Venezuela:  Communist Party office fire bombed

On Saturday October 29, parties unknown fire bombed the offices of the Communist Party of Venezuela in Maturin, the capital of Monagas state.  Monagas is in the far Eastern part of Venezuela, bordering on Guyana.  There were no deaths or injuries, but damage was done to the building and its furnishings.

Venezuela has been undergoing militant demonstrations by the far right, which are aimed at forcing President Nicolas Maduro from power.  The Communist Party is allied with Maduro, which suggests that the fire bombing of their office was related to the right wing protests.  The Communists have called for prosecutors to investigate the incident.

At writing, there have been no arrests in this incident.

South Africa: Communists praise dropping of charges against finance Mmnister

On October 31, the South African Communist Party (SACP) expressed satisfaction that no charges will be pursued by prosecutors against the country’s Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan.

The SACP has been warning emphatically about a growing tendency of “state capture” by private businesses, i.e., the bringing of government institutions under undue influence or control by people who want to milk them for their own financial gain.  The SACP and others see Gordhan as an official of integrity, and suspect that the effort to prosecute him, or at least smear him, is a trumped up case designed to benefit corrupt elements who cannot bend him to their will.

Chile:  Communist Party of Chile at Hanoi world meeting

Claudio de Negri, Chile’s ambassador to Vietnam, and also the Communist Party of Chile’s delegate to the 18th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties, held in Hanoi last week, explained the strategy of his party to the gathered delegates from 59 communist and workers’ parties from around the world.

“We act on the basis of a conviction that the conclusions of our interchanges, to become material reality, require transcending the borders of the communist [parties] to become embodied in the workers, the youth, the women, the artists, the scientific community, the indigenous peoples and the intellectuals.  De Negri explained that the Communist Party of Chile participates along with others in the “New Majority” government headed by President Michelle Bachelet, of the Socialist Party.  This is not a government of the left, but the Communists and other leftists have found ways to advance their ideas within that coalition.  “Our pole star is socialism, but each people, according to its own experience and its potentialities, will succeed in finding the road and the means to advance toward it and toward development ..”

Finland:  Communists urge attention to protecting arctic environment

Another party which addressed the 18th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties in Hanoi, the Communist Party of Finland, raised the issue of environmental protection.
The Finnish Communists emphasized the “Arctic Initiative”, which was organized by their party and others earlier this year.  Ten communist parties from countries bordering on the Arctic region, along with many other kinds of organizations, attended this event.  Points for further discussion and action that were raised at the event include:  Support the rights of indigenous peoples of the Arctic to defend themselves against capitalist exploitation of the environment and natural resources of their territories; withdrawal from NATO and other military arrangements; Struggle for peace; Fight to implement the Paris agreement on climate; block fossil fuel extraction in the Arctic region, among other things.

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