VENEZUELA'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
An Interview with Comandante Elias Manuitt
[We have just received the transcript of a six-hour, taperecorded interview which Comandante Elias Manuitt granted to a representative of the Venezuelan Committee of the Fourth International. Comandante Manuitt is a member of the General Military Command of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN) and Chief of Staff of the "José Leonardo Chirinos" Guerrilla Front in the state of Falcon, The interview took place May 7 in the mountains where the
payerey
guerrilla forces are opérating. It was held under arrangements made by members of the Second Section (information) of the FALN, Beoause of its exceptional interest, we have decided to print most of the interview, continuing it from issue to issue of World Outlook until it is completed. ]
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Q: Comandante Manuitt, how would you summarize the present political situation in Venezuela, and what do you think are the perspectives of tho Venezuelan poople's struggle for liberation? .
A: Well, I consider that the present Venezuelan situation hasntt altered at all, The change which a sector of the people tried to obtain by means of the ballot was not attained, nor will it ever be attained that way, because such a change here in Venezuela will not be aohieved until the peopte directly control the political power; in short, until the power of the state is in the hands of the people, If this isn't sufficient, we have as examples: the jails remain full, the assassinations continue, the revolutionary press is shut down, homes are broken into and searched without a warrant, there is re~ pression in the popular districts, the flagrant handing over of our riches, the devaluation of the bolfivar -~ because the unification of the exchange rates is nothing but barefaced devaluation of the bolivar for the sole and exclusive benefit. of imperialism and the importing bourgeoisie of this country.
Many of these bourgeois appear as philanthropists, For ox ample, we have Eugenio Mendoza. As it turns out, they are simply clever imperialists that exploit with skill. We don't deny that there are sectors of the: people that see in Eugenio Mendoza -- and this is only an example, one of the importing bourgeoisie -- a philanthropist, a good guy. But naturally all that he does is for his personal benefit and the benefit of his real masters, the Yankee imperialists, It's necessary to unmask these individuals because they have been fooling the people for too long. We have, up to a certain point, been allowing false idols to appear because of the fear of defining the enemy, which is imperialism, It is not the policeman; it is. the importing bourgeoisie, that is, imperialism and the importing bourgeoisie,
Perhaps, on certain occasions, some have thought that the importing bourgeoisie, this bourgeoisie, will accompany us in the struggle, and that we should not direct our offensive against them, — because they will help us. In my opinion, these elements have not helped us, do not help us, and will never help us; nor will they ever take’ a single step with us, alongside our struggle, because they know very well that our struggle is against them ...
Exploitation now will be more refined, They are utilizing a whole series of methods such as, well, the Alliance for Progress, co-operativism, committees for the development of the community.
Before, there were tea~canastas, now there are coffee-canastas, They are using a popular vocabulary, The ladies of the Country Club are suddenly remembering that misery exists in this country, that hunger exists, and that, naturally, is supported ~~ the whole series of campaigns is supported -- by this government which gets -itsinstruc~ tions from its owner,. their owner, not the owner of the people of Venezuela. The people: of Venezuela have never had, do not have, and never will have an owner. . .
Naturally, this gentry is trembling, and this: series of came paigns, this immense worry over the humble , has surged up precisely because of the presence of our forces in the mountains and all over the. country. Because they can already:see that this people is marching towards its liberation. Then, of course, they try to utilize all kinds of tricks to.delay the Eviumph of this movement, beoause to Prevent it is totally impossible. . . .
The past elections served to unmask many individuals suoh as, for example, Jovito Villalbas and company.’. .. All those individuals that dreamed about elections should realize by now that in. this. country nothing is solved with elections, because any indi-~ vidual who is not a revolutionary and who obtains political power will not at all change the political, economic and social situation of the country, Yes. Because this can't be solved by a change of individuals but, simply and clearly, only by a change of systems, And a change of” systems cannot. be obtained in this country exoept. arms in hand,
Our people have suffered. too many years of exploitation, misery, humiliation, slavery; they cannot wait any longer. Of course, dialectios itself tells us. that in an. evolutionary way, a moment will come in which capitalism will pass over into socialism, But this would be witnessed by our great-great-grandchildren, And it seems to me to reveal a lack of responsibility and a lack of human sensi-~ tivity towards a people to know that the only solution to all the anguish and torment of the people is to take political power and that the only way to obtain it is to fight for it -- and then to do nothing. The imperialists are not going to hand over our riches to us, they aren't going to let them go easily. The only way to seize them is with our own hands, fighting.
gun. No. You can fight. with a.. ‘pen. You can fient | in the University. You oan fight pasting up a sign, ‘Vivan las FALN" in the .. street, placing a bomb,-. carrying out an assault against the North . Amerioan interests, painting slogans, guarding a hide-out. I cons. sider, in reality, that the important thing is to center. on. armed struggle, That. we all work for armed struggle. In this sense, then, I am not. sectarian. We are fighting because we are.all contributing our bit in this revolution in which we have embarked, and which we will not cease until we have obtained the. economic, political and social liberation -of our people,
An
» Q3 Why have guerrilla forces appeared in Venezuela?
A
: The guerrilla forces have appeared for the following reasons: First, any people that want to liberate themselves, must have their armed guard, They must have a vanguard that arms itself to attain liberation. The presence of men in the mountains. signifies that in this country, revolutionaries have become convinced. that the only way to achieve political power for the oppressed, for the humble people, for the people who suffer and go hungry, is by means of armed struggle.
‘Here, then, for a Long time, we have had repressions and torture. They have tried every means "to impute a cheap political motive to our struggle and they have failed, -They have failed because this is not ‘a Venezuelan phenomenon, It is a world-wide phenomenon -~ Latin-American and world-wide -- that imperialism will never permit, of its own free will, that peoples liberate themselves, If imperialism has the means available, it will fight to prevent it.
The people, confronted by the repression, the misery in which they lived, found a way of escape, The people dispatched their vanguard to the mountains so that they could form the embryo of the future Army of National Liberation,
Naturally, when a people struggle for their iteration, “they utilize all the means available. We had congressmen, until the imperialists prohibited it, But right to the end we utilized all the means of which we could avail ourselves. Now there are no songressmen, So they exchanged their congressional desks, those that arentt in jail, for a rifle in the mountains. So they left Congress, where with speeches, with the pen, they were fighting for the people; they took to the mountains to continue fighting for the people with words and with the pen, but with a ‘special additive, a little more convincing: a weapon in their hands,
[To be continued, |
A LETTER FROM COMANDANTE MANUITT TO POLAND'S UN REPRESENTATIVE
[During his interview with a representative of the Fourth iInternational (see article above.), Comandante Elias Manuitt released the text of a letter which he had addressed to. Bohan Lewandowsky, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland before the United Nations, which apparently had never reached its destination,- "Concretely n Comandante told the represontative of the Fourth International, "I wrote him avletter that, unfortunately, never got to his hands. L would like to. take advantage of your presence here to read you that letter so that. it reaches him personally or publicly, either way, but I would like this letter to reach him.". The text of this letter
follows, |
Sierra of Falcon in Arms |
March 9, 1964
Mr. Bohan Lewandowsky . . Ambassador of the Republic of Poland ooo before the United Nations © a
The writer of this ‘letter is just another combatant against the "exemplary democracy" that you so warmly praise and admire so emotionally, blatantly identifying it as worthy of being supported by all Venezuelans and imitated by the rest of the oppressed peoples of the world, according to your own statements, appearing today in El Nacional, * the daily newspaper with the. largest circulation in- the country.
Mr, Ambassador, the writer of this letter has not yet had the immense honor of inscribing his name as a member of the glorious. and _ combative Communist. party of Venezuela, He has not suffered personally the least torture which the "exemplary democracy” has inflicted in the most criminal and savage manner on the thousands of Venezuelans who have had the bad luck of falling into its clutches, He has not passed a micro~second in the filthy jails and concentration camps of this "exemplary democracy" now filled. with worthy and ‘valiant revolutionists of both Sexes,
Until barely two years ago he lacked ‘the ‘least concept of the: fine and incomparable Marxist-Leninist doctrines. None of his relatives have been massacred with criminal fervor by the repressive . Armed Forces and police of this admired and "exemplary democracy," ” stained with proletarian blood, None of the Communist, Mirista [member of the MIR, Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionarial, Urredista member of the URD, Unién Republicana Democrdtica] parliamentarians,” elected by the people in the free elections of 1958 or in the fraud of December 1, 1963, and today jailed _by this admired and. Noxomplary democracy" are party companions or relatives of his.
The author of this letter has never been an editor or weiter or commentator on the various organs of the press and radio, today closed down by this admirable. and "exemplary democracy." He thas oe never felt the immense hunger and unemployment that creeps’ like a — filthy monster among the humble sons of this people today governed by this admired and “exemplary democracy." He has never lived in those flimsy oardboard houses that you can see, like a horrible clawing belt of anguish along the hills that surround the architectural jewel of Latin America's first petroleum capital, from the cushioned and luxurious official vehicle that this admired and “exemplary demooracy" will provide for you. I will not continue enumerating these things because I confidently. assume that as soon as you enter your country's embassy, you will be informed of everything.
Brn.
Mr, Ambassador, the undersigned could not feel on his own: body all the atrocities I have pointed out, since he lived the com fortable and privileged life of the officers of the army of the country of Simén Bolfvar,
By the way, when you were a Communist and struggled for the. liberation of your people -- if you struggled -- did you ever read anything about the life of this man? If not, then I recommend that you read the authentic history of Venezuela, not the distorted his-~ tory that often circulates under the auspices of North Amerioan imperialism,
Anguished by so much disgrace, oppréssion, persecution, aggression, exploitation and robbery of our nation's riches, and inspired by patriotism, solidarity and fraternity, the whole series | of concepts that beautify and enrich the sacred principles of -prole~~° tarian internationalism, already beat within me although I had not read them in the texts of Marxism-Leninism which you must know by heart, and the hammer and sickle was deeply engraved in my mind as a living symbol of the most beautiful, realistic, just and ardent philosophical concept of the: world, for which you today are. doing absolutely nothing.
Mr. Pseudo-Ambassador of the heroic and admired people of Poland, I threw all the comforts and privileges of the army into that pit of corruption where I had been asphyxiated for fifteen years, and where they had tried, without succeeding, to deform my consciences as an authentic Venezuelan and my sentiments of solidarity toward the suffering of others, And with the weapons that the people had given me, I came to these mountains to fight to the death shoulder to shoulder with your heroic comrades and with many men and women belonging to no parties against the admired. and "exemplary democracy" which you, delegate of a worthy and - combative . people, praise so emotionally. .
Mr, Lewandowsky, we do not ask or need solidarity of any kind from you for the revolution which we initiated and which we will continue to the end, whatever the cost may be, but what I do insist on energetically from you is that if there is anything left in you of the saored principles you keep in the drawer of your desk at. the United Nations, when you sit in the comfortable sofas of the Tamanaco [Hotel], Maouto Sheraton, Miraflores [Presidential Palace], Salén Elfptico, etce., do not praise the unpraisable. I ask it of you in. the absolute certainty that I speak in the name of more than 1,500 political prisoners, of the one million unemployed out of a population of seven million, of the millions of hungry Venezuelans, of the . thousands of tortured, citizens, of the widows, the mothers, the sons of the unburied but immortal dead: murdered by this regime, in the name of my country, subjugated and suffering, and in the name of the people of Poland and the rest of the free nations of the world,
Mr, Lewandowsky, you have spoken as a representative of the
To
State Department of Yankee. imperialism... When you return to Washington, stay there, and don't ever return to your country, because I am sure that the people will slap you down; they will throw your infamy, your servility, your viciousness and your desertion from ‘the ranks of proletarian internationalism in your face,
Mr, Lewandowsky, to barter with the crafty bosses of this despotic dictatorship it was not necessary to barter also with the sacred principles of the revolution of all the oppressed peoples anxious for liberation, Such lowness was not necessary. I hope, Mr. Lewandowsky, that your statements to the press have been distorted, so that for that reason, and for that reason only, I.will some. da have to retract all that I have said,
Sincerely,
Comandante Elias Manuitt