A brief note on Chávez’s recent congratulation message to Ahmadinejad

Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Vandad, a member of Iranian branch of “Hands off Venezuela” campaign. I always observe carefully and defend the revolutionary process in this country (I mean the wave of nationalizations, factory occupations, the workers’ control on the plants, social programs, struggles against bureaucracy, corruption, capitalism and Yankee imperialism and of course, crumbling the national landlords and bourgeoisie etc); I try to report what is truly taking place in this country, because in the western and bourgeois media, there is an unbelievably massive misinformation about the current state of Venezuela and especially President Hugo Chávez.
Some years ago, everyone including me had faced with a critical question; the question was: what does the socialism of 21st century or the “Bolivarian Socialism” mean? And how can it be built in Venezuela or in any country around the world now?
That was a very important question, since, as you know, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Berlin Wall, a well-known ideologist of capitalism like Francis Fukuyama had come out with the Slogan “The end of the history” and “the death of socialism and the triumph of Liberal Democracy”.
Now I’ve become more confident than before, that such claims were/are nonsense; I’m observing that how the genuine socialism is being made in practice and from below (i.e. by the working class, the women, the students, the poor, the peasants and so on)
Therefore from this aspect, Venezuelan Revolution-in spite of some shortcomings and weaknesses- is a remarkable experience; The Bolivarian Socialism is really, with no exaggeration, a source of inspiration and a point of reference for all the workers and the oppressed around the world.
But I should immediately add that I permanently and firmly criticize President Chávez for his close relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The progressive state of Venezuela and the reactionary regime of Iran are moving in two completely different ways: One to the Left and another to the right. So, such a close relationship will have no justification. I emphasize again, it will have no justification. The Islamic Republic is the cradle of tremendous repression, torture, prison and corruption; it is an ultra-rightist government which is attempting to integrate into world capitalism. It is not anti-imperialist; by contrast it is utterly in the service of “imperialism”(i.e. IMF, World Bank, WTO, G8 etc.) In other words, the IR is the puppet of imperialist powers. So such a close relationship between President Chávez and the Iranian authorities will just undermine and cover the achievements of 10 years of revolution in Venezuela. I know that President Chávez is going to create an anti-imperialist bloc, but it is obvious that he can never reach this gain by the help of Iran’s regime. That is what I ask President Chávez and all pro-Bolivarian Revolution to reflect on. President Chávez has correctly supported Iran in international forums in the last few years against imperialist interference and maneuvers on the part of the US, but the position he has taken on Iranian State is conservative, opaque and non-socialistic.
Sincerely
Vandad Akuchkian
June 29, 2009