Fred puts my feet to the fire and asks what would I do if I belonged to the Venezuelan left and were faced with the choice of ignoring democratic rights or joining the demand to publish and verify the vote count, knowing the likely result would be the PSUV handing power to the right-wing opposition? In other words, would I align with Fred or with what I understand Chris’ position to be.
The principled position is the defence of democratic rights, and my inclination is for the Maduro government to step down and then for the PSUV to campaign in the streets against what I would expect will be attacks on trade union and communal council rights by a Gonzalez-Machado government. So is the principle inviolate? Must it be defended at all costs against the wishes and class interests of your base - in this case, the millions of working class Venzuelans who voted for Maduro to block the opposition? What if there were clear and plausible evidence of voting irregularities in a US swing state which allowed the Democrats to retain the presidency against Trump? Would we join the MAGA Republicans in demanding a recount which we knew would almost certainly reverse the result and greatly impair winning the Democratic base away from its leadership? I can see why Fred and Chris are split on this question. Does the Marxist tradition offer any guidance? Maybe I’m a slow learner but this is another issue where I would like more discussion before jumping to a conclusion - akin to the one surrounding the class character of China dividing serious Marxists I respect on both sides of that debate. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#33225): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/33225 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/109123065/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
