Successful Hands Off Venezuela meeting at Berlin's Humbolt University
- 26 January 2006
Some 60 people attended a film screening of "The revolution will not be televised," of whom around 30 remained to debate. A full, comprehensive and interesting discussion on various issues was held with many people intervening.
The first wished to know how the Church in Venezuela has reacted to the revolution. It was pointed out that the leadership of the Catholic Church is hostile to the revolution and Chavez, but that Chavez considers himself a Christian and often uses Christian iconography. For decades the Church in Latin America has been split between progressive and reactionary forces.
A few expressed concern about the "cult of personality" surrounding Chavez, but could not concretise this feeling of unease; it was pointed out that Rosa Luxemburg is still celebrated on the German left nearly 100 years after her murder. The speaker responded by outlining how Chavez relates to the masses, both feeding off each other, Chavez seems to gather strength from the masses, and senses their moods and impatience for more rapid change.
A recent visitor to Venezuela pointed out that there is a very significant and noticeable participation of the masses in the revolutionary processes and organisations, that Latin America has very stark class contradictions, which shape the attitude of the masses. He felt that the main criticisms inside the pro-revolutionary camp in Venezuela are that the process is advancing too slowly.
An older man spoke to point out that in 1953 Mossadeq in Iran was overthrown by CIA action, that Chile was the same, that imperialism has no respect for democratic processes.
The speakers explained that the contradictions of the world are obvious simply by juxtaposing the events of today. In Davos the world’s rich and powerful are gathered the better to plunder the world, in Caracas activists from all over the world are gathered to say, not "another world is possible," but "another world is necessary."
A woman asked what we could concretely do to support the revolution. It was pointed out that the Venezuelan revolution has passed from being bourgeois democratic to socialist, and that the main problem we confront is ignorance about the revolution, its achievements, it’s enemies and objectives which are nothing less than Latin American and World Revolution.
We have to fight to ensure that everyone knows about the revolution, that the Venezuelan revolution is made the primary question for the left everywhere. We must win the Trade Unions in Germany, the Left Party, even the Greens and Social Democrats. Our main work now is to inform the students and youth to support the Revolution. This woman later approached the information stall at the end of the meeting and identified herself as a former student of Bertolt Brecht, Käthe Reichel. She immediately donated 50 Euros to the campaign and is due to fly to Venezuela with a delegation of the Trade Union IGMetal in February. "Marxism is coming back" she said with an air of certainty. She asked what works of Brecht are available in Venezuela and explained she has sent Chavez a framed poem by Brecht.
A Colombian PHD student who participated in the formation of the student movement at the Humboldt University at the time of the East German revolution, promised to assist us in our work. Some 20 people asked to come to future meetings and several expressed the desire to participate actively in Hands Off Venezuela.
Berlin Hands Off Venezuela are planning a series of events in the Universities and with the left youth organisation Solid, and other left groups, to place Hands off Venezuela on the map in Berlin and Eastern Germany.
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