The British section of the international Hands Off Venezuela delegation is back in London after a whirlwind tour of Caracas during the historic re-election of Hugo Chavez as president on December 3rd. We saw the Bolivarian process in action and up close. Our team of observers went to five different neighbourhoods, three Chavista and two opposition neighbourhoods (Manuel Rosales) and noted a marked difference in mood. The more affluent Rosales areas were quiet and resigned with little to say. But when we got off our bus in the Chavista neighbourhoods of Saria, St. Augustin and 23 de Enero, we were greeted with a warm welcome by a sea of people wearing red berets and t-shirts emblazoned with "10 Million Votes!" – the rallying cry to the 23 million people that make up Venezuela's population, to come out and vote in overwhelming numbers to ratify the course the country has been taking under the leadership of Chavez. And so they did! The final tally was 7.3 million votes for Chavez – the biggest voter turn out in Venezuelan history!
We learned that before Chavez took office in 1998, less than half of eligible Venezuelans were registered to vote. Now, in line with the new Venezuelan constitution, millions of previously disenfranchised poor people have been registered. More than 5.5 million can now have their voice heard for the first time. We noted that Venezuela makes it easy for its citizens to express their will on Election Day by holding the presidential election on a Sunday. The government also provides free subway transportation and most felons are allowed to vote, with voting centers set up in penal institutions. Comparisons to Britain are very revealing. Voter turn out in British local and national elections has declined dramatically since universal suffrage in 1918. At last year's general election, 59% of those eligible to vote actually voted. 44 million people were eligible to vote but only 27 million people actually did.
We met Belgian, Wim Bender who was part of the EU delegation of official international observers who formally declared to the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the world press that Venezuela's electoral system is transparent, free and fare. See our video interview with him on our blog spot, (http://handsoffvenezuela.blogspot.com) And, there could be no doubt about it. Our group of about 15 delegates were welcomed into all the voting stations unannounced and given tours and allowed to observe all aspects and saw that there were checks and audits at all possible levels. We spoke to random voters who, despite cueing for hours, told us how enthusiastic they were about being part of the process. We all commented amongst ourselves how the level of participation is so much higher than in our respective countries. We also lamented about never having felt so enthusiastic about our choice of leadership in Britain! I mean, if the British mainstream press have their way, the only choice for Britain is Brown or Cameron! We are shocked (but not surprised) regarding the complete news blockade of John McDonnell's campaign for the Labour party leadership. Unlike Brown, McDonnell defends public services against privatization, has been a consistent campaigner in Parliament against the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and has consistently defended the revolution in Venezuela. He, unlike the Browns and Camerons of this world, think there is a lot to be learned from what is happening in Venezuela!
HOV delegation was Ubiquitous! We were at the Co-ops, in the meetings, in the occupied factories and all over the Venezuelan media. Even Chavez said on television that he had heard about us 
and wanted to meet up!
