As opposition violence claims ten lives in Venezuela, the social media machine has gone into over-drive, borrowing images from all over the globe to paint the Bolivarian revolution as repressive and dictatorial. On 22 February Supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Group rallied at Grey’s Monument in Newcastle upon Tyne, challenging the international media propaganda that is being used to attack the fight for socialism unfolding in Venezuela.
Venezuelan reactionaries mobilise in Newcastle upon Tyne
The opposition represent the interests of the elite who are desperate to reverse the concrete gains of the working class under the Bolivarian Revolution that has slashed levels of extreme poverty, provided free health care and education for all, built hundreds of thousands of houses, developed thousands of social projects and is building a real transformative democracy of the working class through socialist communal councils and comunas.
They are desperate to preserve their luxurious lifestyles and share of private profits in the economy. Throughout the years the opposition have shown they will stop at nothing in their attempts to topple the Bolivarian government, from coups and assassinations of their own supporters to economic sabotage and calls for direct US military intervention.
In direct contrast to our solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution, the representatives of this privileged elite also mobilised on the streets of on 22 February. A group of around 15 international students from Latin America, clad in designer clothes and sunglasses, gathered to demand and ‘end to violence and scarcity’. These so-called champions of peace and stability had nothing to say about the opposition’s role in promoting this violence and scarcity, refusing to acknowledge the use of false images and media manipulation exposed in our placards.
linking the fight against austerity in Britain to the fight for socialism in Venezuelalinking the fight against austerity in Britain to the fight for socialism in VenezuelaOur rally easily thwarted the opposition students mobilisation as we made the connection between the fight for socialism in Venezuela, with the fight against austerity here in Britain that is seeing families faced with eviction and homelessness at the hands of the vicious bedroom tax . The fact is Venezuela, alongside socialist Cuba, is spearheading a movement for socialism across Latin America, challenging imperialism and neo-liberal exploitation, demanding dignity and human development. The Bolivarian Revolution remains a beacon of hope and inspiration for movements across the globe.
Viva Venezuela! Defend the fight for socialism!
As we set out in our documentary and pamphlet ‘Viva Venezuela – Fighting for socialism’ , we live in a world dominated by crisis, imperialist war and exploitation. We are told there is ‘no alternative’ to cuts, privatisation, hunger and homelessness. The Bolivarian Revolution illustrates what can be achieved when governments and people, working together, put human need before capitalist profits. Despite Chavez’s death in March 2013, the process is being built every day by millions of Venezuelans, working to create a society built on collective, socialist organisation and production. In that conscious struggle the spirit of Hugo Chavez lives on. As the capitalist crisis bites in Britain, Venezuela provides an inspiring example of how the fight against austerity can develop into a fight for socialism. This is why it is important to defend the Bolivarian Revolution on the streets of Britain, Venezuela illustrates that not only is another world possible, but this world is being built today in Latin America!
