Onward, Socialist Soldiers!

Keep the faith. Someday your ship will come in;

The Bolivarian Socialist Union of Workers (CBST), which represents 1.3 million [Venezuelan] workers, held a major congress from August to November this year, with national and local meetings taking place.

And celebrated a job well done?

Debates addressed on-going economic problems in the South American OPEC nation of 30 million, particularly the shortages of basic goods, 63% annual inflation, and an overvalued fixed-rate currency.

Ahead of today’s meeting with President Maduro, CBST conference coordinator Oswaldo Vera said that the union has designed a plan to ensure the sufficient supply of basic goods in the short term, and a strategy to increase production and exportation in the medium term.

“We have the potential to achieve [higher] levels of industrialisation and be self-sustainable. The working class also commits itself to achieving industrialisation,” said Vera, according to newspaper Ultimas Noticias.

We guess not.

At the congress’ closure on 8 November, Vera said that the CBST defended the social, economic and political project promoted by the Bolivarian government. However, it was argued that the state required fundamental transformation to achieve programmatic goals.

Want to be more like Cuba?

“It was debated that the state continues to be very slow, a state that we inherited from the 4^th Republic [pre-1998] and that despite all efforts still maintains fundamental vices. We workers take on the challenge of transforming the state, to create the socialist state, the worker state for the wellbeing of the whole Venezuelan people,” the trade unionist told fellow delegates.

In another 16 years.