INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

WHAT’S HAPPENING
IN VENEZUELA?

resident Romulo Betancourt’s

government’ started prep-
arations for the Presidential and
parliamentary elections held by
ordering the arrest of active
Communists and members of the
Movement of the Revolutionary.
Left.

On September 30, defying the
Venezuelan Constitution, which
forbids the arrest of members
of parliament without the ex-
press sanction of that institu-
tion, he set his huge repressive
machine in action and threw into
prison several’ senators and
deputies belonging to the Com-
munist Party and the Movement
of the Revolutionary Left.

On the same day police de-
tachments raided the headquar-
ters of the United Trade Union
Centre of Venezuela and arrest-
ed 145 workers, ;

A state of siege was declared
in many towns. The most im-
portant government buildings
were cordoned off by troops
and gendarmes. Tanks and ar-
mored cars were sent out to
patrol the streets,

Searches and mass arrests
were carried out all over the
country and many trade union
leaders, workers, progressive-
minded students and other in-
tellectualswere thrown into jail.

Secondary schools and uni-
versities were closed down until
the New Year. To all intents and
purposes, Betancourt’s generals,
headed by Defense Minister Bri-
ceno Linares, took over control.

* * *

The government launched its
Onslaught on the democratic
forces in an attempt to ensure
the success of its election. Hav-
ing roused the majority of the
Population against itself, the Be-
tancourt government is endeay-
Oring at all costs to preserve
the status quo, the rule of the
big capitalists, the landlords and
the foreign monopolies.

They are above all banking on
Support from Washington and
the American monopolies. Going
back on his solemn promises to
develop the national economy,
Betancourt has given the U.S,
Capitalists an opportunity to lay
their hands on more industries,
More of the country’s natural
wealth,

Last January, for example, the
government secretly grantediron
Ore mining concessions in Apure
State to the U.S.-owned Venezu-
elan Atlantic Refining Company.
This deal was concluded in cir-
Cumvention of a law adopted in
1960 which proclaimed the area
Concerned a ‘national reserve
zone’’ and, consequently, in-
Violate,

* * *

The Betancourt government

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_ Mexican view of reactionary
©uth American generals.

has allowed Venezuela’s territo-
ry to be used for U.S. bases.
Among the agreements Venezu-
ela has concluded with the United
States is one on the construction
of two U.S. nuclear rocket bases
at Turiano and Goajira, not far
from the Colombian frontier.
This agreement was signed last
year in Washington and has been
kept secret from the people.
Betancourt is one of the main
vehicles for the anti-Cuban pol-
icy of the U.S. imperialist ele-
ment. It is he who has taken
the initiative of convening an-
other meeting of South Ameri-
can Foreign Ministers to dis-
cuss steps against the liberation
movement in Latin America.

oMeae tic eaee*

In October this year Washing-
ton decided to send troops to
Venezuela if the Betancourt gov-
ernment were in danger of be-
ing overthrown. The U.S. press
is unstinting in its admiration
of Betancourt. The New York
Times calls him a ‘‘tower of
strength’’ and says that there is
no one who can really take his
place. :

The fact that the opposition
forces are disunited has created
favorable conditions for the Ven-

ezuelan ‘gorillas’? — the ultra-
reactionary brass with fascist
leanings who aim to establish
open military dictatorship.

The principal force taking con-
sistent action against the in-
trigues of the reactionaries is
the National-Liberation Front of
Venezuela embracing the Com-
munist Party, the Movement of
the Revolutionary Left, demo-
cratic sections of the army, stu-
dents, the working class and the
peasants,

The leadership of the Front,
which stands for the widest pos-
sible unity of the anti-imperial-
ist forces, holds that ‘‘Betan-
court-style elections’’ cannot re-
solve the problems confronting
the country and will only aggra-
vate the present political crisis.

The Army of Venezuelan Libe-
ration (FALN) has stepped up its
operations to counter the govern-
ment’s repressive actions. The
government has prohibited all
mention of this patriotic military
organization by press, radio and
television,

Nevertheless, the Venezuelan
people daily hear of new feats
of the FALN fighters, who are
ubiquitous and elusive.

On one occasion, a group of
courageous patriots broke into

the U.S. military mission in Car-
acas and seized important doc-
uments, FALN detachments have
made many bold raids on a num-
ber of enterprises owned by the
American monopolies and blown
up several important oil pipe-
lines,

At the same time the Code of
Honor adopted by FALN troops ~
forbids damage to public utili-
ties, private small and medium-
scale traders, industrialists and
farmers, Nor is the property of
the big traders, industrialists
and farmers touched unless the

owners are accomplices in Bet-
ancourt’s crimes.

The code also lays stress on
the need to conduct operations
in such a way as not to endan-
ger the lives of children, wom-
en, and the old or disabled.

The Betancourt government
and its propaganda machine are
doing everything to villify the

~ National-Liberation Front and its

armed forces. But the prestige
of these organizations grows day
by day.

_ Digest of an article by P. Shiblin
in New York Times, No. 47.

Balance budget by cutting arms
bill in half tax hearing told

he Canadian government has

been urged to undertake a
large cut in military spending—up
to half the defence budget — to
enable it to balance its budget
and to provide it the ‘‘neces-
sary leeway and elbow room”’
to carry out many suggestions al-
ready made for the revision of
the federal tax structure.

The military spending cut was
proposed by Hans Blumenfeld,
a well-known town planner, on
behalf of the Canadian Peace
Congress, in a brief on Nov. 28
to the Royal Commission on Tax-
ation. Blumenfeld is a mem-
ber of the executive of the Peace
Congress,

The congress statement under-
lined the fact that disarmament
would not only contribute to the
cause of peace, ‘‘which is es-
sential for the survival of us
all,’’? but would also contribute
to the economic independence
and growth of Canada.

About a quarter of federal gov-
ernment revenues presently goto
pay for defence. This is an extra
tax load which ‘‘discourages em-
ployment and lowers living stan-
dards,”’

Figures reproduced in the brief
reveal that since 1948, for an
average family of four, the bite
taken by military spending
amounts to over $6,000 in cur-
rent purchasing power.

Even though the peak in gov-
ernment military spending,
reached during the Korean war in
1952-53, has receded somewhat,

it still averages about $1,600 mil-
lion a year since 1958.

If the present defence spend-
ing were continued at the 1952-
58 rate it would eat up 40 per-
cent of the government’s reve-
nues.

* * *

‘«For the relative decline which
has taken place,’’ says the Peace
Congress, ‘‘we can at least
be moderately grateful.

*¢At the same time, this result
of the relative easing of cold
war tensions and of Canada’s
contribution to the arms race
ettables us to see the full bene-
fits which would be derived if
the cold war were completely
ended and general and complete
disarmament were achieved.”

The brief suggests ‘‘there is no.
question that large-scale mili-
tary spending stood in the way of
many social welfare measures in
the post-war years.”

It adds: ‘*Defense spending
contributes nothing to economic
stability and seriously slows
down economic growth, because
it is at the expense of the sav-
ings, capital resources and in-
dustrial expansion which are
necessary to growth.”’ :

* * *

Our economic independence
has actually been threatened by
military spending, says the brief.

‘The billions lavished on the
defense of cold-war policies
which have been a constant dan-
ger to peace have at the same
time opened up our economy to

Two nations win freedom

wo more nations have thrown

off the centuries old harness
of imperialism, as Zanzibar and
Kenya finally won their indepen-
dence this week.

The two islands which compose
the new state of Zanzibar official-
ly passed from colonial to inde-
pendent status at midnight on
Monday. Of the total population
of 300,000 it is reported that about

80,000 are Asians and Arabs (in
control of the government) and
the balance are descendents of
African slaves,

On Thursday, Kenya added sev-
en million more people to the
total of those who have broken
with colonialism. The overwhel-
ming majority of Kenya’s people
are also African,

the massive inflow of capital

peace and depends for its in-

from the United States and over-* come entirely on voluntary con-

seas,”’

Charging that the amount of
foreign capital which has come
into Canada has been less than
our own capital spent on arma-

ments, the Peace Congress as-"

serts: ‘The tax revenues which
have been used up for defence
could have financed all the Cana-
dian industry which is now in-
der foreign ownership and con-
trol.’’

In its brief, the Canadian
Peace Council notes that it is
not a membership organization,
but enjoys the support of indi-
viduals and groups working for

tributions,

In view of this it requests that
its status be recognized under
the Income Tax Act, This recog-
nition would make donations to
the congress exempt from in-
come tax,

An Ontario Council for the
Arts, set up by the provincial
government last April, has been
given $300,000 under estimates
of the department of education.
The council plans to aid visits
by music and theatre organiza-
tions to smaller communities,

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