Both of these works provide much original information related to the labor movement in Venezuela, a topic that up until recently had been largely unexplored. In the first part of his book, Lucena addresses himself to the enclave nature of the Venezuelan oil industry and its impact on industrial relations, a theme that has been more thoroughly dealt with by Marxist writers Rodolfo Quintero and Salvador de la Plaza. Lucena’s greatest contribution comes from data derived from United States and English diplomatic papers and oil company communications, particularly for what they reveal about the attitudes of both governments toward labor developments in Venezuela. Thus, for instance, Lucena shows that the United States ambassador in Caracas criticized oil company intransigence in opposing the 1936 Labor Law, which even the Venezuelan Congress, dominated by followers of former dictator Juan Vicente Gómez, unanimously approved. In addition, diplomatic papers detail the interventionist role of Minister of Labor (and future President) Raúl Leoni in the Acción Democrática (AD) government of 1945-48 in trying to keep down the oil workers’ demand for higher wages while promoting in its place greater fringe benefits. These sources also demonstrate that the oil companies stiffened their resistance to the unions in 1948 when democratic governments in Latin America were on the defensive, and that the president of Mobil actually threatened to pull out of Venezuela if organized labor persisted in raising unacceptable demands.
Although Lucena’s style is not polemical, he does on occasion criticize certain historical studies and political movements. Thus in discussing the limited success of the Venezuelan Communist party (PCV) before the nation’s industrialization surge, Lucena is critical of Robert J. Alexander as well as various Marxist writers for placing inordinate emphasis on PCV errors while overlooking the inherent difficulties of a proletarian party in a preindustrial society. The author also condemns the AD-controlled workers’ movement for failing to combat energetically the oil company practice of contracting out work to small firms that invariably offered inferior benefits to the workers. According to Lucena, such a system was justified during the infant stage of the industry when much nonroutine work had to be performed, but in fact it became increasingly common after the industry had already become firmly established in the nation.
Godio’s books are based in large part on documents and secondary material, which are quoted at length and synthesized by the author. This work along with the multivolume collection of documents compiled by the Central University’s research center, Taller Movimiento Obrero Latinoamericano (soon to be published by the National Congress as part of a larger project entitled El pensamiento político venezolano del siglo xx), will open opportunities for labor historians by serving as a basis for interpretive studies.
Given the close ties between organized labor and political parties in Venezuela it is not surprising that a large number of Godio’s citations are from party trade union programs as well as works by political leaders. Indeed, Godio’s study is useful in illuminating the role and position of political parties in organized labor. Charts, for instance, specify the party affiliation of delegates to the Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV) conventions (in the case of the 1980 one, this is done on a state-by-state basis). In addition, the labor theses of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) and the Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR) help explain why these parties decided to withdraw from and dismantle leftist labor organizations in order to join the AD-controlled CTV.
The post-1958 part of Godio’s study deals mainly with the CTV. Scant reference is made to individual unions and federations, including those of the most dynamic sectors of the labor movement, namely, the heavy industries (steel, aluminum, and iron) of the Guayana region, and the highly depressed textile industry. The major political parties, including those of the left, as well as the CTV have been less successful in controlling unions in these sectors than in the less conflict-ridden ones. One hopes that this shortcoming of Godio’s work will be corrected in future studies on labor that might focus on the workers’ movement in individual industries rather than on higher levels of decision making.
