Hands Off Venezuela tackling poverty at the G8 summit

The Hands Off Venezuela campaign had a good presence in today’s anti-G8 protests in Edinburgh. A couple of London based supporters joined their comrades in Edinburgh to inform the protesters about what is happening in Venezuela. 

“Make poverty history” was the main slogan visible in the Meadows where a wide range of groupings gathered. Primarily the finger was pointed to the terrible plight of African people dying from starvation. Hands Off Venezuela tried to focus on the miserable conditions people in Latin America are forced to live in. At the same time the campaign also tried to bring the message that a real change is possible and that this change is being implemented in Venezuela. Whilst the majority of the population still live in poverty, it is clear that the Bolivarian revolution has shaken the country from top to bottom and has brought about a considerable improvement to the lives of ordinary people. The literacy programs, access to healthcare for poor people, land reforms have all served to tackle poverty in a very rich country where the majority of the people have nevertheless been living in deep poverty for ages.

Our intervention, however, was not merely to cheerlead the formidable achievements that have been made through the revolution. We had very lively debates with interested people discussing the history of the country, the events surrounding the 2002 coup and most importantly, the way forward. What are the lessons to be learnt from the last few years? Since president Hugo Chavez repeatedly stated that capitalism cannot be reformed and that we have to go forward to socialism, this issue proved a very interesting point of debate.

Plenty of our leaflets were distributed, books, pamphlets and DVDs were sold, raising more than 100 pounds in total. An amazing number of people signed the Hands Off Venezuela appeal and expressed their interest to get involved and to stay updated about the Venezuelan revolution.

The Hands Off Venezuela campaign had a good presence in today’s anti-G8 protests in Edinburgh. A couple of London based supporters joined their comrades in Edinburgh to inform the protesters about what is happening in Venezuela. 

“Make poverty history” was the main slogan visible in the Meadows where a wide range of groupings gathered. Primarily the finger was pointed to the terrible plight of African people dying from starvation. Hands Off Venezuela tried to focus on the miserable conditions people in Latin America are forced to live in. At the same time the campaign also tried to bring the message that a real change is possible and that this change is being implemented in Venezuela. Whilst the majority of the population still live in poverty, it is clear that the Bolivarian revolution has shaken the country from top to bottom and has brought about a considerable improvement to the lives of ordinary people. The literacy programs, access to healthcare for poor people, land reforms have all served to tackle poverty in a very rich country where the majority of the people have nevertheless been living in deep poverty for ages.

Our intervention, however, was not merely to cheerlead the formidable achievements that have been made through the revolution. We had very lively debates with interested people discussing the history of the country, the events surrounding the 2002 coup and most importantly, the way forward. What are the lessons to be learnt from the last few years? Since president Hugo Chavez repeatedly stated that capitalism cannot be reformed and that we have to go forward to socialism, this issue proved a very interesting point of debate.

Plenty of our leaflets were distributed, books, pamphlets and DVDs were sold, raising more than 100 pounds in total. An amazing number of people signed the Hands Off Venezuela appeal and expressed their interest to get involved and to stay updated about the Venezuelan revolution.