Informe de Machado y la discusión posterior del informe 1929 11 00 tic tactics of the government, and therefore have an opportunity to organize themselves in a large scale.
It was impossible for me to penetrate the industrial region around Maracaibo, as it is very closely watched, no one passing thru unless he answers satisfactorily to the many questions put up to him. The political situation in Venezuela is such th at the central government has practically lost control of most of the State Governments. Every one of these local governments is headed by a war lord who is himself as tyrannical and as much of a puppet of imperialism as the old dictator himself.
The Oil state of Zulia, whose capital is Maracaibo, has at the head of its government General Perez Soto. It is a well known fact that this man is an unconditional servant of imperialism, and is said to be the candidate of Wall Street to replace Gomez as soon as the man should become too weak to hold the different war lords in check, or when he should die. Besides the industrial and strategic importance of the State of Zulia (Venezuela pro duction of oil is second to that of the only, and it comes practic ally from Zulia only) the geographical position of that oil state is very close of Panama Canal) it has also the importance of laying alongside of the richest oil fields in Colombia. The well known Barco Concession cannot be adequately developed unless its oil is brought out thru the state of Zulia to Lake Maracaibo; it lays alongside the border of Venezuela. It is a known fact that the oil interest, especially the American companies, have visualized with pleasure the possibility of uniting the State of Zul ia with the Colombian oil regions in the Departamento de Santander del Norte, the Catatumbo, etc. Colombia) creating thereby an Independent Republic. style Panama Republic, whose name would be Republica de Zulia. or Republic of Catatumbo.
This project has been the cause of heated political discussions in Venezuela, but especially in Colombia. All military leaders in Venezuela are anxiously awaiting the death of Gomez la order to take to arms and decide by mere force the successor to the dictator ship. The army is divided, and every one of those war lords has his own group of sup porters, awaiting the opportunity to take power for themselves and continue the oppression and exploitation of the farmers and workers of Venezuela. He cannot foresee but a sanguinary civil war, whether Gomes dies or not, led by these military leaders (caudillos) who actually control the different states in Venezuela.
Our immediate problem is to decide how we are to act at the time of the fall of Gomez control. My personal opinion is that under the present circumstances individual organizational propaganda cannot be made in Venezuela for the reasons that have stated above. deem it impossible to develop