500 Gather in DC to Form Venez Solidarity Network
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500 Gather in DC to Form Venez Solidarity Network
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Hands Off Venezuela - mar 9, 2006
http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/500_gather_in_washington,_dc_to_form_national_venezuela_solidarity_network.htm
500 Gather in Washington, DC to form National Venezuela Solidarity
By John Peterson
On the weekend of March 4-6, some 500 people from across the US,
Canada, Latin America, and Europe gathered in Washington DC for a
series of workshops, plenary sessions, cultural events, and
demonstrations as part of the Venezuela Solidarity Conference (VSC).
Despite visa problems for a number of Venezuelans who were to present
at some of the workshops and plenaries, the conference, held on the
George Washington University campus was a resounding success. Some 40
workshops were presented on a wide range of topics topics such as
Venezuelan history, the health care missions, the role of women in the
revolutionary process, organizing solidarity in the U.S. and Canadian
labor movements, the role of Afro-Venezuelans, the Venezuela
Constitution, building an Emergency Response Network and implementing
a calendar of Venezuela solidarity actions, the Citgo "Buycott"
campaign, and the case of Luis Posada Carriles among many others.
Click here for the full list of workshops offered (although some were
unfortunately cancelled at the last minute).
In addition to the workshops there were a number of plenary sessions
which discussed the U.S. Agenda for Latin America, Solidarity with the
Bolivarian Revolution, and the forming of the National Venezuela
Solidarity Network. The discussions ranged from the economics of ALBA
and the Citgo heating oil program, to the role Plan Colombia and the
importance of defending the Cuban Revolution as well. Some speakers
presented a solid grass roots and working class perspective, while
other had a more liberal focus, with some participants limiting their
efforts to seeking votes for the Democratic Party.
On Saturday evening there was an well-attended public event with
speakers, poetry, and music at All Souls Church.
Dozens of organizations worked closely and harmoniously for several
months to organize this event, showing what can be done when people
from the most varied backgrounds come together around an issue as
important as defending the Venezuelan revolutionary process. Many of
these organizations were represented at the conference with tables of
books, pamphlets, leaflets, films, T-Shirts, stickers, and other
Venezuela and Latin America solidarity-related items.
Some organizations, like the Bolivarian Youth of Miami are an
excellent example of grass roots, labor-oriented organizations in
solidarity with the revolution. There were also many trade unionists
present, working to bring greater working class awareness of events in
Venezuela. The US / Canada Hands Off Venezuela table was visited by
hundreds of people, and was always buzzing with discussions on the
international HOV campaign and the situation in Venezuela. Many
conference attendees stopping to have their picture taken with the HOV
banner. Click here to see a list of organizations that co-sponsored
the event.
Along with several other socialist organizations, the International
Marxist Tendency was represented by comrades from Canada, the U.S. and
Italy. Many people who stopped by the table had heard of Alan Woods or
had visited the In Defence of Marxism website. Many had questions
about the Venezuelan Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria (CMR), the
Havana Book fair intervention, and world perspectives in general.
On Monday, March 6, dozens of conference attendees visited their
legislative representatives in a morning of lobbying.
Later that same day, at 12:00 noon, some 70-80 people gathered in
front of the offices of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in
the largest-ever demonstration against this thoroughly anti-democratic
institution. Chanting "Hands Off Venezuela! Hands Off Haiti!" and
carrying posters and banners calling for the shutting down of the NED
and opposition to military action against Iran and other countries,
the demo was a big success. Media from the Associated Press, ViveTV,
and Radio Nacional de Venezuela were present.
The small crowd then marched to the headquarters of the AFL-CIO,
located just 4 blocks away, to protest against the funding the trade
union federation's "Solidarity Center" receives from the NED. [The NED
also funds the The International Republican Institute, the National
Democratic Institute, and the Center for International Private
Enterprise (Chambers of Commerce)] Click here for the flyer used to
promote this event.
All in all the conference was an exhilirating and energetic event,
with the hundreds of delegates leaving with a sense of having
participated in the beginning of what we hope will become a truly
broad network that will successfully defend Venezuela's revolutionary
process against foreign intervention. It was a terrific opportunity to
meet hundreds of other grassroots solidarity activists from around the
world, to learn from their experience, and to share ideas about taking
the Venezuela and Latin America solidarity movement to the next level.
What Next? Building the Venezuela Emergency Response Network
So where do we go from here? Hands Off Venezuela supports fully the
actions committee proposal to build a Venezuela Emergency Response
Network (ERN), which was aproved by acclamation by the final plenary
session of the conference. Several organizations and individuals are
working to coordinate and develop the ERN. The ERN will link up tens
and hundreds of thousands of people around the world in order to
respond to provocations against Venezuela both large and small.
The first tier would be the coordination of email, phone, and related
campaigns in response to Venezuela-related legislative initiatives,
media disinformation, and inflammatory rhetoric from persons in the
public eye.
The second tier would involve calls for and the organization of public
demonstrations in response to critical provocations and interventions
such as coup or assassination attempts, electoral manipulation,
economic sabotage, or invasion by either the U.S. or its proxies.
For example, if Pat Robertson were to again call for Chavez'
assassination, we could coordinate a massive email / fax / phone call
/ letters-to-the-editor response. If there are more serious
provocations, we will have a network and plan in place in order to
mobilize on the streets against it.
We encourage all our readers and supporters to learn more about the
ERN and to get in touch with us in order to start building a
far-reaching ERN in order to respond on a massive scale to any and all
provocations against Venezuela. For more information, please contact
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need
Javascript enabled to view it . Click here for a printable petition
for use in building the ERN.
Calendar of Grassroots Venezuela Solidarity Actions
As part of doing local outreach to build the ERN, and following on the
success of the December 2, 2005 international day of action to
commemorate the anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, the Venezuela
Solidarity Conference also approved a Grassroots Calendar of Actions
in order to coordinate solidarity activities around the country and
around the world. The first action is:
April 11-19, 2006
WEEK OF ACTION TO COMMEMORATE THE REVERSAL OF THE APRIL 2002 COUP AND
VENEZUELA'S STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE: April 11 is the anniversary of
the 2002 U.S.-backed coup against the democratically-elected
government of Hugo Chavez. By April 14, in an unprecedented example of
the power of the grass roots, the Venezuelan masses had reversed the
coup and brought President Chavez back to power. This event marked a
decisive turning point in the revolutionary process. March 19 is the
anniversary of the start of Venezuela's Struggle for Independence.
During this week, we will organize demonstrations, educational, and
cultural activities in solidarity with Venezuela.
We encourage all those who oppose US intervention in Venezuela to
build for this and the other Calendar of Actions events. By
coordinating our activites around certain key dates, we can maximize
our impact on a national and international scale. April is coming
soon, but there is still plenty of time to organize a public film
showing, a discussion on Venezuela, a house party to raise money for
the development of the ERN, etc. on at least one of these days. In
some cities, events are already being planned for several if not all
of those days. Be sure to contact the local media to inform them of
your events, as there is nothing better to combat the normally
negative coverage of Venezuela than positive grassroots actions.
Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spam
bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it to endorse the April Week
of Action and to give us the details of your local events.
Coordinating the ERN and the Calendar of Actions will require
tremendous effort and collaboration by hundreds of organizations and
individuals across the US, Canada, and the world. We are raising money
in order to hire someone part time to coordinate this important work.
We invite you to make a donation of any amount through the Hands Off
Venezuela Campaign in order to build the ERN. All donations are
tax-deductible, please feel free to contact us for more information.
Donations can be sent to:
HOV
PO Box 4244
St.Paul, MN 55104
We also accept donations online at:
http://www.ushov.org/content/view/16/27/
The Venezuela Solidarity Conference and the formation of a Venezuela
Solidarity Network (VSN) are important steps in the growing movement
of solidarity with the people of Venezuela. Despite differences among
some of the delegates as to how the VSN should be organized and
implemented, we are hopeful that it will develop into a truly broad
solidarity movement. In our opinion, the most positive aspect is the
commitment by a number of young and working class activists to build
and promote the ERN and Calendar of Actions at the grassroots level.
Hands Off Venezuela is committed to energetically developing this
work.
Now more than ever, we need to educate and raise awareness about
events in Venezuela, combat the lies of the mainstream media, and
build solidarity between Venezuelan workers and youth and the workers
and youth of the world. To get involved with the Hands Off Venezuela
Campaign, the implementation of the Calendar of Actions, and the
building of the ERN, please contact us at This email address is being
protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .
*
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