Marinella Correggia

“We are an unconventional army that works to win an unconventional war”: this is how, in Venezuela, the more than 2,200 volunteers of the Epo are defined. (Ejército Productivo Obrero)

The Epo is one of the many aggregated networks that, in the midst of an unprecedented economic aggression, contribute to keeping the Bolivarian revolution alive. As the militant Edwin Rojas explains, the volunteers are workers who, since 2016, collaborated to assist in the recovery of the assets of public enterprises, national institutions, communities and productive organizations in the various sectors: industry, agriculture, food and services.

The Epo intervenes with work teams when a productive operation is for various reasons paralyzed or unable to function well. At that point, at their request and on a voluntary basis, patriots with experience in different fields work to recover machinery and infrastructure, with intensive work days.

Since 2016, the Epo has conducted 14 “productive operations” in ports, including a: La Gaviota, Maquinarias Barinas, Planta Madre Wuanaguanare, Inaf, Gas Municipal, Paraguaya Refinancion Center (Crp), Inatur Guárico, Nutrivida and Comuna Maizal. The last two cases are particularly important for the food security of a country that is laboriously working to get out of the oil monoculture. Maizal is an important agricultural reality that involves hundreds of producers. Nutrivida produces enriched foods for children, then distributes them through school feeding programs (Pae) and other public distribution networks (Pdval, Mercal, Abastos bicentenary) […]

via Venezuela: Army of Productive Workers Against Economic War