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Hands Off Venezuela meetings in Paris, Toulouse and Portes-l

Coinciding with the anniversary of the February 27, 1989 uprising in Venezuela, La Riposte organised a very successful speaking tour in France with Jorge Martin of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign. The activities were organised together with the Bolivarian Circles of Paris and Toulouse and in Portes-lès-Valence by the local section of the Communist Party.

The first meeting was in Paris on March 1st, and took place in the headquarters of the Communist Party of the 10th District, and was hov_france1.JPGchaired by Daniel Yegres, president of the Paris Bolivarian Circle. The meeting room was completely packed with about 60 people present despite the very cold weather. This is the 3rd time meetings on the Bolivarian Revolution have been organised in these premises, so quite a lot of the people present were already acquainted with the events. Nevertheless, the recent turn in the Venezuelan revolution in which Chavez has openly raised the need to go beyond capitalism and move in the direction of socialism made it a particularly enthusiastic gathering. There were a number of comrades from the local Communist Party section in audience, including the branch secretary Jean-Pierre Leroux, who is an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign. The collection raised around 120 euro, and 40 copies of different pamphlets on the Venezuelan revolution produced by La Riposte were sold.


The next meeting took place on Thursday, March 3rd at the University of Toulouse (Le Mirail) and was organised jointly with the local Bolivarian Circle, which was established after the previous meeting of the campaign there in November. The meeting was chaired by Christophe Cambefort, a member of the Tolouse Bolivarian Circle and the secretary of the local Young Communist branch. More than 130 people filled the amphitheatre and again were very interested to hear about the latest developments in Venezuela, including the nationalisation of Venepal under workers’ control, the speeding up of the land reform, the question of socialism raised by Chavez and the renewed campaign of Washington against the Bolivarian revolution. There were many questions dealing with a wide range of issues, including the relationship between Venezuela and Cuba, the actions of the Colombian government, land reform, the Bolivarian University, the World Festival of Youth and Students in Caracas this coming August, etc. A collection was held at the end, and as in Paris, quite a lot of pamphlets on Venezuela (including one on Chavez’s speech at Porto Alegre by Alan Woods, and on the nationalisation of Venepal) were sold. A follow up meeting of the Bolivarian Circle has already been planned in order to continue the campaign. mirailtoulouse.jpg


Finally, the meeting organised in Portes-lès-Valence by the local Communist Party section and chaired by its secretary Pierre Trapier, was particularly interesting. More than 30 people turned up at the George Brassens municipal meeting hall, including a number of PCF members and CGT trade unionists. For most of them this was the first time they had heard about the Venezuelan Revolution, and they were particularly interested to hear Jorge Martin explain the unfolding of the Bolivarian movement since its origins, which can be traced back the brutal suppression of the February 27th, 1989 uprising. Just about all the people present signed up to get involved in the Hands Offhov_france3.jpg Venezuela Campaign, and the idea of creating a local Bolivarian Circle was enthusiastically taken up. This work will be coordinated by Maxence Fay, a young member of the PCF in the area and supporter of La Riposte. In the course of the debate, a CGT member raised the question about the need to campaign within the trade union movement in France in order to gain recognition for the recently created UNT trade union confederation in Venezuela. We particularly would like to thank the PCF members in Portes-lès-Valence for the extremely warm, friendly and hospitable way in which they received us. Coinciding with the anniversary of the February 27, 1989 uprising in Venezuela, La Riposte organised a very successful speaking tour in France with Jorge Martin of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign. The activities were organised together with the Bolivarian Circles of Paris and Toulouse and in Portes-lès-Valence by the local section of the Communist Party.

The first meeting was in Paris on March 1st, and took place in the headquarters of the Communist Party of the 10th District, and was hov_france1.JPGchaired by Daniel Yegres, president of the Paris Bolivarian Circle. The meeting room was completely packed with about 60 people present despite the very cold weather. This is the 3rd time meetings on the Bolivarian Revolution have been organised in these premises, so quite a lot of the people present were already acquainted with the events. Nevertheless, the recent turn in the Venezuelan revolution in which Chavez has openly raised the need to go beyond capitalism and move in the direction of socialism made it a particularly enthusiastic gathering. There were a number of comrades from the local Communist Party section in audience, including the branch secretary Jean-Pierre Leroux, who is an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign. The collection raised around 120 euro, and 40 copies of different pamphlets on the Venezuelan revolution produced by La Riposte were sold.


The next meeting took place on Thursday, March 3rd at the University of Toulouse (Le Mirail) and was organised jointly with the local Bolivarian Circle, which was established after the previous meeting of the campaign there in November. The meeting was chaired by Christophe Cambefort, a member of the Tolouse Bolivarian Circle and the secretary of the local Young Communist branch. More than 130 people filled the amphitheatre and again were very interested to hear about the latest developments in Venezuela, including the nationalisation of Venepal under workers’ control, the speeding up of the land reform, the question of socialism raised by Chavez and the renewed campaign of Washington against the Bolivarian revolution. There were many questions dealing with a wide range of issues, including the relationship between Venezuela and Cuba, the actions of the Colombian government, land reform, the Bolivarian University, the World Festival of Youth and Students in Caracas this coming August, etc. A collection was held at the end, and as in Paris, quite a lot of pamphlets on Venezuela (including one on Chavez’s speech at Porto Alegre by Alan Woods, and on the nationalisation of Venepal) were sold. A follow up meeting of the Bolivarian Circle has already been planned in order to continue the campaign. mirailtoulouse.jpg


Finally, the meeting organised in Portes-lès-Valence by the local Communist Party section and chaired by its secretary Pierre Trapier, was particularly interesting. More than 30 people turned up at the George Brassens municipal meeting hall, including a number of PCF members and CGT trade unionists. For most of them this was the first time they had heard about the Venezuelan Revolution, and they were particularly interested to hear Jorge Martin explain the unfolding of the Bolivarian movement since its origins, which can be traced back the brutal suppression of the February 27th, 1989 uprising. Just about all the people present signed up to get involved in the Hands Offhov_france3.jpg Venezuela Campaign, and the idea of creating a local Bolivarian Circle was enthusiastically taken up. This work will be coordinated by Maxence Fay, a young member of the PCF in the area and supporter of La Riposte. In the course of the debate, a CGT member raised the question about the need to campaign within the trade union movement in France in order to gain recognition for the recently created UNT trade union confederation in Venezuela. We particularly would like to thank the PCF members in Portes-lès-Valence for the extremely warm, friendly and hospitable way in which they received us.

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