Gema Belandria - successful visit to HoV Finland

Report of the visit by Venezulean revolutionary socialist Gemma Belandria to Finland

"It was fantastic to us, having Gema visiting us. We learnt so much from her, and we are more enthusiastic about Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution than ever", says Rauni Salminen from HoV Finland .

Gema Belandria, a revolutionary socialist, working as an advisor to the Venezuelan government and one of the architects behind "Carta social de las Américas", has just finished a successful Scandinavian tour ending in the rainy but politically hotter Finland.

gema_belandria.jpg She had only Friday and Saturday at her disposal but manage to make the most out of it. On Friday she talked at a social organized by Pand (Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament). Many who never heard about the revolutionary process in Venezuela was given a first hand account of the events.

Gema talked about the whole process, starting from Caracazo in 1989, she was just as fascinating as the film Revolution will not be televised, comments Rauni. On Saturday she spoke to an audience close to 50 in tent located at the Suomen Rauhanpuolustajat festival.

On Saturday it rained cats and dogs, and we were all quite tired, yet Gema gave a very good speech. All in all, it was a beautiful experience for us. We all love Gema, and hope to se her here again, maybe to organize something bigger, given a longer time to organize it, concludes Rauni.

The visit from Gema Belandria did not only inspire new activist for the Venezuelan revolution, but the story of Gema's visit will be reflected in the left wing press in Finland who up until now has been too silent about Venezuela.