Successful screening of “No Volveran” in Copenhagen

This April marks the 7th anniversary of the coup in Venezuela. The coup was organised by the oligarchy in Venezuela with the aid of US Imperialism. But the triumph of the reactionaries was short. Less than 36 hours after the beginning of the coup, it collapsed. The masses spontaneously took to the streets to defend the democratically elected president and government.

This episode marks a very important point in the Venezuelan revolution. The masses took the role as the main actors of the revolution.

To commemorate this, the Venezuelan embassy in Copenhagen invited to a commemoration event on April 17 to show the film "No Volveran". 40 people attended the meeting and the screening of the film. "No Volveran" was produced by activists of the Hands off Venezuela campaign and it has been shown to thousands of youth and workers across the world. It has also been screened on national television in Venezuela recently.

The charge d'affaires of Venezuela, Dr. Roger Corbacho, welcomed the guests. He stressed the need to discuss the processes in the Venezuelan revolution. He highlighted the film as a good documentation of the living processes in the revolution. He said that he might not agree with all points made in the film, but that the main thing is to continue and broaden the discussion on how to advance the revolution.

Representatives from the Hands off Venezuela campaign in Denmark were invited to introduce the film. Rasmus Jensen, national coordinator of the campaign, said that it is very important to discuss the revolution for several reasons. One reason is that the masses of Venezuela are facing decisive actions and turning points in order to complete the revolution. Another reason is the inspiration the revolution gives to workers and youth in the rest of the world. He said that only by spreading the ideas of the revolution it can be defended. That is to say, the best way to defend the Venezuelan revolution in Denmark is to win people to revolutionary ideas and fight for socialism.

"No Volveran" shows what a revolution is

Rasmus Jensen explained that the film shows what a revolution is in practice. A revolution, he said, is when the majority moves in a decisive manner to transform society; when they take destiny into their own hands and become conscious of their own role in society.

But the film also shows that the revolution has not won decisively yet. The revolution has made big steps in the right direction, but there are still many unsolved problems and challenges. The bulk of the economy is still in private hands, and the capitalists use their power to sabotage the revolution. As long as the economy is not controlled by the masses of Venezuela, none of the gains made so far is secure.

Debate of the film

The film was well received by the 40 guests, among whom were the ambassadors of Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Also, activists from the Hands off Venezuela campaign and the Danish-Cuban Friendship Association were present. Several of the guests had comments and questions about the film and the situation in Venezuela. Charge d'affaires Dr. Roger Corbacho led the debate and expressed his view of the situation in Venezuela. He is very interested in the situation of the occupied factories and he said that the struggles of these factories cannot remain isolated.

The ambassador of Bolivia praised the film and found it very inspiring. He said that although the conditions in Bolivia are different than in Venezuela (for instance Bolivia is poorer and has inherited generations of oppression of the indigenous people), the workers' struggle to change society - as pictured by the film - bears relevance across borders.

The Hands off Venezuela Campaign would like to send warmly thanks to charge d'affaires Dr. Roger Corbacho and the staff at the Venezuelan embassy in Copenhagen for arranging such a splendid meeting and a good debate. We look forward to working together in the future. We hope that more arrangements like this will be held in the future to discuss the tasks of the revolution, strengthen the solidarity work in Denmark, and spread the revolutionary ideas among the Danish workers and youth.