Hands Off Venezuela up and running in Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

Hands Off Venezuela participated in two very successful events in Calgary, Alberta recently. Calgary, known as a stronghold of right wing ideas in the country, is a city in which a powerful elite has prospered from huge profits from the oil industry in Alberta. However despite being the only debt free province in Canada many Albertans are not feeling the benefits of this prosperity. Hands Off Venezuela has been working hard to promote the ideas of the Bolivarian Revolution to workers and youth in Alberta receiving endorsements from numerous notable organizations and unions including the Alberta Federation of Labour. With a strong foothold in Edmonton the campaign has now spread to Calgary starting with two events in one week.

The first was organized by the Parkland Institute with HOV as a co-sponsor and featured Jonah Gindin – a Canadian journalist who lived in Venezuela for a year and a half while writing for venezuelanalysis.com. On the topic Sowing the Oil: Venezuela’s revolutionary oil policy is building a more comprehensive democracy, Gindin elaborated on the shift in Venezuela’s oil policy since Chavez has been in power and how the increased government revenues due to high oil process and increased royalty rates have been spent on social programs aimed at benefiting the majority living in poverty. After the speech was delivered there was time for some questions and discussion about the applicability of Venezuela’s oil policies to Alberta, which is among the world’s top ten oil producers. The evening then concluded with Phil Goebel, a provincial organizer for HOV making a quick announcement about a free documentary screening of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” in Calgary later that week. About 50 people came to this event and despite a small handful of anti-Chavistas trying to derail productive discussion important points were made about the Alberta government squandering oil resources and how Albertans could learn a lot from the Venezuelan experience.

A couple days later, again about 50 people, this time more youth, came to the film screening. Phil Goebel gave an introduction to the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, its activity in the province so far, as well as a brief introduction to the film. The film received a very enthusiastic response and not one person left immediately after the film was over as everyone was curious for more information. A summary of events since the April 2002 coup was given by Goebel and then he went on to speak about the current challenges that the Bolivarian Revolution faces. Questions and discussion afterwards led to the situation in Alberta and the current mismanagement of our oil resources. Lots of interest was also expressed about future HOV events and activities. Tremendous help was given by a student group in Calgary called the “Socialist Action Front” who provided the space and equipment to show the film, this dedicated group of youth are representative of the growing energy that the city of Calgary is inadvertently nurturing as aspects of the status quo are being questioned.

It is not by coincidence that the ideas that the Bolivarian Revolution represents are finding such a warm welcome across Alberta. The current provincial government has shown itself completely incapable of managing the vast amount of wealth in this province. Many Albertans are beginning to understand that there are alternative options when it comes to managing our wealth. Venezuela represents an extremely important example to discuss, debate and ultimately, work towards. Although Venezuela’s example can not be followed like a formula, the ideas can be applied to the Alberta context. Hands Off Venezuela is playing a key role in providing a forum where these ideas can be discussed and the importance of the campaign is being recognized by many organizations and communities in Alberta. Many more events and activities are planned for Calgary and Hands Off Venezuela speakers and events are beginning to be requested in Alberta’s rural communities – this is the heart of right-wing conservative country, and HOV’s presence is yet another indicator of a growing dissatisfaction of the Alberta government that exists among many Albertans.