DANG CONG THANH THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVAR VENEZUELA FROM 1999 TO 2013 Field of study: History of the Communist, International Workers and the
Trang 1DANG CONG THANH
THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL
INDEPENDENCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF
BOLIVAR VENEZUELA FROM 1999 TO 2013
Field of study: History of the Communist, International
Workers and the National Liberation Movement
Code: 62.22.03.12
SUMMARY OF THE PHD THESIS
Ha noi - 2018
Trang 2at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics
Supervisors:
1 Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Huu Cat
2 Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Thi Thuy Ha
Reviewer 1:
The thesis will be defended in front of the Thesis Committee at
Academy level, at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics
At…… hours …… date …… month …… year
The thesis can be found at the National Library and the Library
of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics
1 Dang Cong Thanh (2016), "Some lessons learned from the implementation of the ‘21st Century Socialism in Latin
America for the World Socialism’, Journal of Teaching and
Learning today, (3)
2 Dang Cong Thanh (2016), "The Significance and Lessons Learned from the implementation of ‘21st Century Socialism’ of
Venezuela for the World Socialism", Journal of Teaching and
Learning today, (8)
3 Dang Cong Thanh (2017), "Reviewing the Policies of America toward Latin American Region under President Barack Obama
time", Political Science Information Bulletin, Ho Chi Minh
National Academy of Politics, (2)
Trang 3formation of the Socialist unity of Venezuela is a very important
factor as well as President Hugo Chavez's leadership and prestige,
which became the nucleus of solidarity among the political forces
and people of Venezuela to overcome all difficulties, challenges and
successes of the Revolution Bolivar builds "21st Century Socialism"
in Venezuela The reality of development of the Bolivar Republic of
Venezuela in the period 1999 to 2013 shows that if every country in
the world finds a suitable development path, it will not only
contributes to firmly assert national independence and national
sovereignty but also will accelerate the socio-economic development
of the country, contributing to stabilizing the political and social
situation in the country These are the conditions that determine the
success of the cause of building and defending the national
independence of each nation in the modern world
INTRODUCTION
1 Urgency of the thesis
In 1999, President Hugo Chavez Frias came to power in Venezuela, which began a "leftist wave" in the region Left-wing parties in Latin America, by ways of democratic elections, have won control of the government and have made many socialist-oriented reforms, marking a period of intense development of left-wing parties The contributions of the left-wing parties in the above period are historically significant for each nation and for the whole region,
as well as for the communist movement, international workers, the democracy and social movements worldwide
The most prominent leftist movement in Latin America, the Venezuelan case under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, is considered the leading figure in the leftist movement in Latin America by claiming to build a new socialist system following the Bolivar ideology Points of view, the policies towards the implementation measures as well as the results achieved in the struggle for national independence have made great contributions Firstly, they have brought essential issues of the lives of the working population in society to the spotlight of state policies These are issues such as socio-economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, improvement of living standards and quality of life, social security, social justice and democracy, and environmental protection Secondly, they have ended the period of policies of capitalist countries and external empires to create a true balance between stable and sustainable economic development and social justice Thirdly, they have fostered cohesion and cooperation between Venezuela and other countries in the region in all fields, in various forms and levels of cooperation, both linking and complementing, strengthening the role and influence of regional cooperation and cooperation organizations
For these reasons, the author has selected the theme "The
struggle for national independence in the Republic of Bolivar
Trang 4Venezuela from 1999 to 2013" as his subject of doctoral thesis in the
field of History of the communist, International Workers and the
National Liberation Movements
2 Goals and tasks of the thesis
2.1 Goals of the thesis
The thesis focuses on clarifying the content and process of
the struggle for national independence of the Republic of Bolivar
Venezuela from 1999 to 2013 in the fields of economy, politics,
cultural - social, foreign affairs, national defense - security This has
led to successes, shortcomings and issues that need to be solved in
the struggle to defend national independence for Venezuela in the
coming time and drawn experiences
2.2 Tasks of the thesis
- Analysis of factors affecting the struggle for national
independence of the Republic of Bolivar Venezuela 1999 - 2013
- Analysis of Venezuela's policies, measures and processes
regarding the defense of national independence in the fields of economy,
politics, cultural - social, foreign affairs, national defense -security under
the leadership of General Hugo Chavez from 1999 to 2013
- Assessment of the successes and limitations of the struggle
for national independence of the Republic of Bolivar Venezuela,
problems to be solved and drawn experience
3 Research objective and scope
3.1 Research objective: The struggle for national
independence in the Republic of Bolivar Venezuela under leadership
of President Hugo Chavez Frias from 1999 to 2013
3.2 Research scope
- Content: the struggle for national independence in
Venezuela in all fields: Political, economic, cultural - social, foreign
and defense - security
- Space: The Venezuelan Bolivar Republic in the context of
fighting for national independence under leadership of President
Hugo Chavez
The fight to defend national independence with the building
of the "21st Century Socialism" model in Venezuela is a unique model of socialism in Latin America in particular and the world in general Not only inheriting, applying and developing the principles
of Marxism, this model also combines smoothly with the revolution, the nationality - democracy, indigenousness, the practicality of progressive thought of Bolivar and Christian humanitarian ideas Unlike many socialist models that have existed in the world, this model recognizes and affirms diversity
in expression (multi-party and political pluralism, multi-ownership and diversified economic forms, diversifying forms of democracy and social institutions, etc.) It is also implemented in a mixed process, as opposed to other socialist models
The process of implemetation of "21st century socialism" in Venezuela is not long, but has achieved great results Democracy is expanding and the role of the state is enhanced Many areas of the economy developed Many social policies are effectively applied People's lives (especially farmers and the poor) are enhanced both physically and mentally Venezuela's important position in Latin America and around the world is confirmed Nowadays, although the process of implementation has slowed down due to many difficulties and great challenges, these achievements are undeniable It is also a necessary reference (especially in terms of strong, positive, indigenous, diverse and practical elements) for socialist construction in Latin American countries and the world Under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, the leftist movement in Venezuela has a lot of socialist values, especially for many developing countries: For the development of society, the role
of women is more prominent, reflecting the role of the masses The
Trang 5CONCLUSION
Shortly after taking office, President Hugo Chavez undertook a
series of measures to build and develop the country, defend Venezuelan
national independence, such as reforming political institutions, and
electing the Constituent Assembly, adopting a new constitution,
adopting a series of laws and codes, implementing a new development
model in place of the new liberal model with the establishment of a
democratic, fair, a participatory democracy; a people's government, by
the people, for the people, and a series of social programs such as land
reform, poverty reduction, health promotion, education reform, etc For
the sake of he working class, fighting against the interests of the
bourgeoisie dosmestically and abroad
For more than 10 years in power, President Hugo Chavez has
taken advantage of the advantages and challenges of the struggle to
defend national independence in Venezuela which is very positive,
coming from the goal of fighting for Venezuela to become a free
people, deciding the destiny of their own country and escape from
the acquisition of foreign power President Hugo Chavez's policies
on economy, politics, society, foreign affairs, national defense and
security have been achieved and the economy has developed at a
rapid pace for many years, security and defense are maintained,
social problems caused by neo-liberalism have been gradually
resolved, material and spiritual life of the working people has
improved significantly Venezuela's position in the region and in
the world has been strengthened With the revolutionary movement
in the world, the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela is very
encouraging for the process of building socialism This
development has significant and positive implications not only for
the communist movement, for international workers, for the Latin
American region but also for the fight for national independence of
developing countries
- Time: The study period was limited from 1999 to 2013 The
1999 milestone was the time when Hugo Chavez took office as President of the Republic of Bolivar Venezuela on February 2, 1999 The 2013 milestone is when the Bolivar revolutionary leader - President Hugo Chavez died on 05/03/2013
4 Rationale and research methods
4.1 Rationale: The subject is based on the basic view of Marxism-Leninism on socio-economic status, state and class, ethnicity, age, ruling party in the political system, on the model of socialist construction, etc At the same time the thesis applies the basic views of Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on national independence, the documents of the State of Bolivar Venezuela on the struggle for national liberation and the consolidation of national independence 4.1 Research methods: The basis of principle, the basic methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, together with the Marxist system and methodology form the basis of the research methodology of the thesis The thesis uses the logical and historical methodology to divide and present the development process of the Republic of Bolivar Venezuela on the basis of which conclusions are drawn There are also other methods such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, comparison, statistics, forecast, etc used to study and present the content of the thesis
5 Scientific contributions of the thesis
- The thesis contributes to clarify one of the many ways of fighting for national independence in the current international context
- The thesis is an assessment of the successes, limitations and impacts of policies and measures in the areas that President Hugo Chavez has undertaken in the period 1999 - 2013 addressing political, economic, cultural, social, foreign affairs, national defense and security issues in the struggle for national independence
- From the achievements and contributions of the struggle for national independence in Venezuela, the thesis draws the initial experiences in the theory and practice of development in the present period
Trang 6- The thesis may also be a reference for research and teaching
on modern world history, history of communist movements,
international workers and national liberation in universities At the
same time, it contributes informations to Vietnam's external relations
with the region and Venezuela
6 Structure of the thesis
Apart from the introduction, conclusions, list of references and
annexes, the contents of the thesis are divided into 4 chapters, 8 sections
Chapter 1 OVERVIEW OF AVAILABLE RESEARCH
1.1 ACHIEVED RESEARCH RESULTS
1.1.1 Regarding the development history of the Latin American
leftist movement and the model of "21st century socialism" in
Venezuela
The thesis has studied some documents of researchers
abroad: The research of the authors mentioned the development of
the leftist movement My Linh, in which more or less mention
Venezuela regarding evolving political situation, the process of
democratization, relations between Latin American countries, as well
as the process of building model "socialism in the region” Typical
works such as DL Raby's book "Democracy and Revolution: Latin
America and Socialism Today" published by Pluto Press, 2006; two
authors, George Philip and Francisco Panizza with the book "The
Triumph of Politics: The Return of the Left in Venezuela, Bolivia and
Ecuador" published in 2011; Richard S Hillman and Thomas
DJAgostino with the book "Understanding contemporary Latin
America", Boulder USA publishing for the fourth time in 2011;
authors Roger Burbach, Michael Fox and Federico Fuentes with the
book "Latin America's Turbulent Transitions: The Future of 21st
Century Socialism" by Ned Zed Books publisher in 2013; Andy
Mclnerney with the article "Leftist Latin America in the early XXI
century" on Electronic Journal Socialism and Liberation, March 2006
job creation, capital supply, credit for low income people, housing for the poor, support for economic development home improvement, health improvement, community culture; fight against racism; Adjusting some laws in the direction of attaching importance to national interests and benefits for laborers, etc
Fourthly, implementing the people's administration, carrying
out revolutionary democracy, building the law Towards the construction of a people's state, for the people, for the establishment
of people's government at all levels from central to local
Fifthly, economic performance of many sectors, the state and
local government branches take the lead role Plan based on attaching importance to the development of a diversified and sustainable economy that is capable of ensuring the creation of material wealth as well as the equitable distribution of the whole population, combining personal interests with social benefits
Sixthly, to build an equitable, democratic society, equal
distribution of social goods, solve the problem of inequality and social division, pay attention to the poor Carry out many social ideas
of Marxism-Leninism, Bolivarianism and Christian humanism, building a just and democratic society
Seventhly, to strengthen national defense, security, national
independence; to promote regional and international integration, to carry out friendly and cooperative relations with other countries Foreign relations, defense and security are important issues that should be a focus in the fight for national independence in Venezuela Promoting cooperation and regional solidarity is a priority, expressing the internationalism of "21st Century Socialism"
To increase the procurement of military equipment, increase defense budgets, build up forces, increase the defense strength, protect the country, promote anti-terrorism, avoid dependence on American and Western countries
Trang 74.1.3 Problems to be solved
Firstly, the direction of revolution and the social model in
Venezuela is not clearly defined
Secondly, the socio-political foundation of the Venezuelan
revolution has not been strengthened to ensure the credibility and
solid support for the fight for national independence
Thirdly, the Venezuelan government has not fought so
thoroughly against the aggressive activities of the oppositions
Fourth, shortcomings in socio-economic reform still exist
4.2 EXPERIENCE
Firstly, the fight to defend national independence in
Venezuela showed that the revolution was an active initiative, was
the cause of the masses In the process of development, the Chavez
government has focused on both theoretical and organizational
development, seeking new forms of revolution and rallying
Secondly, promoting democracy is one of the important
dynamics of revolution, even if it is limited to the bourgeois
democratic framework and populist Democratization of
socio-economic life has become a major program which has promoted
political, economic, cultural, social, defense, security and deepening
political reforms with the determination to eradicate the remnants of
colonialism, neo-liberal model, bringing the country into the healthy
development trajectory
Thirdly, humanitarian values, liberation - the progressive
ideology of the fight for national independence in Venezuela can be
accompanied by the socialist ideals Carrying out extensive reforms
in socio-economic terms, moving from a new free-market model to a
more market-oriented economy model coupled with social equality
and environmental protection; promoting anti-corruption policies;
implementing land reform, poverty alleviation, illiteracy elimination,
issue; Alex Durand with "The Chavez Paradox: Assessing the
Bolivarian Revolution" published in Harvard International Review
Volume 3, Volume 33, Quarter III / 2011
During the study period, the researcher also got access to research results on Latin American in general and Venezuela in particular by Vietnamese scholars Notable works are: Nguyen Van
Thanh with reference book "Identifying New Liberalism", National
Political Publishing House, published in 2005; Major General, Assoc
Prof Dr Pham Hai Quan with the book "Basic Research on Latin
America" published by Institute 70, General Department II, Ministry
of Defense Nguyen An Ninh's book "On the Promise of Socialism in
the First Two Decades of the 21st Century" published by the National
Political Publishing House in 2006
With the developments in Venezuelan politics under President Chavez, Thai Van Long has written a number of articles
such as "Latin American Leftist Movement and Promising Future"
published in the magazine All-People's Electronic Defense on
10/8/2011, two articles in the American Journal Today, "America and
the failed coup in Venezuela," No 10/2002, "Venezuelan referendum", 09/2004
There are also many articles published in other specialized journals, such as: In the Communist Journal there are articles by PGS,
Dr Nguyen Hoang Giap, Associate Professor, Dr Nguyen Thi Que
“The Latin American leftist movement in the early 21st century" No
11/2007, the article "21st Century Socialism in Venezuela - Basic and
Urgent Tasks" by Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Viet Thao, Issue 3/2008
Scientific topics and scientific conferences include: The scientific theme of the Central Committee for External Relations of the Communist Party of Vietnam (KHBD-16), edited by Duong
Minh, "The reform process under President H Chavez in Venezuela
real and promising" September 2008; scientific research of the
Institute of International Relations, Ho Chi Minh National Political
and Administrative Academy, "Latin American Leftist Movement:
Trang 8Status and Prospects", 2008; proceedings of the same name by the
Academy Ho Chi Minh National Politics and the Embassy of the
Republic of Bolivar Venezuela in Vietnam in collaboration with the
publication in bilingual Spanish and Vietnamese, the book "Political
Ideology Hugo Chavez Frias - Socialism XXI century" Political
Publishing House, published in 2014
1.1.2 Researches on policies and implementation
processes of the struggle to protect national independence
In the late twentieth and early twentieth centuries, strong and
rapid change in most areas of the social life of Latin American
countries in general and Venezuela in particular has received much
international attention and opinions There are some researches
abroad that mentioned this topic, notably: The Embassy of the
Republic of Bolivar Venezuela in Vietnam has translated and
published some books in Vietnamese such as "Simon Bolivar,
National Liberation Hero, founder of the country" , published by the
Ministry of Information and Communications of Venezuela,
published in October 2010 ; Plan de La Patria (Programa De
Gobierto Bolivariano 2013 - 2019) ; National Planning (Second
Socialist-oriented Socio-Economic Development Plan, 2013 - 2019) ;
the book "El Libro Azul" (The Green Book), published in Venezuela
in December 2013 ; the book "Venezuelan Mission", published by the
Ministry of Information and Communications of Venezuela in 2014
There are also : Author Iain Bruce in "The Real Venezuela:
Making Socialism in the 21st Century" published by Pluto Press in
2008 ; Carlos González Irago with "Venezuelan Human Rights and
Democracy (1999-2009)", World publisher, translated and published
in 2014 ; author Carlos Lozada with the article "Latin America",
translation published by Le Thi Thu in American Journal Today, No
8/2003 ; Lettitina Montilla and Hector Lucena with "Etat à la
résitances dans le Sud - 2009 Face à la crise alimentaire.",
translated by Nguyen Khanh Van and published in the American
Journal Today, 05/2009
4.1.2 Limitations
Besides successes in the fight for national independence as mentioned above, difficulties and challenges are still great, depending on objective and subjective factors, on the level of solving difficulties and challenges as follows:
Firstly, the ruling coalition is composed of various forces in
different political tendencies The participating forces are diverse with many different motives, thus are uniform and sustainable While implementing the idea of revolutionary democracy, also known as participatory democracy, the efforts were only demonstrative; content and implementation still have many shortcomings and contradictions
Secondly, economic development is not sustainable; it
contains many risks and economic dependence on oil
Thirdly, the leadership ideology of Latin American countries
in general and of Venezuela in particular are very strong, posing both advantages and challenges
Fourthly, education and health have grown in quantity but
not quality
Fifthly, the problem of security has not been resolved
thoroughly, especially in the workplace Crime rates have reduced but is still serious
Sixthly, employment has improved but has not met the needs
of the people, unofficial and seasonal employment remains high, unemployment is high; The low quality of employment has caused
many people's incomes to stagnant
Seventhly, the implementation of foreign policy expressed
inadequacies, subjectivity
Eighthly, the Venezuelan opposition is still strong and has
strong economic backings from the United States and Latin American right-wing governments, including major banks that can control workers as well as investments
Trang 9implement a number of policy improvements regarding laborers,
especially the Land Law amendment in favor of the poor, so that
farmers from landless areas who had to work for landlords now have
fields and land for self-management
Secondly, economically
The dual goal has been successfully addressed by the
Chavez Government, which is to overcome social inequalities, to
ensure that all people have jobs and good working conditions, not
subject to the unjust exploitation of the capitalist, while building
the material foundation for a new social system in which people
are freed from all unjust oppression, so that they can pursue
happiness, have a good life The movement created good
motivation for people to devote to society, so that they also enjoy
the results of their work
Thirdly, culturally, socially
When President Chavez took over the leadership of the
country, the leading social task set was to solve the practical demands
of the people These are the needs of eating, living, free travel,
learning, improved spiritual life, health care Therefore, with the
implementation of sound political policies and economic policies, the
development of social policies focusing on the people played a
particularly important role in maximizing the potentials of the people
Fourthly, regarding foreign affairs and national security
Foreign affairs, national security are important issues for the
unification of the fight for national independence in Venezuela In
building the country, President Chavez has always paid much
attention to protecting the country, strengthening arms procurement,
strengthening defense budgets, building armed forces, boosting
national defense, national security, anti-terrorism, avoiding
dependence on the United States and the West
In this regard, Vietnamese researchers have also published a large number of documents, with some of the contents transcribed in American Journal Today: the article "Economic security under current conditions in Latin America" (Trinh Trong Nghia), 4/2003; the article
"Latin American Left-wing Movement and Its Role in Addressing Socio-Economic Problems" (Nguyen Thi Hanh, 11/2009), the article "Some Economic Stabilization Policies in Latin America after the Crisis" (Vu
Ba The), No 07/2014; "Some Cultural-Social Impacts on Latin
American Economic Development", (Le Thi Thu), No 10/2014
Going deeper into Venezuelan economic analysis, there are writings published in American Journal Today, co-authored by Ngoc
Manh - Guiyang with the article "The Economic Perspective of Latin
America and the Caribbean" No 5 / 2003 Along with this issue,
Nguyen Hong Son wrote two articles, "Economic and Industrialization Plan for the Government of Hugo Chavez", No
06/2007, and "Venezuelan Social Economy under President Hugo
Chavez", No 09/2010; author Le Thi Thu Trang with the article
"Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez", No 4/2009
Referring to the political aspect of Venezuela, the American Journal Today publishes author's works, such as: General information
by author Do Vu Hung, "Around the Hugo Chavez Event elected
president of Venezuela", 12/2006; By Nguyen Anh Hung, "The Trends of Democratization in Latin American Countries", 10/2009;
ưritten by Nguyen Thi Hanh, "Progress in the political system of
some Latin American countries in recent years and prospects", No
3/2010; by Nguyen Lan Huong, "Political Networking under the
Initiative of Latin American Countries", No 12/2012 The article
"The relationship between the state and the Catholic Church in Venezuela: the present and the past", (Oct 2010), discusses the idea
of "liberation theology" in Latin America in general and Venezuela
in particular, which is the "People's Church" of the poor In addition, the article also points to the tense relationship between the Chavez Administration and the Catholic Church
Trang 10Regarding the party situation in Venezuela, there are articles
such as "The Situation of Communist Parties, Leftist and Progressive
Latin America" by Nguyen Khac Su, published in the Communist
Party of Vietnam Magazine, Issue 1/2005; "The Assassination of the
Socialist Party of Venezuela" by Dr Nguyen Viet Thao, published in
the Communist Magazine, No 7/2008, "Venezuelan political parties"
by Dr Nguyen Thi Que, Dr Bui Viet Huong published in the
scientific information Political theory, Ho Chi Minh National
Political Academy, No 2/2017
In terms of culture, society and diplomacy, there are articles
published in American Journal Today such as the article "Venezuela's
Social Development Policy: Mission and Results" by Nghiem Thi
Thuy, No 04/2010; the article "Cooperation and struggle in the
process of association in the Americas" by Nguyen Viet Thao, No
10/2002; the article "Foreign Policy of Latin American Countries" by
Le Khuong Thuy, No 7/2009; "Venezuelan oil diplomacy under
President Hugo Chavez", by Nguyen Xuan Trung, Issue 10/2010; the
article "Venezuelan Foreign Policy in the First Decade of the 21st
Century" by Nguyen Khanh Van), issue 05/2014
1.2 ISSUES THE THESIS FOCUSES TO CLARIFY
Firstly, study the concepts of national independence, national
independence in history as well as in the context of globalization as a
basis for building the concept of national independence of the thesis
Secondly, analyze and interpret the factors that affect the
struggle for national independence of the Republic of Bolivar
Venezuela 1999 - 2013
Thirdly, analyze the policies, measures and processes for the
protection of national independence in Venezuela in the fields of
economy, politics, cultural - social, foreign affairs, national defense and
security under leadership of President Hugo Chavez from 1999 to 2013
struggle for national independence in Venezuela and the issues that
need to be solved as well as the lessons learned
3.2.4.2 National security
In order to strengthen national defense, security and defense, Venezuela has strengthened its military modernization with new arms procurement contracts and new military technical equipment Due to the supply of arms from the United States and some Western countries ending, Venezuela has moved to buy weapons from Russia, China and some other countries Venezuela's armed forces are composed of six groups, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, Reserve Force and Territorial Defense Force
Chapter 4 EVALUATION OF VENEZUELA'S FIGHT TO PROTECT NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE FROM 1999 TO 2013 AND
EXPERIENCE 4.1 EVALUATION OF VENEZUELA'S FIGHT TO PROTECT NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE
4.1.1 Successes
The fight for national independence in Venezuela has achieved encouraging progress The government of President Hugo Chavez won the support of the majority of the population, smashing the conspirators trying to overthrow of the government who had the backing of foreign forces, taking over the leadership of the country Venezuela has raised the banner of anti-imperialism, anti-neo-liberalism, protection of national independence and sovereignty, protection of the resources and the interests of the people
Firstly, politically
The Chavez government was created not by ways of violence but by the way of the government - the path of peace They carried out a series of strong reforms, particularly in terms of institutionalization, most notably the referendum on the new Constitution, the Constituent Assembly and the Government to