TUC delegation to Venezuela - report back meeting
- 12 June 2006
PRESS RELEASE FROM HANDS OFF VENEZUELA
CALLING NOTICE: Debriefing from members of the TUC delegation to Venezuela on Wednesday June 14 at 7pm at the NUJ headquarters (308 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1, nearest tube: Kings Cross).
Since the visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to London last month, there has been an upsurge in interest about his country's "Bolivarian Revolution," among activists, trade unionists and the general public alike.
During the whirlwind two-day trip, the left-wing leader met and spoke to grass-roots supporters, the TUC general council, sympathetic MPs, the mayor at a celebrity lunch in City Hall and the business community at the Canning House annual lecture.
The following week, the TUC sent its first official delegation to Venezuela, which met with President Chávez and trade union leaders, as well as other representatives of the country's social movements.
Members of the delegation participated in the second national conference of the new trade union federation, the UNT, which was created as an alternative to the discredited CTV federation.
The CTV conspired with the major bosses' group Fedecamaras to bring down the democratically elected government in the two-day April 2002 coup and during the 10-week-long bosses' lockout six months later, which was inaccurately portrayed as a "general strike."
On both occasions, the privately owned media was used to destabilise the country and create unrest. National Union of Journalists general secretary Jeremy Dear addressed the UNT conference on behalf of his union.
Mr Dear discussed launching a media initiative with President Chávez, which aims to facilitate exchanges of information between journalists in the two countries and encourage direct links between media organisations.
He will be speaking at a report-back debriefing on Wednesday June 14 from
7pm at the NUJ headquarters in London, organised by solidarity campaign Hands Off Venezuela.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The meeting begins at 7pm on Wednesday June 14 at the National Union of Journalists headquarters, 308 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1 (nearest tube: Kings Cross).
Hands Off Venezuela is a broad-based solidarity campaign founded over three years ago to promote support for President Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela.
For more information, please visit www.handsoffvenezuela.org and contact Rodrigo Trompiz on 07811 217188 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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