T&G Banner hailed by Venezuelan compatriots in Caracas on May 6th

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Thomas B Claydon TGWU Tour of Venezuela 13/06/06

Three delegates from the TGWU Ford Branch toured the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela last month, to see first-hand the reforms taking place. They travelled in order to fortify solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the administration of Hugo Chavez.

The three delegates, Roderick Finlayson, James Brinklow and Terry Turner, were accompanied by Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC) coordinator Andy Goodall, who organised the tour.

The weeklong trip was timed to “give solidarity to the workers of Venezuela over the May Day period” said Andy Goodall. As well as joining the march, the party met with many officials, grassroots workers and supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution. There were also several TV and radio interviews conducted with the delegates, spreading the message of solidarity to millions of Venezuelan people.

The group shared their time between the capital, Caracas, and the city of La Victoria, some 60 miles away in Aragua State. In Caracas, a meeting with Professor Jose Angel Arenas gave the party detailed insight into the social organisation in the barrios and the 2002 coup and the oil industry sabotage of 2002-2003. Venezuelan National Assembly Deputy (MP) Augusto Montiel invited the delegates to a tour of the Assembly Buildings, which included a warmly received visit to the Assembly itself.

The TGWU members met with representatives of the National Workers Union (UNT), who were eager to strengthen ties with British trade unions and organise exchanges. Rod Finlayson said: “Speaking with ordinary workers in

Civic Military union

cooperatives in Caracas demonstrated to us that workers’ cooperatives were being established across Venezuela”. Visiting a Mosque in Caracas presented the opportunity to discuss the international climate for Muslims. In Venezuela, Muslims enjoy complete freedom of expression, encouraged by the Chavez government; nevertheless, they said they feel the pressure from the US even there.

In eastern Caracas, the delegates attended consultations between Deputies of the National Assembly and people at grassroots level. The full participatory democracy being practiced there “makes a mockery of ‘standard representative democracy’ as practiced in the UK and US” said Finlayson.

The group visited La Victoria, invited by the city’s mayor, Dr Rosa Leon, and the Fifth Republic Solidarity Committee. Here, a meeting with the local ID registrar revealed that the recent drive to register all eligible voters took the electoral population of Venezuela from 10 million to 14 million. Goodall said: “One of the sayings in Venezuela is ‘pollsters don’t climb hills’ – they weren’t encouraged to vote’. Until now.

Again, meetings were held with representatives from Venezuelan trade unions, bolstering the solidarity links and providing the opportunity for unions to learn from one another. Goodall said: “the workers there are in a revolutionary situation and are much more active not just inside trade unions but in the missions as well, tackling illiteracy and so on”. The administration of Hugo Chavez has created many missions, providing jobs, education, welfare and medical support to hitherto excluded communities. 16 million of a population of 26 million people are studying at primary or high-school level and 18 million are covered by the new National Health Service.

McDonalds Logo in Venezuela - The neo-fascist opposition use black

The TGWU delegates met with Lieutenant Colonel Solorano at Montilla Barracks and were given greater insight into the military-civilian partnership which underpins the social revolution.

Cuban doctors have helped to set up rehabilitation centres and local diagnostic clinics where drugs and treatment are supplied free of charge, and the latest, high-tech equipment is provided. At the University Village in La Victoria (there are now many throughout Venezuela) doctors are trained before going out to the grassroots medical modules that have been created across the country. A meeting was held in La Victoria’s town square, and cheers of ‘Long live the British people’ greeted Finlayson and Goodall’s speeches.

In Zuata parish, the ‘Tree of Three Roots Centre’ exists as part of a programme to provide the country with food sovereignty and tackle unemployment. Here eight cooperatives work together to cultivate crops. The government has provided a US$650,000 loan, along with a tractor and two buses, which are shared with the 150 disabled pupils of a local school. In one village a stream is being bridged, aided by the first government help seen there since 1942.

TGWU Banner attracts attention

Before the end of the tour there was time to visit Llaguno Bridge, the scene of the alleged ‘massacre of Caracas’ at the start of the 2002 coup, where reactionary forces attempted to overthrow the democratically elected Chavez. In the build up to the coup, snipers murdered several people who were marching in support of Chavez, leading to an exchange of fire at the bridge. Some of these images were captured in the award-winning documentary film ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. Goodall said the visit was: “chilling in many ways, but inspiring to be in the same spot where the workers attempted to defend their president. The bridge should be a workers’ icon.”

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