The September elections have posed some serious questions before the Bolivarian Revolution. The opposition has organized a noisy campaign in the media to present themselves as "winners", despite the fact that they lost. What is the purpose of this campaign? A minority cannot turn itself into a majority, no matter how loud it shouts. But such a campaign can be advantageous to the counterrevolutionaries both inside and outside Venezuela.

The result of the elections to Venezuela’s National Assembly elections on Sunday was greeted by jubilation in the bourgeois media internationally. It is too early to make a definitive judgment about the results, and it has not been confirmed the right wing has overtaken the PSUV in votes. However, the deafening chorus of triumph in the international media is premature.

The mood at the Miraflores presidential palace on Sunday night was one of cautious waiting and one could even feel a slight nervousness in the air as thousands of Bolivarians had gathered to hear the first results of the country's parliamentary elections.

On September 26 the people of Venezuela will be electing a new National Assembly. The reactionary Oligarchy, backed by imperialism, is taking advantage of the shortcomings of the revolution to strengthen its position and prepare for the counter-revolution. The Venezuelan revolution has gone a long way, but key economic levers are still in the hands of the Oligarchy. What is required is to fully carry out the socialist revolution and expropriate the capitalists and landlords. That is the only way of making the revolution irreversible.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez severed diplomatic relations with Colombia last week after a farcical presentation by outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS).  Uribe accused the Venezuelan government of harbouring FARC guerrillas and demanded an "international commission of enquiry."  This is the latest provocation by the imperialist powers, through their puppet regime in Colombia, to damage the Venezuelan revolution, especially in advance of the parliamentary elections in September.

If it is to succeed, the Venezuelan revolution must be taken to the very end, with the expropriation of the capitalists and landlords who still control two thirds of the economy. This is a powerful lever in their hands that they are using to organise economic sabotage to undermine the government. The right-wing, reformist fifth columnists within the Bolivarian movement are attempting to hold back the revolution. That is where the danger lies.

The 19th of April marked the 200^th anniversary of Venezuela’s independence from Spain. The mass celebrations confirmed what was seen on the earlier April 13 rallies: the masses are prepared to defend the gains made so far by the Venezuelan revolution and this affects the ranks of the army who clearly sympathise with the working people.

A delegation of comrades of the IMT from several countries is visiting Venezuela, attending the congress of the Venezuelan Marxists and bringing support for the formation of the Fifth International. On their first day they were taken on a tour of the INAF factory, which has been occupied by the workers and is under their management.

With representatives from 7 different regions, the Venezuelan comrades held their re-founding Congress of the Venezuelan section of the IMT in Caracas, taking the opportunity to launch their new paper, “Lucha de Clases” (Class Struggle). Also present were workers from three occupied factories (INAF, Gotcha and INVEVAL). The comrades have had to deal with very difficult internal conditions over the past year but the mood was one of great enthusiasm and optimism, and they are committed to playing an important role within the PSUV and the Venezuelan revolution. 

In the build up to the September elections, the right-wing opposition is preparing on several fronts. Economic sabotage is one of them, as are the manoeuvres on the part of right-wing elements within the Bolivarian movement itself. Meanwhile, all this is having a radicalising effect on the left.