"Hands off Venezuela" welcomes Chávez in Vienna

President Chávez arrived in Vienna yesterday, May 11, ahead of the EU-Latin America summit which takes place today. However, Hugo Chávez will not only be speaking with Europe's "high society" and political leaders. He will also be speaking to the workers and youth of Austria. Last night around 200 activists welcomed him with a militant "¡Rumbo al socialismo!" – "Forward to socialism!"

In the short space of a few days activists of the Hands off Venezuela campaign, the socialist youth and the Marxist tendency Der Funke, as well as a number of other supporters of Chávez organised a militant demonstration to show their solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. After giving several short interviews to the press, Chávez turned to the activists who had come out to greet him chanting revolutionary slogans such as "El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!" and "¡Rumbo, rumbo, rumbo! ¡Rumbo al socialismo!" Chávez raised his fist to the crowd in salute.

He then spoke to Emanuel Tomaselli, the co-ordinator of the Hands off Venezuela campaign in Austria. Chávez said: "The poor, the workers, the women - in the 21^st century, these suppressed layers of society will put into practice the ideals of my youth of the 1960s." He went on to greet Alan Woods, the editor of www.marxist.com and the leading figure of the International Marxist Tendency, as well as the Venezuelan trade unionist Rubén Linares of the UNT. He confirmed his presence at the Hands off Venezuela and Cuba rally tonight in the Arena Wien in Vienna.

Over the previous few days all main Austrian newspapers carried articles on Hands off Venezuela and announced tonight's meeting. Hugo Chávez, Alan Woods, Aleida Guevara and Rubén Linares will address the rally. Due to the high public interest in the event a large video screen will be placed in front of the building which will bring the rally to the people who will have to stay outside. More than 50 journalists from all over the world will be present and cover the meeting. This rally could mean a major breakthrough for the solidarity movement with the Bolivarian revolution in Austria.

Please see this article in German which contains more photos and video of the day’s events.