Sunday, July 19, 2009
Online, Free, Pinewood Derby Templates
Latin America: Workers in the energy sector in times of crisis
James Petras Rebelión
Translated
Andrés Prado for Rebelión by
The situation of energy sector in Latin America is determined by both internal and external correlation of political forces, the level of class organization and power within the working classes and dominant, the situation of the global economy and the strength and weakness of U.S. imperialism. The "situation in the energy sector" refers to different variations in terms of ownership, economic size and distribution of gains within the class structure. Correlation
internal and external forces
The balance of power between capitalists and workers in the energy sector in Latin America varies widely: in Venezuela Chavez's government, with support from the union for oil workers, has increased public ownership and has distributed oil revenues among the popular classes through food subsidies, health for all and public education programs. At the other extreme is in Colombia, under Uribe's government, the foreign private oil companies are increasing their control, the profits are repatriated to the imperialist countries or out of the country by the domestic elite and government revenues subsidize the oligarchy, and death squads backed by the government and army to kill and threaten union leaders and social.
Translated
Andrés Prado for Rebelión by
The situation of energy sector in Latin America is determined by both internal and external correlation of political forces, the level of class organization and power within the working classes and dominant, the situation of the global economy and the strength and weakness of U.S. imperialism. The "situation in the energy sector" refers to different variations in terms of ownership, economic size and distribution of gains within the class structure. Correlation
internal and external forces
The balance of power between capitalists and workers in the energy sector in Latin America varies widely: in Venezuela Chavez's government, with support from the union for oil workers, has increased public ownership and has distributed oil revenues among the popular classes through food subsidies, health for all and public education programs. At the other extreme is in Colombia, under Uribe's government, the foreign private oil companies are increasing their control, the profits are repatriated to the imperialist countries or out of the country by the domestic elite and government revenues subsidize the oligarchy, and death squads backed by the government and army to kill and threaten union leaders and social.
Between these two poles of the nationalist left and the neo-fascist right are a few other types: social democratic, social liberal and neoliberal.
Bolivia and Ecuador, Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, representing the social democratic approach. Proposed "partnership" between "state" and capitalist foreign oil companies, which share the benefits of oil exploitation. Foreign companies still control most if not all, of refinement and of trade and social democratic government has yet to establish their own "marketing systems." The
policies "social liberals" are found in Brazil and Argentina where major oil companies are only nominally state they are traded on stock markets in Latin America and Wall Street. State income are distributed in an unequal proportion: most used to subsidize the agricultural sector and the lower mineral to fund social programs, including core poverty programs.
neoliberal policies are found in Mexico and Peru, where oil companies previously owned by the State have been transferred to foreign oil companies and energy. In Mexico, only the militancy of the Mexican Electricians Union has prevented the government from privatizing this strategic industry. Under neoliberal regimes of energy and oil profits have been distributed almost exclusively between foreign and local ruling classes and have only been a few crumbs for the workers, peasants and indigenous communities in the form of programs of "poverty of subsistence" . Neoliberal regimes and pillage disinvest public enterprises, reducing their production quota and leaving them with debts, obsolete technology and a declining ability to meet obligations overseas.
The Impact of economic boom and the global recession (2003-2009)
The performance and ownership of the energy sector are influenced by the internal class struggle, the situation of the global economy and the rise and fall of American imperialism. The crisis of neoliberalism and popular revolts between 1999 and 2005 closed the first phase of large-scale privatization in many Latin American countries. The demolition of the governments of De la Rua in Argentina, Sánchez de Tiled in Bolivia and Noboa and Gutiérrez in Ecuador, the defeat of the coup in Venezuela (April 2002) and the closure of the bosses (the strike of oil) (December 2002 -February 2003) led to radical mass movements to establish a new agenda: the re-nationalization of the energy sector, oil, electricity sector, mining and other strategic sectors. However
popular revolts did not lead, with the exception of Venezuela, government workers and peasants. Instead, the center-left alliances of middle-class orientation to the working classes led to some partial reforms. In Bolivia Evo Morales has increased the state's role in society with 42 oil and gas companies to foreign ownership. Kirchner set up a state company but declined to re-nationalize Repsol YPF in Argentina. Correa in Ecuador increased taxes on companies oil but foreign multinational companies still produce 57% of the oil. In Brazil, Lula refused to re-nationalize privatized companies-the majority of the shares of Petrobras are in the hands of private investors.
Most combat the exploitation of energy and mining companies in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile was carried out by indigenous movements, in some cases supported by oil workers and peasant organizations. The reason is clear: energy companies were not simply exploiting labor, they were destroying their economies and living conditions through massive environmental pollution and the seizure of their traditions.
In Brazil, the promotion of large-scale, long period of huge multinational sugar plantations and refineries that produce ethanol displaced thousands of small farmers and indigenous communities and intensified the exploitation of farmworkers. Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) and other rural social movements allied with Lula, engaged in defensive struggles. However, no urban allies, could not handle the combination Lula-agricultural market.
urban workers and unions
The main driving force behind popular revolts against neoliberalism varies across countries and time.
workers in Ecuador oil, mining and factories joined the mass movement of peasants to depose Noboa at the beginning of the decade. In Argentina, the unemployed and the middle class led the fight in the overthrow of De la Rua. In Venezuela oil workers were divided between a minority who supported the closure of the leaders and a majority that took over and operated the wells in support of President Chavez. However, over the decade, energy sector workers have organized and fought in defense of their economic sector, opposing privatization and protecting their standards of living through mass struggle. But their presence in popular revolts has been limited. In many cases the leaders of the unions have backed energy center-left regimes to make concessions on wages and job security. In the best cases, these trade unions have joined in demonstrations of solidarity with the massive struggle of the peasants, indigenous and unemployed. Paradoxically
strong and militant union organization of energy has led to economic gains and sector reforms, which led in turn to the creation of highly segregated islands of affluence amidst a mass of rural and urban poor. The past decade has witnessed the decline in energy workers as the vanguard of popular revolts, other classes have taken their place. This has led to a strategic threat because, in the course of large-scale privatization of the energy sector, workers will fail to secure the support of the rest of the working class and peasants.
While oil exploitation in the Amazon create "jobs for oil workers, destroys the way of life of indigenous communities and starts a conflict between oil companies and their employees against the mass of artisans, small farmers dependent communities livestock, fisheries and handicrafts, close to the mining and oil operations.
global recession and the energy sector
Global crisis can not be solved only with strikes and protests. Even the re can not by itself create the basis for recovery nationwide. The only choice facing workers in the energy sector is a "cultural and political revolution" inside in which to rethink their basic strategy and go beyond sectoral struggles.
The deep and prolonged recession can only be addressed at the political level national levels through a shift toward formation of a broad political alliance and mass with the popular classes, with a strategy to win state power. On the eve of the collapse of capitalism, the trade union struggle is no longer effective. Trade unions can only succeed by giving a decisive turn towards anti-capitalist movements, a shift toward an explicit acceptance of socialism.
Today, the entire capitalist class has seized control of the state, especially the State Treasury to finance its survival and recovery at the expense of workers, peasants, indigenous people and the urban poor. As the crisis deepens, the revolt of the mass rural and urban re-break the bonds of bourgeois hegemony. Will raise the question: will the energy workers of a socialist solution or be part of the capitalist problem? Will they be workers in the energy part of the vanguard or remain part of the rear? What is absolutely clear is that energy workers occupy a strategic position in the global capitalist system, without oil nothing moves without electricity bankers can not count their profits and investors can not read their dividend payments.
The capitalist system has never been shown in its entirety today, in life real, which is a failed system, and producing goods and services and providing credit and financing and providing jobs.
The famous phrase from Karl Marx comes to mind: "A specter is haunting the capitalist class: the advent of the socialist revolution." -----------------------
Presented at a plenary session of the international meeting of workers in the electricity sector in Mexico organized by the Mexican Union Electricians. (SME) in July 2009.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment