Hands Off Venezuela

On Tuesday 9th May the Jorge Martin speaking tour stopped in Vancouver, Canada. 85 people packed into the room to hear Tamara Hansen (Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba) and Jorge Martin (International Secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela Campaign) speak at a forum titled “Hands Off Venezuela and Cuba!”

The room was filled over capacity forcing some to stand at the back of the room or sit in the aisles.

Tamara outlined the fantastic social gains made by the Cuban revolution and poked fun at the hypocrisy of the American government which fights its so-called “War on Terrorism” while harboring Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. She also stressed the importance of defending Cuba from imperialist aggression and capitalist restoration. Jorge Martin spoke in detail about the developing revolution in Venezuela and the advance of the worker and peasant movements throughout Latin America. Jorge drew an enthusiastic round of applause when he explained that there is no third way; there is no such thing as a nicer, friendlier capitalism. He finished by saying that the best way we could help the Venezuelan and Cuban revolutions is to fight for socialism in Canada. This was followed by a lively discussion and question period.

The large attendance at this meeting shows that the Latin American revolution is a topic that is attracting a lot of attention. The keen crowd raised over $200 to help pay for the cost of the Jorge Martin speaking tour. This bodes well for the future of the solidarity movement in Vancouver.