http://www.azzellini.net

December 2012, Dario Azzellini's newsletter in English

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0. Before

1. New books - "Occupying Language" (English) and "Die endlich entdeckte politische Form - Fabrikräte und Selbstverwaltung von der russischen Revolution bis heute" (German)

2. Reviews (English, Spanish, Dutch and Indonesian)

3. Videos and Audios (English, German and Spanish)

4. Book chapters (English, Spanish and German)

5. Academic articles (Portuguese)

6. Press articles (Spanish and German)

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0. Before

Hello!

The result of Venezuela’s regional elections last Sunday leaves no doubt about the balance of power. With an electoral participation of 54% (higher than in previous regional elections in Venezuela as well as participation in regional elections in other American and European countries) the candidates of Chávez’ party PSUV won 20 out of 23 states.

The left won strategic states and former oppositional strongholds such as Carabobo, Nueva Esparta, Táchira and Zulia, but it did not win the elections in the state of Miranda. Henrique Capriles, former governor of Miranda and Chávez’ opposition candidate in the last presidential elections will be the state’s next governor. The following results are based on 95% of the votes.

The PSUV won Anzoátegui (Aristóbulo Isturíz, 56.34%); Apure (Ramón Carrizales, 62.02%); Aragua (Tareck El Aissami, 55.54; Barinas (Adán Chávez, 57.67%); Bolívar (Francisco Rangel, 46.03%); Carabobo (Francisco Amelliach, 55.48%); Cojedes (Erika Farías, 63.38%); Delta Amacuro  (Lizeta Hernández, 77.24%); Falcón (Estella Lugo, 51.5%); Guárico (Ramón
Rodríguez Chacín, 74.66%); Mérida (Alexis Ramírez, 50.18%); Monagas (Yelitze Santaella, 54.93%); Nueva Esparta (Carlos Mata Figueroa, 54.06%); Portuguesa (Wilmar Castro, 53.96%); Sucre (Luis Acuña, 59.29%); Táchira (José Vielma Mora, 53.96%); Trujillo (Henry Rangel Silva, 82.22%); Vargas (Jorge García Carneiro, 73.38%); Yaracuy (Julio León. 61.46%) and Zulia (Francisco Arias Cárdenas, 52.19%).

The opposition won Amazonas (Liborio Guarulla, 56.07%); Lara (Henry Falcón, 54.66%) and in Miranda (Henrique Capriles (51.94%) won against former vice-president Elías Jaua (47.71%).

In some of the states, parties and groups supporting the Chávez government and the Bolivarian Process presented their own candidates since they did not agree with the official PSUV candidates. In Apure Leopoldo Estrada won 14.12%; in Bolívar Manuel Arciniega, supported by many grass-roots organizations, won 8.17%; in Falcón Oswaldo León won 11.85% of the votes; in Mérida former PSUV governor Florencio Porras (not supported anymore by the PSUV) won 10.61% and in Portuguesa Oswaldo Zerpa won 24.51%. Even if the candidates presented by other leftist groups and parties are not necessarily better than the official PSUV candidates, the results shows that the PSUV should pay more attention to other leftist forces. The result of the leftist candidates without official support is remarkable, especially considering the highly polarized nature of the elections. Many voters did not want to split leftist votes and risk an opposition victory, so they did not vote for other leftist candidates even if they favored them. This was particularly the case in the state of Bolívar, where reelected PSUV governor Rangél Gómez cannot be considered a “victory for the revolution.”

An interesting detail to mention is that 186,036 foreigners with over 10 years of Venezuelan residency participated in the regional elections, a right that was established by the 1999 constitution.

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Chávez’ health

There has been a lot of speculation on Chávez’ health. Recently he again underwent surgery since cancer cells had reappeared where a tumour had been extracted months ago. The situation is serious. Chávez is still alive and recovering despite the bad intentioned speculations of many US and European media. The Venezuelan government is regularly publishing medical reports on Chávez’ health. The surgery accomplished in Cuba two weeks ago was successful. While Chávez is again totally conscious and overseeing government operations, hopefully he will take his time to fully recover. We will see on January 10th, when Chávez is to be sworn into office, if Chávez is able or not to continue in presidency. Everything else is pure speculation. 

Even if the announcement of the surgery was quiet dramatic, Venezuela and the government did not collapse as some media wanted us to believe. The consciousness built during the last 14 years, the experience and the firm commitment of millions of people in Venezuela to create a different society does not depend only on Chávez. But at the same time the serious situation again reflected how central Chávez’ role is. It’s time to build a collective leadership as the movements forming the Alianza Popular Revolucionaria have proposed.

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The German translation of "Ours to master and to own" was published December 5th!

Orders and information: neuer.isp.verlag@t-online.de

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If you need a translator from English to Spanish I can strongly recommend Benjamin Anaya. He lived several years in Chicago (and organized the Latin American book fair) and is now back in Mexico City. He studied journalism, published books and articles, translated and edited, he is a great comrade and very good in translating political analysis, novels and poems! You can contact him at: benja_anaya@yahoo.com.

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From January to June 2013 I will be at the City University of New York, Graduate Center, working on a research project.

All the best,

Dario

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1. New books - "Occupying Language", book about occupy and the practices of the new movements (English) and "Die endlich entdeckte politische Form - Fabrikräte und Selbstverwaltung von der russischen Revolution bis heute" (German)

„Occupying Language“ by Marina Sitrin and Dario Azzellini
Zuccotti Park Press (Occupied Media Pamphlet Series)
128 p., ISBN-13: 9781884519093, 9.95 $, September 2012

While the gobal Occupy movement is widely seen as unprecedented, its language and organizing practices are shaped and inspired by diverse historical precedents in the United States and around the world. Sitrin and Azzellini introduce the reader to the theory and practices of the movement and explore linkages and connections toward the dream of a common language of struggle, justice, democracy and liberation.

Explored are concepts such as Territory, Assembly, Dignity and Popular Power, and relationships such as Horizontalism, Autogestión (self-organization), and protagonism. These forms of organization and ways of relating are described based on over a decade of practice and experience in Latin America, from the origins of horizontalidad with the popular rebellion in Argentina, to the concept of Territory, grounded in Bolivia and Brazil, or the construction of Popular Power in the Consejo Comunales in Venezuela and the understanding of our many diversities, creating a world in which many worlds fit, of the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico.

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2551
http://zuccottiparkpress.com/occupyinglanguag.html

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"Die endlich entdeckte politische Form - Fabrikräte und Selbstverwaltung von der russischen Revolution bis heute" (German)

Dario N. Azzellini / Immanuel Ness, Neuer ISP Verlag, 540 p.

It's out!!! It has been published December 5, 2012

Die endlich entdeckte politische Form« ist das aktuell reichhaltigste und umfassendste Werk zu Arbeiterkontrolle, Fabrikräten und Selbstverwaltung von der russischen Revolution bis heute.

»Die endlich entdeckte politische Form ist das aktuell reichhaltigste und umfassendste Werk zu Arbeiterkontrolle und Selbstverwaltung. Es bietet eine grundlegende Darstellung von Arbeiterbewegungen im Verlauf von Aufständen, direkter Aktion und Fabrikbesetzungen unter einer Brandbreite verschiedener Gesellschaftssysteme. Ich kann diese Arbeit entschieden empfehlen. Sie bietet weltweite Beispiele für Arbeiter im Kampf um Gerechtigkeit und Macht, von der Pariser Kommune bis zur Gegenwart.« Gary Younge, Kolumnist, The Guardian»

http://www.azzellini.net/buecher-von-dario-azzellini/die-endlich-entdeck...
http://www.neuerispverlag.de/verweis.php?nr=142

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2. Reviews (English, Spanish, Dutch and Indonesian)

Workers' Control: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation - November 8, 2012 (English)
Dan La Botz about 'Ours to Master and to Own', by Immanuel Ness and Dario Azzellini (Ed.) Haymarket Books, 2011

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2429
http://newpol.org/node/703
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"Cooperativas y socialismo. Una mirada desde Cuba… y la promesa del “ nuevo cooperativismo cubano” de Marcelo “Liberato” Salinas | Red Observatorio Crítico, octubre 5, 2012

http://www.azzellini.net/es/buecher/buecher-von-dario-azzellini/rezensio...
http://observatoriocriticodesdecuba.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/cooperativa...

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Dit artikel verscheen eerder in De Socialist 239, maart 2012, 31 oktober 2012

Arbeidersmacht door de eeuwen heen (Dutch)

Door Brian Droop about 'Ours to Master and to Own', by Immanuel Ness and Dario Azzellini (Ed.) Haymarket Books, 2011

Sinds het begin van het kapitalisme hebben arbeiders zich verzet met blokkades, demonstraties en stakingen. Soms gingen ze nog een stap verder en maakten zij zich meester van het productieproces, buiten de bazen om. Dit is het onderwerp van Ours to Master and to Own.

http://www.azzellini.net/en/buecher/buecher-von-dario-azzellini/rezensio...
http://socialisme.nu/blog/nieuws/27493/arbeidersmacht-door-de-eeuwen-heen/

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Kontrol Buruh Dalam Lintasan Sejarah (Indonesian)

Coen Husain Pontoh, City University of New York (CUNY), about Ours to Master and to Own, by Immanuel Ness and Dario Azzellini (Ed.) Haymarket Books, 2011

KETIKA krisis ekonomi meledak di Amerika Serikat (AS) pada 2007, di kalangan kiri serentak muncul perdebatan seru di dua ranah: pertama, perdebatan mengenai sebab-musabab terjadinya krisis; dan kedua, bagaimana solusi terhadap penyelesaian krisis ini. Pada yang pertama, krisis ini kembali membuka perdebatan lama mengenai penyebab krisis antara pendekatan konsumsi kurang (underconsumption/stagnation), pendekatan jatuhnya tingkat keuntungan (the falling rate of profit), pendekatan struktur sosial akumulasi (social structure of accumulation/SSA), dan pendekatan mengenai dampak dari persaingan internasional (foreign competition).

http://www.azzellini.net/es/buecher/buecher-von-dario-azzellini/rezensionen/kontrol-buruh-dalam-lintasan-sejarah

http://indoprogress.com/lbr/?p=28

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3. Videos and Audios (English, German and Spanish)

09.10.12 | 16:15 - 17:00 UTC | Deutsche Welle (English)

Agenda: Chavez celebrates victory but where does Venezuela go from here? Currency woes trigger unrest in Iran but is the regime threatened? And two billion over 60s by 2050, is the world ready?
Chavez Victory - Socialist Revolution Rolling On?

Guest: Dario Azzellini, Political Scientist, University of Linz, Austria

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2584

http://www.dw.de/dw/0,,30415,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu6sRobzE4Q&

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09.10.12 | 18:15 - 19:00 UTC | Deutsche Welle

Agenda - Tres titulares, tres visiones (Spanish)

Venezuela, Chavéz reelegido por cuarta vez | Primer día internacional de la Niña | Cambio Demográfico, ¿una amenaza mundial?

Hugo Chávez será presidente de Venezuela por cuarta vez tras lograr una holgada victoria sobre su opositor Henrique Capriles. Chávez afronta un mandato para lo próximos seis años con las sombras de su última gestión y la incertidumbre de su enfermedad. Las elecciones confirman la fractura de Venezuela en dos proyectos políticos irreconciliables y su resultado tendrá repercusiones internacionales.

Invitado: Dario Azzellini, Doctor en ciencias políticas

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2585

http://www.dw.de/dw/episode/0,,16263454,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQT-8LWcdM

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4. Book chapters (English, Spanish and German)

Dario Azzellini: "From Cooperatives to Enterprises of Direct Social Property in the Venezuelan Process", in:

Cooperatives and Socialism. A View from Cuba
Edited by Camila Piñeiro Harnecker, Palgrave Macmillan, Nov. 2012, 364 pages

Translation of: Cooperativas y Socialismo: Una mirada desde Cuba. Camila Piñeiro Harnecker (Editor). La Havana: Editorial Caminos

This book presents the cooperative economy as a viable alternative to the neoliberal capitalist and authoritarian socialist models currently in use around the world.

"This impressive collection of essays, by Cuban and non-Cuban thinkers, could not be more timely—both for Cuba, which is in the process of restructuring its economy, and for most of the rest of the world, which, given the seemingly intractable crisis of global capitalism, should be doing the same. These essays are infused with both realism and hope."
David Schweickart, Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago, author of After Capitalism

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2607

http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=639476

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"Movimientos y construcción alternativa en Venezuela", Dario Azzellini, pp. 375-410 (Spanish)

in: Rodrigues, Fabiana C.; Novaes, Henrique T.; Batista, Eraldo L. (orgs.). Movimentos Sociais, Trabalho Associado e Educação para além do capital. Sao Paolo: Outras Expressões. ISBN: 978-85-6442-122-6

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2579

https://www.expressaopopular.com.br/livros/outras-expressoes/movimentos-sociais-trabalho-associado-e-educacao-para-alem-do-capital

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"Venezuelas Transformationsprozess von der repressiven Formaldemokratie zur partizipativen und protagonistischen Demokratie", Dario Azzellini, S.175-193, in:

Jürgen Nordmann, Katrin Hirte, Walter Otto Ötsch (Hg.) (2012). Demokratie! Welche Demokratie? Postdemokratie kritisch hinterfragt. Kritische Studien zu Markt und Gesellschaft, Band 5. Marburg: metropolis Verlag. 248 Seiten, 28,00 €, ISBN 978-3-89518-970-8

Nach den Rettungsmaßnahmen der Staaten für die Banken, 2008 begann erneut die Debatte um den Zustand der liberalen Demokratien. War im ersten Überschwang der sogenannten Systemrettung noch von einer Rückkehr des Politischen die Rede, häuften sich schnell kritische Nachfragen nach der Legitimation der Regierungen bei den Interventionen zugunsten des Finanzmarktes. Immer klarer wurde, dass der Kern der liberalen Demokratie, das Budgetrecht der Parlamente, durch oligarchische Entscheidungszentren bedroht ist. Im Zentrum der Debatte stand Colin Crouchs These von der "Postdemokratie", von der Aushöhlung demokratischer Institutionen im neoliberalen Zeitalter. Der Band lässt Crouch seine These noch einmal prägnant vorstellen, und setzt sich, das ganze Spektrum von affirmativ bis kritisch umfassend, mit der postdemokratischen These auseinander.

Published November 2012

http://www.azzellini.net/buchbeitraege/venezuelas-transformationsprozess...
http://www.metropolis-verlag.de/Demokratie!-Welche-Demokratie%3F/970/book.do;jsessionid=9DDF21BA513973B09CDA3E2C9D78F9CD
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"Religion in Venezuela", Dario Azzellini, s. 703-709 in

"Handbuch der Religionen der Welt", Markus Porsche-Ludwig und Jürgen Bellers (Hg.), Siegen: Bautz Verlag, 2012

http://www.azzellini.net/buchbeitraege/religion-venezuela
http://www.bautz.de/bautzbautz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...
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5. Academic articles in journals (Portuguese)

"Movimentos e construção alternativa na Venezuela", Dario Azzellini, veröffentlicht in: Cemop, Nº 3, MAIO DE 2012, ISSN – 2236-4110, ss.40-62 (Portuguese)

http://www.azzellini.net/node/2578
http://www.memoriaoperaria.org.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=76

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6. Press articles (Spanish and German)

"Control obrero y Consejos socialistas de trabajadores y trabajadoras (CST) en Venezuela", Nov. 2012 (Spanish)

In “Venezuelarekin bat!" p. 27-31

http://www.azzellini.net/en/node/2574

http://www.komiteinternazionalistak.org/index.php/es/especiales/venezuelarekinbat

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Blinde Loyalität ist passé - Wahlnachlese Venezuela (German)
von Dario Azzellini - ila, Nr. 360, Nov. 2012, S.44-46

Der Sieg von Hugo Chávez bei den Präsidentschaftswahlen in Venezuela am 7. Oktober fiel deutlicher aus, als es die deutsche Presse hätte vermuten lassen. Laut dem amtlichen Endergebnis stimmten 55,13 Prozent der WählerInnen (8 181122 Stimmen) für Chávez und 44,25 Prozent (6 566 712 Stimmen) für Henrique Capriles, den Kandidaten des breiten Oppositionsbündnisses. Die vier weiteren Optionen erhielten zusammen etwa 90 000 Stimmen, knapp über 0,5 Prozent. Von diesen schnitt der Trotzkist Orlando Chirino, der sich als linke Alternative zu Chávez präsentierte, mit 4137 Stimmen (0,02 Prozent) am schlechtesten ab. Chávez gewann in 21 von 23 Bundesstaaten (und verlor in Mérida und Táchira) sowie im Hauptstadt-distrikt. Chávez besiegte Capriles auch im Bundesstaat Miranda, wo Capriles Gouverneur ist.

http://www.azzellini.net/journalistische-artikel/blinde-loyalitaet-ist-p...
http://www.ila-web.de/aktuelles/letzteausgabe.htm

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Dr. Dario Azzellini

www.azzellini.net

Department of Sociology, Politics and Development Research
Johannes Kepler Universität (JKU) Linz

Tel. +43-732-2468-1545