VENEZUELA'S STRUGGLE-FOR FREEDOM
Cuban Revolution and Freedom Now Movement
[This.is a continuation of the interview held by a representative of the Venezuelan Committee of the Fourth International with Comandante Elias Manuitt in the mountains of Falcon. See World Outlook June 26.]
Q: Comandante, what _do you think has been the effect of the socialist revolution in Cuba upon the revolutionary process in Venezuela and Latin America in general?
A: Well, the process of the liberation of Cuba has opened the eyes of the peoples of Latin America; and these peoples, after the Cuban triumph, realize that it is possible to attain liberation -- that when a people determines to liberate itself, it achieves it. What is needed, simply, is the-determination. And the Cuban people and their leader, Fidel Castro, offer a brilliant example of combativity and all that a people are * capable of when they decide to emancipate themselves completely.
Cubats war of liberation and Latin America's war of independence scem very similar to me in many respects. At first, Bolfvar and Sucre were called extremists and troublemakers, They started with their little group here in Venezuela, and they started growing and growing, and, before you knew it, all America was liberated, Naturally, it was free for a short time only. Then came a new imperialism, more refined, more powerful, more aggressive, richer, that took over all of Latin America,
This other owner; that is, North American imperialism, took possession of our economy -- the copper in Chile, sugar cane in Cuba, petroleum, iron, in Venezuela, bananas in Central America, ete. What they did was to take over from the Spaniards. And what we are doing is to take over likewise from the Liberators, without imagining that we have their merits, without: imagining we have their greatness, their brilliance, "We are simply following the . example they set. We have inherited their struggles, their unbreakable decision to block foreign interests from trampling on our territory and taking over our economy, They were few when they started but they transformed themselves into an army that covered all of America,
In Latin America's new war of liberation, Cuba leaped ahead | of us, We set the example in the first war of independence and now they are setting the example. ‘So they are paying us back with the. same coin and we appreciate the Cubans and the leaders of that revolution -- the people, the exploited masses that are. finally happy and free, for the examp Le they have sot for us,
This is an “example that should be followed not. only by all.
the peoples of Latin America, but by all the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world,
So the Cuban struggle has really greatly influenced our struggle, It has served to awaken not only the masses, but also some leaders who' were dreaming of pie in the sky. © 7
Q@: What is your opinion of the revolutionary movements in Latin Am America and, concretely, the existence of guerrilla groups in In countries like Peru, Argentina, Guatemala and Colombia?
A: I view that as something very positive. The presence . of these guerrilla groups influences the advance and the triumph | of Latin America's liberation -- which takes us back to the same. © thing, When Venezuela was fighting for liberation from the Spanish yoke, armies -- we could call them guerrillas, that is, armies of liberation -- also surged up in Argentina, in Chile and other coun tries,
After the Cuban example, a single country here in Latin America cannot attain its liberation in an isolated form, The war in Latin America has to be a simultaneous war to triumph, Imperialism has now learned from the Cuban example. Imperialism now knows what is meant by the expropriation of its assets, of its interests in Latin America and it will not let these things go without a fight. And, naturally, the stability of the struggle <in_ Venezuela influences the rest of these countries, The Americans, having much greater interests in Venezuela than in any of the other countries, cannot afford to lose this battle.
They exploit them all in any case, but here the exploitation of the Venezuelan people is more fruitful for them, Here the bite is bigger than the one they had in Cuba. Because of this, it is necessary to develop an offensive in all- of Latin America, You have to.remember that all beginnings are difficult. Three or four starts; but in the long run they grow. Not only in terms of combatants but in the hearts of the masses, of the humble, who begin to see in these groups in the mountains, the future army of liberation, the only one that can take them out of the subhuman misery in which they live, and the only one that in a truly disinterested manner, fights for them,
Therefore I admire them -~ the decision of all these revolu-~ tionists to start their liberation, I respect the opinion of some leaders of some countries who try to gain power by peaceful means. I respect their opinion, but at the same time ~- and you'll excuse me =- I would state that I am sure they will not be able to main-~ tain power by such means.
Q: Next to the appearance of guerrilla groups in all of Latin America, what are your views on the struggle which the Ameri~ can Negroes are carrying forward at present?
A: I completely solidarize myself with the movement of the Negroes in the United States, simply because it. is part of the. freedom movement of all peoples, There, the most exploited, the most oppressed, the most discriminated against, are the Negroes; that is to say, the Latin Americans of the United States. I would picture them as the Latin Americans of the United States -- a people determined like us to win freedom. ... They now begin to see their future, they now have a vision of the future, and they now believe ~~ and they have every reason. for it -- that they can _ win their independence, their real economic, political and social ~ independence, There are 22,000,000 Negroes in the United States, 22,000,000 Negroes. who are not all in the struggle today. But in time this movement, as is logical, will continue to grow, and a moment-will come when the North American whites will forget about color and solidarize with the Negroes, And they will realize that: these Negroes are also, North Americans and that like them, they. are. exploited, :
We know all too well that in the United States, too, the people are exploited, ... . The North American economy is centered around a few families who exploit the people, They will realize later that their struggle is not only the struggle of the Negroes, but the struggle of the North American people as well against the exploiting classes and the government.
Special statement 7 [In addition to the above remarks, Comandante Manuitt later made a special statement on this subjoct, as follows: ]
I would like to take advantage of the opportunity you offer me, and, in the name of the FALN [Armed Forces of National Liberation] - shall we say =~ because I know this represents the views of all its members in general -- send fraternal greetings of’ solidar-. ity to all the North American Negroes who are fighting against the misery, against the indignities to which they are submitted by the Yankees, the real Yankees,
Let the North American Negroes know that they can count on... our full support, our full solidarity, and that their struggle is ours, and that their struggle is in our hearts, And that each time we see them sic the dogs on them, to attack them as if they were dogs themselves, our blood boils, and frankly we wish we could be there, be there fighting at their. side to end the infamy which is being perpetrated on them,
Let the North American Negroes imow that in the Venezuelan people they have a major ally. We sympathize with their struggle which must and will grow day by day because they are human beings and have a right to live like human beings, And also that the weapons: that we Venezuelans have are.at their disposal, at their _ service, In our mountains, we- offer them a revolutionary handolasp’
of solidarity,
oe And they should keep in mind that. the struggle that we have undertaken here is not. only in behalf of the people of Venezuela, It is in behalf of all the oppressed, discriminated against and exploited peoples of the world, If they cannot fight there -~ some of them -- they can come here, because our struggle is everyone's. struggle, and for everyone,