Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
The Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela is an "unprecedented revolution in participatory democracy", Leonel Vivas, Venezuelan ambassador to Australia, told an audience of around 70 people on August 7.
When Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998, and re-elected by a large majority in 2000, he "promised to carry out a national project in justice, in participatory democracy, and in a better distribution of the country's wealth. He said he would push ahead with a revolution, one of the very few cases in which a president or other national leader has kept their word after they're elected", Vivas told the public forum.
"Now, three years later, Chavez is calling on the people for re-legitimation. And shortly we will find out the result of the recall referendum, which is a confrontation between the supporters and opponents of the revolutionary process in Venezuela."
In the August 15-16 referendum, up to 60% of voters supported Chavez.
Vivas quoted Chavez as saying, "The only way to overcome poverty is to give power to the people. The people of Latin America are rising up again and no one can stop them. The only way to achieve our goals is by revolution."
A lively discussion followed, in which Vivas took up questions relating to the nature of popular involvement in the Bolivarian revolution, the development of a revolutionary party in Venezuela, the role of the army, the situation of women and solidarity between the Venezuelan and Cuban peoples.
The public forum was organised by Australian Solidarity with Latin America (ASLA), and co-sponsored by the Committees in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean (CISLAC), the Socialist Alliance and the Communist Party of Australia.
On August 15, on the eve of the recall referendum, another 60 people attended a presentation on the Venezuelan revolution by Coral Wynter, who spent three months in Venezuela earlier this year. The event was organised by Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly.
The most important event Wynter witnessed was the 500,000-strong May Day march, which celebrated the creation of a new trade union organisation.
The diverse crowd at the meeting included many from the peace movement, migrants from Latin America and Iraq as well as farmers from Northey Street City Farm, who are considering organising a tour to Venezuela to study the government's organic farming and urban hydroponics programs. As at Vivas' meeting, discussion ranged widely over a number of topics, including the role of the Catholic Church, the role of the Venezuelan Armed Forces and the election of parliamentarians to the National Assembly. Organisers, pleased with the $700 raised for GLW, pointed out that the forum indicated that Australians were interested in offering solidarity to Venezuela.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, August 25, 2004.
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