Supporters of the Venezuelan revolution held a meeting at Cardiff University on Wednesday evening. This meeting was
held in order to explain the significance of events that have taken place in
Venezuela over the last 10 years, to debunk the myths about Chavez and the
revolutionary process he is leading, and to spread the message that is coming
out of Latin America: that there is an alternative to capitalism in the 21st
century – socialism.
Hands off Venezuela member Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In
Defence of Marxism’ website of the International Marxist Tendency, talked about
the impact Hands off Venezuela has had internationally and in Venezuela.
Students and local supporters of the campaign listened to
Fred explain the origins of the Bolivarian movement and the hypocritical cries
of Western governments and the big-business media over claims of ‘dictatorial
tendencies’ of President Chavez, and the inability of these governments to
tolerate even the mildest reforms for the benefits of the Venezuelan people.
"Unless these people are expropriated, they will use their
control of the means of production to sabotage the economy, because their aim
is not just to remove Chavez from power, but they want to dismantle all the
reforms that have been carried out over the last 10 years, role everything back
and re-establish a government firmly under the control of the bourgeoisie and
US and EU imperialism", Fred explained in relation to the current economic
chaos being carried out by the local oligarchy in Venezuela. Listen to Fred
Weston’s introduction here and summing up here .
Afterwards there was a lively discussion and
contributions from many people eager to know more about the current situation,
and what they can do in solidarity to help protect the revolution. Joining
Hands off Venezuela is the first step, and carrying the message of the move
towards socialism throughout the Labour movement.
