During his fifth visit to Iran in July 2006, Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, toured the Iran Khodro factory in Tehran. Iran Khodro is the largest vehicle manufacturer in the Middle East, producing over 110,000 units a year. It produces passenger cars, minibuses and buses, vans and trucks. It was formed in 1962 and currently employs over 30,000 workers.
The following is part of a report on Mr Chavez's tour of the plant on 31 July 2006. It was sent to IRSL in August 2006 by an Iran Khodro labour activist who has been involved in organising several strikes. We had so far refrained from publishing it due to security concerns about this activist and his fellow comrades.
"... Chavez came to our company suddenly, without any prior notice. There were very strict security measures in place. When Chavez entered the halls [of the factory] he was warmly welcomed by the workers ... and [he] shook hands with most of them and the workers were all over him.
"When he shook hands with the workers, and even kissed them on the cheeks, this was surprising. This is because the workers have never seen a president who is regarded so highly.
"He called Ahmadinejad his brother and the Iranian government a revolutionary government.
"We were going to say a few words of greeting to him but his words made everyone disgusted and my workmates tore up the leaflets, the leaflet that our workmates had written to commemorate his coming to our company, and they mostly reached the conclusion that this person does not deserve us praising him as a leader of the revolution and even to welcome him. From our point of view he is not the leader of a revolution, but, for now, it is the revolution that is leading him.
"That is why our workmates said that we should have nothing to do with him. We were really baffled as to what position to take on this question. We had read your [the IRSL] statement and that of the students before lunch. On the same day Kar-o Kargar daily [the newspaper of the pro-regime Labour House] had a photo of Chavez where he is kissing Ahmadinejad on the cheek and calling him his brother. [This] had been widely circulated and they had given each worker a copy of it.
"We saw the [IRSL and that of the students'] statements, they were good. If you agree with the statement of the students, why do you not publish a statement declaring a common position and defending it?
"But for us it was unacceptable that such a person, just because Iran - supposedly - has [disagreements] with America, which everyone knows that Iran is America's best friend, can say such things. We wanted to do this [issue a statement] ourselves and have those positions among the workers... As I said, this didn't take place this time, with [just] an hour ... But there was no agreement. The statement was torn up. Everyone was complaining."
The Venezuelan government's joint venture factory with Iran Khodro in Maracay, west of Caracas, was officially opened in November 2006.
Iranian Revolutionary Socialists' League
28 October 2007