Joint meeting against imperialist intervention in Latin America

A successful public meeting on the Latin American Revolution, organised jointly by four solidarity campaigns, was held in Central London following the Stop the War rally on Saturday 15 March.

The meeting had been called by Hands Off Venezuela, Colombia Solidarity Campaign, the Movement of Ecuadorians in the UK and the Bolivia Solidarity Campaign, as a response to the military incursion launched by the Uribe government of Colombia against Ecuador and the renewed threat of imperialism.

About 70 people packed the meeting room and heard speakers from the different campaigns describe how the struggle of workers and peasants in Latin America for a better society is opposed fiercely by imperialism and the few hundred wealthy families who control the economy and dominate the privately-owned media in these countries.

Fidel from Movimiento Ecuador Reino Unido (Movement of Ecuadoreans in the UK)

Fidel from Movimiento Ecuador Reino Unido (Movement of Ecuadoreans in the UK) explained how the people of Ecuador are very good at said at getting rid of bad presidents, but up until now have not been very good at getting a good one in. He explained the different steps through which Rafael Correa came to power against the opposition of all traditional parties, the oligarchy and the media.

Jorge Martin from Hands Off Venezuela, explained the latest threats of imperialism against the Bolivarian revolution: Exxon's legal case against PDVSA, the attempt by Bush to list Venezuela as a "terrorist" country and the on-going campaign of sabotage of the economy on the part of the oligarchy. He also made an appraisal of the recent congress of the newly formed PSUV, in which the revolutionary democratic spirit of the Bolivarian rank and file had made itself heard loudly, despite attempts of the bureaucracy to silence it. He warned that the 100 families which compose the oligarchy have largely lost political power but still have economic power. The other danger which faces the revolution, he said, is the internal bureaucracy and the right wing of the Bolivarian movement who block the revolutionary initiative of the people and many times the rulings of the president himself.

Andy Higginbottom and Juan Gabriel from the Colombia Solidarity Campaign spoke next. Andy started by explaining how two activists had been detained by the police during the Stop the War demo just for chalking slogans on a building. He then went on to explain that the right wing government of Uribe in Colombia was groomed as imperialism's staunchest ally. Uribe himself was educated in Harvard and Oxford. Juan Gabriel gave a detailed explanation of the mood of fear and intimidation which prevails in Colombia against any form of left wing activity. He gave examples of how bosses gave their workers time off to attend the February 4^th demonstrations against the FARC organised by the government and the right wing, while 4 of the organisers of the March 6^th demonstrations against paramilitarism and violence had been shot dead.

Jorge Martin from Hands Off Venezuela

Amancay Colque from Bolivia Solidarity Campaign also spoke explaining how the issue of "autonomy" which had been raised in Santa Cruz and other provinces was used by the right wing in order to undermine the Evo Morales government but above all to keep control over the rich gas and oil fields in this region. She also explained the limitations of the Constituent Assembly and how the oligarchy used also the issue of the capital city to divert attention from the main point which was land reform.

During the discussion a number of very good points were made. For instance the issue of coal mining in Zulia, which would negatively impact the livelihoods of indigenous communities was one which showed the contradiction between Chavez and the bureaucrats on the ground which had links with the coal multinationals. In response to this Jorge Martin also mentioned the SIDOR steel workers strike which had been repressed by the National Guard.

There was also discussion about the issue of narco-trafficking which Andy Higginbottom explained is clearly linked to the interests of the ruling class in Colombia. A common thread of the discussion was that we should not forget that the multinationals which are exploiting these countries are based in Europe and the US, so it was not just solidarity which was required but also a struggle against the system that creates these conditions. Jorge Martin made the point that the struggle for socialism should not only take place in Latin America but also in Britain.

At the end a collection was made that covered cost of the meeting room. There was a general feeling that the meeting had been a  good example of cooperation between the different solidarity campaigns, something that needed to continue in the future.

Andy Higginbottom from the Colombia Solidarity Campaign

Juan Gabriel from the Colombia Solidarity Campaign

Amancay Colque from Bolivia Solidarity Campaign

Listen to the Audio files of the meeting:

Ecuador: Fidel
Venezuela: Jorge Martin
Colombia: Andy and Juan
Bolivia: Amancay Colque
Discussion

Links to the other campaigns:

Movimiento Ecuador Reino Unido (Movement of Ecuadoreans in the UK)
Colombia Solidarity Campaign
Bolivia Solidarity Campaign