The trade unionist and President of the “Intersectorial de Trabajadores de Guayana” (ITG), Rubén González, believes that the only way to recover the economic and social stability of the country’s laborers and industries is to remove Nicolás Maduro’s regime from power.
By Correspondent La Patilla
Mr. González, who has twice been a political prisoner of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, spoke with La Patilla about the panorama of labor persecution that exists in Venezuela and offered his opinion regarding future electoral events.
“The only way to achieve freedom is by removing Nicolás Maduro’s outlaw regime. To achieve labor rights, Maduro must be evicted,” said the union leader, characterized by being frontal and fiery. He was, for many years, General Secretary of the “Ferrominera del Orinoco” Workers Union, an industry in which he has been working for 38 years.
What characteristics should a union leader have?
– He must be identified with the working class, not give in and gain the trust of his colleagues. He must demonstrate his dignity with deeds, and that is what we leaders who are in the intersectorial have done. Because it’s not just saying it, but doing it.
What is your opinion about politicians like Nicolás Maduro, who insistently says that he has a past as a union leader and defines himself as a worker?
– Well, Nicolás Maduro himself categorizes himself as a “worker president” and this is incredible. And I wonder how it is that if he supposedly comes from the ranks of trade unionism and says he defends the workers, he has become the greatest persecutor, curtailer and jailer of the working class. So this is hypocritical, because from saying to doing there is a long way. If you say something, you have to stand by it. He never ever was a union leader, he is an anti-worker and a scab.
How difficult is it to continue exercising union work in Guyana through the ITG?
– The ITG was created in the midst of a convulsed climate, in which we have had to fight. It was during the issuance of memorandum 2792 that curtailed the rights of workers. We began to fight with several union comrades in the streets, in the avenues. Currently we know that there is a lot of persecution, blackmail and terrorism against the labor sector throughout the country. Throughout these four years at ITG we have seen how many workers have died at home and in hospitals due to lack of medical attention. That is why I insist that the only way out of this is to evict Maduro.
What about a change of government, how do you see the electoral route?
– There is a lot of uncertainty. From the ITG we have questioned some political parties that have played into the game of the regime and have made fraudulent negotiations. I think that people have to be guaranteed clean and transparent elections, but we see a National Electoral Council (CNE) that is controlled by the regime and whatever they mandate is done there. In this scenario, how can clean elections be guaranteed?
What do you think of the participation of the diaspora?
– Well, we have more than seven million compatriots who have fled Venezuela due to the chaos. They must be given the option to vote at election time. The political climate is not very clear, the system is rigged, because it’s not just voting, you have to really choose. The regime has control of all the numbers, and where the opposition has won is because they made some agreements.
A Political Prisoner of Chávez and Maduro
The union struggle has put Rubén González in the eye of the hurricane several times. On two occasions he has paid with jail for the protests he has led and his frontal uncompromising position that identifies him.
The first imprisonment was ordered by the late Hugo Chávez, in September 2009, after a 16-day strike to demand compliance with labor right at “Ferrominera del Orinoco”. After he was arrested, for the next five years he was subjected to a sham judicial process. In the end he was acquitted, that is, it was clearly shown that he did not commit any crime.
Despite being behind bars, his fight did not subside and he continued to lead the company’s union. In November 2018, he was arbitrarily arrested again in Anaco, when he was on his way to an assembly in Caracas. By then he was the leader of dozens of demonstrations against memorandum 2792.
In September 2020, he was released through a pardon, although González stresses that he does not feel pardoned. “That was not a pardon, they had to release me because I never committed any type of crime. They had previously told me that I had to accept the guilt charges and only then they would release me. So I’ll stay in jail, I replied, because I didn’t commit any crime. The only thing I have done in 38 years of service and work is to defend the interests of the workers,” he pointed out.
He recounted that this second imprisonment was especially harsh because he fell ill in prison and did not have medical assistance. “Now I suffer from high blood pressure and have kidney problems. I remember that once I spent 15 days with a fever and sometimes they had me handcuffed to a pipe in a corridor,” he commented.
How would you describe the support of your family on those two occasions that you were a political prisoner?
– The support of my family is something beautiful. My family is a pillar of strength. I don’t know what would have become of me without my wife. We have been married for 45 years. I have four children and 13 grandchildren. Without my family, which has been consistent, today I would be telling another story, because when you are alone, without your family, things get complicated. I have a united family, to the glory of God.
Has your family ever reproached you for exposing yourself so much?
– The truth is they have very few times. What they have spoken to me about is my age and my health, they have asked me to take better care of myself and to let my guard down about what I have been doing. But they have never asked me to stop fighting. And it’s not that I’m braver than anyone, but when I see an injustice, I can’t keep quiet, and my family knows that I am like that, that’s why they support me in everything.
Most of the basic companies in Guyana show red numbers of production. How is Ferrominera del Orinoco doing indoors?
– Said in a single word, chaos, because Ferrominera del Orinoco comes from 23 million tons of production per year, the minimum ever was 18 million. Now we see production levels of five or seven million (tons). So we have a Ferrominera in full debacle. In the mines there are no longer any locomotives that can transport iron ore, the railway lines are in terrible condition. That’s why I tell you it’s chaos. And in Ferrominera lies neglected the iron ore that is raw material for the briquettes and Sidor, where finished products are made. Right now we barely have 3,000 workers.
Any final message for those workers?
– For society in general. I want to invite everyone to get involved in the political changes so that Venezuela can get out of this dictatorship. This is not about a group, this involves all of us. We have to keep in mind that we are facing a criminal and outlaw dictatorship, which does not care about the welfare of the workers. Unity is what will create the muscle to oust the dictator and thus we will have democracy and the rule of law.