Martinez, as Venezuelan delegate speaks during the substantial discussion on the colonial revolution to the Comintern’s 1928 Sixth Congress on the situation in his country and the larger Caribbean region. Arriving in New York in 1919, Martinez associated himself with radical exile Mariano Fortoul and soon found himself in the U.S. Communist movement, where he would help organize and lead the exiled offices of the Venezuelan Workers Union. From them he was a delegate to the 4th Profintern Congress and associated 6th Comintern Congress held over the summer 1928. Then central to the new Caribbean Bureau of the C.I., he returned to the Americas in 1929, eventually moving to Chile and acting as a key member of their Communist Party there before returning to Venezuela in 1941.

‘Communism and Anti-Imperialism in Venezuela’ by Ricardo ‘Rolito’ A. Martinez from International Press Correspondence Vol. 8 No. 76. October 30, 1928.

Comrade MARTINEZ (Venezuela)

Stated figures indicating how American imperialism has been penetrating the Latin American countries; and events during recent years have shown the effect of these investments in the economic and political life of these countries. The process of industrialisation is creating a working class that is beginning to play its revolutionary role. Venezuela has been ruled during the past 25 years by the bloodiest dictators ever known in the history of Latin America. All previous revolutionary attempts were made by members of the landed class with sections of the petty bourgeoisie, but without any revolutionary programme. The recent uprising clearly shows a great difference; it was led by the students with the participation of a large section of the workers who went on strike, not for any immediate economic demands, but in solidarity with the imprisoned leaders of the insurrection. A country where there were practically no workers, now employs in the oil industry alone more than 25,000 workers. Out of a population of 3,000,000 it has an industrial population of 262,000 according to the last census.

This economic penetration is producing the same effect in all Latin American countries, but at a more rapid tempo in those countries in the northern part of South America whose economy is of a more backward type. This in its turn will force the United States to extend the policies which have been applied to the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, to a wider field.

During the past 30 years Latin America has been invaded 36 times, these interventions were made at different intervals, but as a result of the increasing revolutionary activities they are becoming more frequent. Let us take the case of Nicaragua. The first intervention took place in 1899, then in 1907, 1910, 1912 and then 1925-26-27 and 28. During the last four years the United States have been at war with Nicaragua, culminating in the present struggle of Sandino against the mightiest imperialist power, a struggle which is arousing the whole of Latin America.

The rest of the Caribbean is actually a protectorate. American intervention assumes any function according to the peculiar conditions of the country: General Receiver of Customs, High Commissioners, Financial Advisors, etc., but as a matter of fact it is developing more and more into actual military interventions.

Up to now imperialist intervention was limited to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands, but the American investments in Colombia and Venezuela have increased, since 1913, 615% and 5,300% respectively, mainly in the oil industry. This is very important, because England having been earlier in the field controls in certain places more oil than the U.S. The refineries of the Royal Dutch have a capacity, at the present time, of 70,000 barrels per day. Now comrades picture yourself American imperialism with as many naval bases as England has in the Caribbean, with these tremendous supplies of oil and other important raw materials in the neighbourhood of the Suez Canal, and it will give you an idea of the tremendous importance of the coming struggles in Latin America.

In Mexico the struggles between England and the U.S. took the form of supporting different factions and individuals. But this was in an earlier period, when an actual occupation would have been very costly. In 1902 when England, Germany and Italy tried to test the Monroe Doctrine with the bombardment of Venezuela, they retreated after a very serious situation which almost led to war. Today the situation is different, the antagonism between England and America is much more serious.

We must be very clear in our estimation of the situation in order to prevent that the workers and peasants should fight the wars of the imperialists. In this direction we must do more than we have done up to the present, particularly in relation to all the forms of penetration used by American imperialism. I do not think that sufficient attention has been paid to the question of the Pan-American Union which is the Colonial Department of American imperialism. There is not one field of social activities in which the Pan American Union does not have an active committee functioning. They have Press Conferences, Road Conferences, Railway Conferences, Airway Conferences, etc. etc. These small conferences are the real link that chains Latin America to American imperialism.

Of course, it would not be a complete colonial Department without its labour section, and again we see, the U.S. built and organised the Pan American Federation of Labour at the right moment, in 1917, in order to prevent the labour movement in the Caribbean Region, to get some inspiration from the Mexican Revolution.

In a recent article Comrade Humbert-Droz writes:

“With the exception of the Mexican C.R.O.M., no Labour Movement adheres to it (the Pan-American Federation of Labour) because of its imperialist character”.

I do not agree with this formulation. At the last Congress of the P.A.F. of L. there were representatives of Cuba, who represented workers, of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, and Dominican Republic, Salvador, Peru, Porto Rico, Venezuela and Colombia. Some of them were appointed by their own governments (Peru, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Rep., Guatemala). The Colombian representative did not represent anybody, Venezuela represented a group of exiled workers. But this only shows that in Latin America all forms of reformism, of class collaboration, of working with the existing dictator (the case of Cuba, Machado, with Gomez in Venezuela) is taking place.

I maintain that American Imperialism will start a campaign of corruption amongst the newly rising working class through the Pan American Federation of Labour, and that it will extend parallel with American imperialism. There were no representatives from the Southern countries at the last Congress because British imperialism is much stronger in the South, they go with Amsterdam. This is the reason why at the last Pan American Congress at Havana the only semblance of opposition came from Argentine, and it was the opposition of British imperialism.

I believe that the last two Congresses: of the Pan American. Federation of Labour at Washington, and of the Pan American Union, at Havana, give us weapons that we must use to unmask the real functions of Pan Americanism, the role of the Latin American bourgeoisie and the Labour Fakirs of Latin America. Both Congresses took place at a time when hundreds of Nicaraguans were being slaughtered. A resolution protesting against the crimes of American imperialism was voted down by the Congress at Washington. At the Havana Congress we saw for the first time the whole of Latin America represented. This clearly shows that the increasing revolutionary temper of the Latin American workers and peasants illustrated in those days by the great Sacco and Vanzetti demonstrations is bringing the Latin American bourgeoisie closer to American imperialism.

We expect from the revolutionary workers and their vanguard just as much attention. The Profintern has already initiated work that will organise opposition to the lackeys of American and British imperialism in the labour movement, the P.A.F. of L. and Amsterdam. We have no doubt that the Comintern will also send to Latin America its most capable advisors to help us in the organisation of our parties, that are the only force that will lead the struggle against American imperialism, to its final conclusion: the creation of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Soviet Republics of Latin America.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly.

PDF of issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1928/v08n76-oct-30-1928-inprecor-op.pdf