The September elections have posed some serious questions before the Bolivarian Revolution. The opposition has organized a noisy campaign in the media to present themselves as "winners", despite the fact that they lost. What is the purpose of this campaign? A minority cannot turn itself into a majority, no matter how loud it shouts. But such a campaign can be advantageous to the counterrevolutionaries both inside and outside Venezuela.

The result of the elections to Venezuela’s National Assembly elections on Sunday was greeted by jubilation in the bourgeois media internationally. It is too early to make a definitive judgment about the results, and it has not been confirmed the right wing has overtaken the PSUV in votes. However, the deafening chorus of triumph in the international media is premature.

The mood at the Miraflores presidential palace on Sunday night was one of cautious waiting and one could even feel a slight nervousness in the air as thousands of Bolivarians had gathered to hear the first results of the country's parliamentary elections.

Writing from Caracas, Patrick Larsen sums up the basic challenges and the mood as millions of Venezuelans today will vote in the parliamentary elections. This is yet another battle between revolution and the counter-revolution which is preparing new actions to overthrow Chavez and crush the revolution once and for all.

On September 26 the people of Venezuela will be electing a new National Assembly. The reactionary Oligarchy, backed by imperialism, is taking advantage of the shortcomings of the revolution to strengthen its position and prepare for the counter-revolution. The Venezuelan revolution has gone a long way, but key economic levers are still in the hands of the Oligarchy. What is required is to fully carry out the socialist revolution and expropriate the capitalists and landlords. That is the only way of making the revolution irreversible.

On Thursday, July 22, Venezuelan president Chávez decided to put the border with Colombia on maximum military alert, after Colombian president Alvaro Uribe made accusations that Venezuela was harbouring FARC guerrillas and demanded an “international commission of enquiry”.

If it is to succeed, the Venezuelan revolution must be taken to the very end, with the expropriation of the capitalists and landlords who still control two thirds of the economy. This is a powerful lever in their hands that they are using to organise economic sabotage to undermine the government. The right-wing, reformist fifth columnists within the Bolivarian movement are attempting to hold back the revolution. That is where the danger lies.

On May 15^th, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez took a bold and historic initiative, when he decided at a meeting in Puerto Ordáz in Guayana, Bolívar state, to put workers at the forefront of the running of the primary industries located in this region.

Alan Woods was interviewed by the Venezuelan daily Correo del Orinoco, where he comments on the importance of the Fifth International, but stresses the need for it to be under the control of the rank and file and warns against bureaucratism.

Monday, April 19, marked the 200^th anniversary of Venezuela’s independence from Spain. The mass celebrations confirmed what was seen on the earlier April 13 rallies: the masses are prepared to defend the gains made so far by the Venezuelan revolution and this affects the ranks of the army who clearly sympathise with the working people.

We republish here an interview with Alan Woods by the Venezuelan daily newspaper, Ultimas Noticias, published in its Sunday edition, which has a print run of around 300,000. Alan insists that the revolution is in danger and what is required is to expropriate the oligarchy.

Alan Woods in Caracas describes the mood of the masses on the April 13 celebrations of the 8^th anniversary of the failed right-wing coup. This time, as well as the usual red shirts, there was a massive display of the people’s militia clad in camouflage green, and carrying Russian-made AK-47s, a clear warning to the reactionary oligarchy that the masses are prepared to fight any attempt to turn the clock back.

April 11-13 marks 8 years since the revolutionary movement of the masses swiftly defeated the counter-revolutionary coup in Venezuela. It is worth re-reading this article by Alan Woods and Ted Grant, which was widely circulated amongst working class activists in Venezuela at the time and laid basis for the formation of the Marxist tendency. The tasks outlined at the end of the article remain, mostly, unfulfilled. Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Venezuela

In the build up to the September elections, the right-wing opposition is preparing on several fronts. Economic sabotage is one of them, as are the manoeuvres on the part of right-wing elements within the Bolivarian movement itself. Meanwhile, all this is having a radicalising effect on the left.

Recently we saw many important events happening in Venezuela, like the devaluation of the bolívar or the nationalisations in the banking sector, which needs to be analysed carefully. The movement of occupied factories made important steps forward last year, but still faces sabotage by counter-revolutionary managers and workers are still struggling for nationalisation under workers' control. In order to defend the conquests already made, the revolution must put the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy on the agenda. Only this can destroy capitalism and provide the necessary prerequisites for a socialist planned economy.