Day of Joy in Brussels

Yesterday more than 70 people joined in a picket-party to celebrate the re-election of President Hugo Chavez in front of the Venezuelan Embassy for Belgium, Luxemburgh and the EU. On a typically cold Belgian night a bit of Bolivarian heat was felt in the streets of Brussels.

The 70 plus people that attended were called by a group of organisations that have organised a day of solidarity for Saturda,y December 9 in the centre of Brussels. This event will have amongst others Ruben Linares from the UNT, Gregory Wilpert, Delcy Rodriguess a Venezuelan government spokespersons and trade union leaders from the two main Belgian trade unions ACV-CSC and ABVV-FGTB.

At the picket a Hands Off Venezuela member, Erik Demeester, spoke about the importance of Chavez's victory and how this helps the development of the struggle for a Socialist Latin America. Some other people from solidarity organisations and political groupings took the microphone and a short but intense assembly followed. Some Venezuelan journalists interviewed a few people and you can read them in aporrea.org. (http://www.aporrea.org/venezuelaexterior/n87465.html)

The Ambassador, Alejandro Fleming, welcomed the demonstrators clenched fist and shouting "Long live the Bolivarian Revolution" and "Love live the people of Venezuela".

Then we all entered into the Embassy to watch the speech that Chavez had made hours before when he announced that the main battles ahead are against the bureaucracy and corruption, people in the room cheared those remarks. After some more shouting and some juice, the ambassador explained the work of the Embassy in the last few weeks agains the media campaign of lies that the Oppossition had undertaken. Amongst other things he explained how a former diplomat had gone to Parliament invited by the Spanish Popular Party saying that he was a Venezuelan MP (which was a lie) and saying also that the level of repression in Venezuela is horrible. Thankfully the good work of the Embassy was able to stop some of those lies.

After the speeches some more shouting and singing of Ali Primera followed and more leaflets to prepare for the Day of Solidarity were given away.