So the facts on the WSWS excerpt cited are correct. The march was of moderate size but the demand for better wages is hugely popular, something easy to understand when the minimum wage is less than $1 per month and most payments come in the form of non legally binding bonuses (around $100 per month in the public sector). There was repression but unlike what would have happened last year, neither the National Guard nor the paramilitary collectives were deployed by the regime, only the police, that is why there were not comparatively that many injured or detained people, although there was brutality, some journalists had their equipment stolen.
Regarding the "new gasoline", this is related to a peculiarity of Venezuelan political economy which is free, or almost free gasoline. Historically, in Venezuela, after the 1989 popular insurrection of El Caracazo against IMF imposed austerity measures which included a massive increase in gasoline prices, governments have been fearful of increasing the price of gasoline. In a country with three digit annual inflation this has meant that for many years gasoline which is free or almost free. This has incentivized huge corruption and smuggling of gasoline abroad by the military and other sectors of the government itself, as well as imposing a cost in terms of underinvestment in the state owned oil company, since it has to lose billions a year in this subsidy, which is not even a progressive subsidy as it benefits more those who have cars, those in the transportation industry, industries that consume gasoline and gasoil, etc. So what the government tries to do is to say it is not raising the price of (ordinary) gasoline but introducing a new tier with a fancy name (ultra super extra whatever) which apparently justifies its higher cost. Because it is reducing offer of the ordinary ultra subsidized gasoline and turning some gas stations into high cost only, then people will increasingly have to choose between long lines for ultra subsidized gasoline or easier access to the high cost one. At some point they will try to also increase the cost of subsidized gasoline. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41503): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41503 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/118864801/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
