Two statement by the Autonomous and Independent Workers’ Committee (Venezuela): ‘Mobilise against Trump’s offensive’ and ‘On Maduro’s call for a trade union constituent assembly’
Translations by Federico Fuentes for LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal.
Joint statement: Against US interference in Venezuela
The Donald Trump administration has carried out mass arrests, detentions and deportations of millions of migrant workers. It has also imposed tariffs, especially on Brazil, which faces 50% tariffs for purely political reasons. Washington expressed its disapproval of the Brazilian court rulings against former President Jair Bolsonaro in July. Bolsonaro is being prosecuted for involvement in a coup plot to prevent the legitimately elected Lula da Silva from assuming the presidency.
Trump is now intensifying his aggression under the pretext of combating drug trafficking. The United States has announced the deployment of 4000 troops to the southern Caribbean Sea to halt drug trafficking from Venezuela. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration is prepared to use all its resources to bring drug traffickers to justice, and that it considers Nicolás Maduro’s government a “narco-regime” and the Venezuelan president a fugitive drug trafficker, for whom a US$50 million bounty has been offered.
This approach is not new: the US has used the drug trafficking narrative to justify interventions in the past, such as Plan Colombia. This entailed heavy militarisation that never halted the drug trade, but did consolidate the US’ military presence in the region. Now, Venezuela faces a similar plan, where an inconvenient government is criminalised to justify a military deployment.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has declared she will not allow US operations on Mexican soil. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has warned that a military operation against Venezuela without the approval of sister nations would be an aggression against all Latin America and the Caribbean. He has ordered the Colombian armed forces to reject any US military intervention in Venezuela. The Colombian president has requested that Latin American heads of states and foreign ministers meet as soon as possible.
Regional cohesion is urgently needed
We reiterate: no country can withstand imperialism’s pressure alone. The united mobilisation of the Latin American people, together with US and Canadian workers, is urgently needed to block Trump’s threats and attacks. Opposition to imperialist policies and attacks on US labour rights is growing stronger across the world, and working people are uniting in defence of migrants.
We reject and condemn the interventionist actions of the Trump-led US government, which seeks to legitimise military intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug cartels. Imperialism’s true intentions are to control the vast oil reserves and international trade in the region. These violent actions are being replicated by the Venezuelan far right in its quest to destabilise the country.
Let’s mobilise across the continent in response to Trump’s offensive.
Long live the struggle of the workers and peoples of the Americas.
Down with imperialism and Trump’s criminal policies.
Comité Autónomo e Independiente de Trabajadores (CAIT, Autonomous and Independent Workers' Committee), Venezuela
Foro Internacional de Víctimas (International Victims Forum), Venezuela
Movimiento Progresista Alternativo (MPA, Alternative Progressive Movement), Colombia
La Red Socialista (Socialist Network), Colombia
CAIT and the call for a trade union constituent assembly
At our August 23 meeting, CAIT had our first discussion on President Nicolás Maduro’s call to convene a trade union constituent assembly. According to the head of state [speaking on August 15], the aim is to overcome the bureaucratic structures of traditional trade unionism, viewed as old and exhausted, and move towards new and strong movements. The proposal has rekindled debate within the labour movement about its future and that of constitutionally enshrined labour rights.
Days later, on August 21, [United Socialist Party of Venezuela MP] Francisco Torrealba gave an extensive interview on Venezuela News program “Hablando Claro” (Speaking Clearly). He expanded and contextualised Maduro’s call. For Torrealba, the point is to rethink everything to do with the working class and labour in Venezuela, without any taboos: The CPTT [Workers’ Productive Councils] strategy; in terms of the new economic model, productivity, production methods, and monitoring efficiency levels; a review of the formulas for calculating benefits contained in the LOTT [Labour Law] and collective bargaining agreements; moving towards industry-wide contracts; reviewing and debating workday schedules, working hours, benefits, tasks, commitments, and the concept of a salary; the concept of the minimum wage and the indexation of monthly income; reconsidering the issue of social benefits, regulating delivery driver work, and entrepreneurship; and the issue of pensions and retirements that have been fully assumed by the Venezuelan state, when these systems are generally universal yet based on individual and solidarity-based contributions.
Regarding freedom of association, [Torrealba suggested that] the LOTT should be amended where it establishes that 20 or more workers can form a union, to put an end to the proliferation of parallel unions. [He added] the Workers’ Constituent Assembly is not a constituent assembly for reforming the constitution, but may come up with and propose specific recommendations when the decision is made to move forward with the proposed constitutional reform and a National Constituent Assembly is elected.
If the interview with the PSUV MP and labour spokesperson served a purpose, it was to lay out, in black and white, the scope of the proposed trade union constituent assembly. It reflects a tendency in the government that wants to reform the constitutional framework and the LOTT to bring them in line with the new economic model that seeks to liberalise and deregulate certain markets. This model includes: the partial dollarisation of the economy; privatisations; establishing new ties with Fedecámaras [the country’s main business federation] and business associations; opening up oil, gas, petrochemicals and refining sectors to international investment; Special Economic Zones; and promotes an agri-business food sector — overall, a model in which private ownership of the means of production is the rule and economic agents make exorbitant profits. This orientation has pulverised workers’ wages, increased precarious employment, and deregulated labour relations.
Certain issues remain open: Who will convene the trade union constituent assembly? How will it be elected? How long will its mandate be? Where will it be held? How many elected members will it have? What will its rules be? And will it be open to the entire union movement?
As part of the workers’ movement, CAIT believes it is essential to participate in this debate, advancing a perspective of workers’ autonomy and independence, and engaging with labour sectors from different political and union backgrounds. Therefore, we have agreed to organise this discussion in the broadest possible way, under the banner “The Constituent Debate and Workers”. Through forums, discussions and statements on various aspects of the trade union constituent assembly, as well as developing an e-newsletter, we invite the working class to engage in this discussion.
Ecosocialism 2025
