Montréal rally in defense of Bolivia and Venezuela

On Saturday, September 20th, about 30 people participated in a rally against US Imperialism in front of the American consulate in Montréal. The rally was organized by the Societé Bolivarienne du Québec/Hands Off Venezuela in response to the US-backed coup plots uncovered last week in Bolivia and Venezuela.

The protesters carried placards in English, French and Spanish with slogans such as "Defend the Revolution from Santa Cruz to Caracas" & "Hands Off Bolivia" and broke into enthusiastic chants of "Solidarite! Québec avec Amerique Latin!" ("Québec in Solidairty with Latin America!")

Dozens of fliers were handed out to interested passers-by. These outlined the American-backed coup plots & the subsequent violent attacks on Bolivian natives and peasants by reactionary opposition gangs. Several cars & city buses honked in support.

Ricardo Astudillo & Ted Sprague of SBQ/HOV addressed the crowd in French & English. They explained how the US was trying to undermine the democratic mass movements that were restoring sovereignty to their countries and improving the lives of working people. Sprague mentioned that similar protests were taking place at American embassies & consulates across Canada and throughout the world. Laurent Barbot of Haiti Action Montreal also spoke, pointing out the consistent pattern of American intervention throughout the hemisphere to secure subservient governments, including the continuing presence in Haiti.

The reactionary violence continues to unfold in Bolivia. Please visit www.sbqc.org or www.handsoffvenezuela.org for updates and future actions