Venezuela’s “National Dialogue” Takes in Not only Business and Political Elites But Also Social Movements

Today as part of the “National Dialogue” in Venezuela, President Maduro met with representatives of communal councils and communes. One representative by the name of Robin Torrealba pointed out that AgroPatria assigns some communes 10 times more than what they need and called on the communes in these cases to return what is not being used. Torrealba’s statement was a veiled reference to the problem of corruption involving links between state companies which sell products at artificially low prices and the black market. These unethical dealings occur on a large scale. Unfortunately, Maduro in his comments didn’t pick up on Torrealba’s statement. Angel Prado of the El Maizal commune in Lara discussed this practice and presented a more all-encompassing critique of AgroPatria in a recent interview conducted and posted by Venezuelanalysis. 

On the other hand, the fact that Maduro met with community representatives goes counter to what his critics on the left are saying, namely that the National Dialogue leaves out of the picture social movements and the rank and file in general.   

In the interview with Prado, Venezuelanalysis points out that in May, El Maizal and other small and medium-sized agricultural producers occupied several AgroPatria stores throughout Venezuela to protest its practices.
https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13857