Panamax containerships into the Caribbean for the purpose of transiting between Asian and Atlantic ports. Secy. Bacó emphasized that the Garcia Administration will move aggressively to complete development of the languishing Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas in Ponce on the South Coast of Puerto Rico to become a significant regional port – sometimes referred to as a “megaport,” after the Rotterdam and Singapore models.  In addition, Secy. Bacó mentioned there is also potential to develop the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Base for maritime and aviation facilities as part of their economic plan.  Secy. Bacó told Caribbean Business, “What we have to aspire to is making the Ponce port work as fast as possible, so by the time post-Panamax ships start going through the Panama Canal in 2014, we may have a fully operational port. That will bring economic activity to Ponce and the whole island. It's not just a ‘Ponce solution’ because if it is a Saudi Arabian investor group, for example, they will bring money for manufacturing facilities.  I see so much potential there that we must not look at it strictly as a port. It's an issue in which we may be left completely out of the map if something isn't done quickly, and time is running out.” In respect of developing the Port of Americas, Secy. Bacó continued, “I've already met with the Korean group this past week in their New York office. They came from Korea with the sole purpose of meeting with us and they reiterated their interest, which I found odd.  I asked further because I wanted to delve deeper into the matter, and it turns out time is running out.”  Then Secy. Bacó referenced the New York Fed’s recommendation in respect of the Jones Act,  “There are some very important [points] recommended by the Federal Reserve in a study. These [include] giving a five-year moratorium on the Jones Act shipping laws. When I met with the Koreans and asked them what is the most negative part of operating the Port of the Americas—that is one of the negatives—the U.S. shipping laws. I think we are close to the federal government understanding it is a restriction that has us drowning in certain dimensions. Therefore, we will push for that in Washington.” Implications of Gov Garcia Padilla Administration’s Jones Act Policy The five-year Jones Act moratorium for Puerto Rico proposed by the New York Fed and endorsed by Secy. Bacó on behalf of the Garcia Padilla Administration would be modeled after the exemption for the Virgin Islands of the United States since their annexation on March 31, 1817 and subsequently exempted from cabotage by Section 21 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.(OTR correction: the annexation was by purchase from one colonial power to another, and took place in the year 1917, not 1817) If such a temporary exemption from the Jones Act and related cabotage laws were to be enacted by the U.S. Congress for Puerto Rico, it would in all likelihood result in a permanent exemption, as it would be very difficult to re-extend cabotage laws to the Puerto Rico trade as conditions would have changed so substantially after the five year period.  It is very likely that after such an exemption were to come into effect, the domestic trade between the contiguous U.S. and Puerto Rico would come to be dominated by new entrant international carriers operating foreign flag ships completely displacing the incumbent Jones Act operators. The only probable exception among the incumbent Jones Act carriers would be Crowley Maritime, which is one of the four mainline carriers currently operating in the domestic Puerto Rico trade. Crowley operates eight large Roll-on/Roll-off (R0/Ro) trailerbarges on the domestic trade lanes from Jacksonville, Florida, and Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  In addition, Crowley operates several liner container services from the contiguous U.S. to other Caribbean ports employing foreign flag containerships charging significantly lower and much more competitive freight rates on those international trade routes. Although Crowley would be extremely unlikely to support a full Jones Act exemption for Puerto Rico, if such an exemption were to be enacted, they could cover Puerto Rico by expanding their existing foreign flag services and calling at Puerto Rico in conjunction with their other ports.  As all the Crowley trailerbarges employed in the domestic Puerto Rico trade were built between 1970 and 1979, they are well past what is customarily considered their useful life and therefore would not represent a large sunk cost if they were to be made redundant by a Jones Act exemption. The New York Fed quantified that the freight rates between the Contiguous U.S. and Puerto Rico are twice the cost for the same movements to nearby islands, especially the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Additionally, while Puerto Rico’s cargo volume fell more than 20% over the decade of 2000-2100, there was a corresponding doubling of volume at Kingston, Jamaica, implying that cargo is moving from Puerto Rico to Jamaica for onwards shipment. The concept of a establishing a regional port on Puerto Rico to cover the Caribbean is dependent on achieving the equivalent of foreign flag freight rates between the Contiguous U.S.  and Puerto Rico, which could only be achieved with a full Jones Act exemption.   Recognizing the comparative advantages of Jamaica as a location for a hub port for the reasons identified by the New York Fed, the World Bank in February 2013 extended their support to a major regional port development project in Jamaica.   The Korean group, which Sey. Bacó referred to in his interview, also recognized the high cost of Jones Act freight rates as a barrier to any plans they might have to base their regional operations on Puerto Rico and possibly participating in the development of the Port of Americas. This is the source of Secy. Baco’s warning that “we may be left completely out of the map if something isn’t done quickly, and it turns out time is running out.”  Because transshipment cargo has already moved from Puerto Rico to Jamaica, and Jamaica is moving ahead with development of a megaport facility with World Bank support. However, at this point in time, It is very difficult to see how the Garcia Padilla Administration will overcome the U.S. cabotage barrier to establish the Port of the Americas as a regional hub port or magaport.  Congress is very unlikely to enact a full Jones Act exemption for Puerto Rico.  This despite Secy.Bacó’s optimism saying “I think we are close to the federal government understanding it is a restriction [the Jones Act] that has us drowning in certain dimensions.  Therefore, we will push for that [a full Jones Act exemption] in Washington.” The federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) should release before the end of March 2013 their report on the economic impact of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico, which Rep Pierluisi requested in late 2011.   However, the GAO report is expected to focus on the U.S. built requirement of the Jones Act and not recommend a full exemption from the Jones Act for Puerto Rico.  Rep. Pierluisi has said that he would be guided by the results of the GAO report, which may mean he would be reluctant to support a full Jones Act exemption for Puerto Rico. There is a similarity between the Garcia Padilla Administration’s approach to economic development and that of Governor Eddie Baza Calvo (R) of Guam, who assumed office on January 3, 2011. Gov Calvo announced through his Council of Economic Advisors his economic development plan on April, 1, 2012, which included in point (2) “seeking an exemption from the Jones Act to make the price of everything on the island cheaper.” Another alternative for the Garcia Padilla Administration might be to support the Hawaii Shippers’ Council’s noncontiguous trades – Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and Puerto Rico – Jones Act reform proposal.  In a nutshell, the proposed reform would exempt the noncontiguous domestic shipping trades from the U.S. build requirement of the Jones Act for deep draft self-propelled ships.  It does not propose to change the other Jones Act requirements in respect of the noncontiguous trades, i.e. that vessels must be U.S.-flag, U.S.-owned and U.S.-crewed. ---30--- The Hawaii Shippers Council (HSC) is a business league organization incorporated in 1997 to represent cargo interests – known as “shippers” – who tender goods for shipment with the ocean carriers operating the Hawaii trade.

Does France supports self-determination - in Western Sahara?

Human Rights Watch asks French President Francois Hollande to pressurize Morocco to respect human rights in Western Sahara

New York, April 3, 2013 (Sahara Press Service) - Human Rights Watch called Monday on the French President Mr. François Hollande exert pressure on Morocco to respect human rights in Western Sahara and in Morocco, in a statement published on its website.

Human Rights Watch indicated that Mr. Hollande should raise ongoing human rights concerns in his meetings with Moroccan officials, including torture in detention, unfair military trials, restrictions on free expression rights, and the vulnerability of child domestic workers.

On February 17, a Rabat military court sentenced 25 Sahrawi civilians, including several human rights defenders, to prison terms, nine of them to life in prison, in an unfair trial that should not have gone before a military court, added the statement.

It therefore urged French President to voice concerns about the fairness of the trial of Gdeim Izik prisoners.

The Organization published on Monday a report condemning the Moroccan martial trial against Gdeim Izik group. (SPS)

090/089/TRA

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Council of Ministers urges Hollande to convince Morocco to stop violating Saharawi human rights

 

Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 3, 2013 (Sahara Press Service) - The Council of Ministers urged Tuesday the French President François Hollande, on the occasion of his upcoming visit Morocco, to convince Moroccan party to stop its gross violations of Saharawi human rights, in a statement concluded a meeting on Tuesday chaired by the President of the Republic Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz.

The Council called on Moroccan party to comply with international legitimacy for the decolonization of Western Sahara, through the just and democratic solution which is to enable the Saharawi people of his inalienable right to self-determination and independence, through free, just and impartial referendum supervised by the UN.

It hailed the struggle of Saharawi masses in occupied territories, in south Morocco and university sites, condemning the unjust trial against Gdeim Izik heroes, and calling for their immediate release along with all the Saharawi political prisoners.

The Council strongly condemned and deplored the continued campaigns of repressions carried out by Moroccan occupation forces against the defenseless Saharawi civilians, especially women, stressing the need for the UN to assume responsibility in accelerating the establishment of a UN mechanism to protect, monitor and report about human rights in Western Sahara.

It therefore expressed satisfaction for the outstanding presence of Saharawi cause and for the solidarity and sympathy with Saharawi people that have been expressed at the World Social Forum, hosted by Tunisia late March.

On other hand, the Council decided to refer a number of conventions and treaties of the African Union, in addition to a bill to regulate and protect public property and environment protection law, to the next session of the National Council (Parliament). (SPS)

Comrade Chávez won't go

Farooque ChowdhurY

 Issue 619

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/86487

cc Patos

The death of President Chavez is a big loss not only to Venezuelans but also to everyone who believes in the essential struggle to create a just society for all. But his revolution, 21st century socialism as he called it, will live on.

Hugo Chávez won’t go. Class conflict-ridden history shall not allow Chávez to go. He is part of history, part of people struggling against dispossession, exploitation and poverty, part of people struggling for democracy and dignity. ‘Those who die for life, can’t be called dead,’ said Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan vice-president. This makes Chávez live forever among the people.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez has passed away ‘after battling a tough illness for nearly two years’. A number of persons celebrated the news by honking their car horns. Reaction of his class enemies tell the cause Chávez stood for. Identity of his class enemies tells the class position Chávez chose. The cause and the class position make Chávez part of people, part of people’s history, part of class struggle toilers carry forward. 

It was not his personal cause. It was a cause an old republic created with its failures, a cause determined by the society’s history. It was a cause the multitude demanded. It was a cause to which exploitation and inequality, injustice and lies, all practiced by the elites, provided the rationale. The cause was not driven by a personal vendetta. 

So, Chávez stood for the excluded, for the poor, for the prisoners of poverty, for the captives of starvation. So, Chávez stood for the shackled, for those compelled to live with indignity and dishonor. So, Chávez stood for labour tied to the yoke of capital, to the yoke of capital’s dictatorship and tyranny. So, began the historic political journey by Comandante Chávez.

Thus, a ‘sin’ was committed in the court of the rich, the propertied classes, the appropriators, the land speculators, the oil wealth thieves, the world capitalist system. Hence Chávez turned on a sworn-in class enemy of the powerful, of the key keepers of property, of the custodians of undue privileges.

Chávez united workers, peasants, small and medium business people, women, indigenous communities, youths and students, professionals, members of the military, and activists and almost the entire leadership in the camp striving to make a forward journey, a new political practice for exercising national sovereignty and independence free from all external influences and interferences. He forged the largest progressive social-political force in Venezuela. Over the years, he led a struggle so that power belongs to the people, not to the rich.

He engaged the armed forces en masse into activities aimed at social protection and national development. An archaic state machine was pressed to gear a transformation process, frustrating at times, yet a challenging task. 

Chávez made unique effort by cementing a Bolivarian civic-military political force relying on the people’s yearning for freedom and dignity. The aim was to reconstruct state institutions, a transformation process, and claim people’s sovereignty with the goal of transforming the social, political and state structures. 

He mobilized the poor and the most excluded parts of the society. This was his constituency and strength. In response, the rich tried to flood mass psyche with lies-stuffed media, and employed Guarimba, violent mobilizations using firearms, to provoke the government to resort to repressive measures.

Despite conspiracies the people of Venezuela achieved victories over the years. The latest victories include the people’s patience and unity in the face of propaganda on the health condition of Chávez and electoral victory by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 20 of 23 states.

Chávez initiated unique experiments. With the existing reality these are difficult indeed. These provide people spaces for learning, getting mobilized, taking leadership roles, initiating plans, increasing awareness.

Venezuela can be called a land of cooperatives. Thousands of cooperatives are being organized in spheres of the society. There are thousands of farming cooperatives. It’s an initiative to change the way food is produced and to move towards sustainable and community-based food production. Lands expropriated from land speculators are being used to achieve food sovereignty. There are cooperatives of taxi drivers, janitors, small producers… 

Chávez initiated projects for the benefit of the people, especially the poor. At the centre, it’s the Bolivarian Revolution. There are missions, projects, for heath, education. The housing program constructs dignified homes for the poor. More than half-a-million houses for the poor have already been constructed. The public housing program plans to construct two million homes in the next six years. A project of Community Urban Agriculture with an aim to produce food free of agro-chemicals by not damaging soil and recycling organic waste has been initiated. The project contributes to attaining food sovereignty and breaks down alienation in community. People are initiating ‘socialist’ direct community production enterprises. Alternative, free and community media aims at promoting feminism, gender diversity and wages an anti-patriarchal fight. There is effort to initiate a new type of policing aimed at dealing with the problem of crime through prevention and community engagement.

Mass debate over Venezuela’s Socialist Plan of the Nation 2013-2019 was initiated. People participated in hundreds of assemblies to specify the draft plan proposed by Chávez. On this plan he was re-elected as president. It’s part of the struggle he began.

The struggle, a persistent fight to collectively transform the society, goes on. Thousands of revolutionary social movements join together to consolidate the Great Patriotic Pole, a platform of all the popular organizations and political parties supporting the Bolivarian Revolution. Peasant organizations with thousands of people are struggling for ‘Democratic Radicalization’ and Land Reform, and against bureaucracy as bureaucracy sabotages socialism. It’s people’s fight against bureaucracy. Their demands include acceleration of the land reform program and the elimination of corruption and obstacles to construct of a socialist economy. Workers are struggling to run industrial units properly. They are getting mobilized.

These are part of a fight for what Chávez called 21st Century Socialism. It’s a long struggle. A bitter and longer struggle is there in the coming days. Already there are news of destabilization plans by the right wing and their international masters. 

The people are rallying together to mourn the death of their president. They are expressing the defiant hope: ‘The struggle has already been ignited.’ People gathered in Plaza Bolivar, in front of Miraflores Palace, in central squares across the country voiced ‘Chávez lives, the struggle continues’, ‘people united will never be defeated’, the Venezuelan bourgeoisie ‘will never return to the Miraflores Palace’. These hopes keep Chávez alive. 

It is people, their steadfastness, awareness, organization, unity that will determine the future path. The voice of the people is saying to the Comandante, Alo Presidente (Hello President), ‘Nobody is Surrendering Here’.

This meaningless Falklands referendum will resolve nothing

The Guardian

Falkland Islanders are voting on remaining part of the UK, but it won't solve any of the sovereignty problems with Argentina 

• 
• Richard Norton-Taylor
• guardian.co.uk
• 
  

Protesters in favour of UK sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in London. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Over the next few days, around 1,600 inhabitants of the Falkland Islands will be asked whether they wish to "retain their current political status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom".

Never before in British history has the outcome of a referendum been so predictable, its purpose so provocative. The referendum, to be held on Sunday and Monday, will solve nothing. It will exacerbate tired and anachronistic arguments about sovereignty.

The question will be accompanied by an explanation: "Under the Falkland Islands constitution the people of the Falklands Islands have the right to self-determination, which they can exercise at any time".

Explain that to the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands, expelled so that Britain could establish its "Indian Ocean territory" and allow the US to build a base on the archipelago's biggest island, Diego Garcia, from where aircraft have bombed targets in Iraq and Afghanistan, and refuelled CIA aircraft rendering individuals to Guantánamo Bay.

The Falklands executive council, made up of three legislative assembly members, insists the islands are not a "colony" even though the governor is appointed by London and has the power to impose laws on the inhabitants. It describes the islands as "entirely self-governing, except for defence and foreign affairs". It also says that the council "can review its status at any time. This could include full independence."

The referendum, of course, is a device to strengthen the British and Falklands governments' hand as Argentina steps up its calls for negotiations over the sovereignty over the islands.

The dispute over sovereignty has been going on for centuries, and Britain has never been really confident over its claim to the islands. In 1929, the Duke of Wellington observed: "I have perused the papers respecting the Falkland Islands. It is not clear to me that we have ever possessed the sovereignty of all these islands."

Britain was prepared to do a deal even with Galtieri's military junta in the years before the 1982 invasion of the islands. Documents recently released at the National Archives under the "30-year rule" showed that the British policy, as Lord Carrington, Thatcher's foreign secretary put it, was one of neglect and hoping for the best, he told a private meeting of the committee set up to look into the circumstances leading up to the 1982 invasion:

"If I may be very frank and rather rude, you had to keep the ball in the air with the Argentines. That was the object. We did not have any cards in our hands."

Carrington added: "There were all sorts of reasons why a settlement was to the advantage of everybody. If you cannot afford to defend a place … the only conceivable thing that you can do is to keep negotiations going as long as possible whether or not you think they are going to be successful."

Referring to a lease-back plan suggested by the Foreign Office a year earlier, he said: "As I recollect, the Argentine conversations did not go too badly and to begin with the Falklands Islanders did not react too strongly, but the House of Commons reacted very strongly." The papers reveal that Thatcher herself was prepared to negotiate with Argentina even after the invasion as the British taskforce was heading for the islands.

Argentina questions the right to self-determination for the inhabitants of the islands as demanded by Britain. They should not have that right, Argentina says, but would continue to enjoy all their human, civil, political, and cultural rights, their way of living, as minorities do in other countries around the world.

UN resolutions on the dispute, of which there have been 40, do not refer to self-determination but to the "interests" of the islanders. Attempts by Britain at the UN to include the phrase have proved unsuccessful. The UN says the dispute over sovereignty must be settled through bilateral negotiations, between Argentina and Britain, not with the islanders.

According to recent figures, the majority of inhabitants were not born on the Falklands. For the first time last year, says Argentina, the census did not provide information about people born on the islands. However, the inhabitants were asked what they considered their national identity to be. A majority said "Falklanders". On his visit to London last month, Hector Timerman, the Argentinian foreign minister, said there was no such thing as a "Falklander".

The inhabitants of the islands are British, says Argentina, but the territory is not. It is a matter of territorial integrity. A visitor from Mars would be astonished if anyone argued otherwise. A settlement that enshrined fundamental rights – political, human, social, economic, cultural – protected by law, would bring much healthier and more practical benefits for the inhabitants of the Falklands than a sterile dispute over sovereignty. This is a concept that in any case has been eroded over the years as nations – including Britain – agreed to be bound by the rules and obligations, as well as the benefits, of international military, economic and trading alliances.

So, as the countries of the region, through their Union of South American Nations (Unasur), have already made clear, the coming Falklands referendum is all but meaningless .