The Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network’s (AVSN) "People's Power” speaking tour by Daniel Sanchez, a leader of the Rebirth of the South Commune in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, and Yoly Fernandez, a community organiser in Mission Mercal, Venezuela's subsidised food program, was a great success, helping to strengthen Australian solidarity with Venezuela's people and revolution.
The tour began with Daniel and Yoly’s participation as guest speakers at the Latin America Solidarity Conference 2009. The conference, held at Victoria Trades Hall on August 28-29, was initiated by the AVSN and organised by a coalition of Latin America solidarity organisations.
Daniel and Yoly spoke in two conference sessions: Daniel spoke on a plenary panel titled “Latin America as alternative: new models of economic, social and political power”, and both Daniel and Yoly spoke, along with visiting Venezuelan revolutionary youth leader Heryck Rangel at a feature session on “The Venezuelan revolution: achievements and challenges”.
The following day, August 30, Yoly and Daniel participated in the 2009 National Consultation of the AVSN, joining an information session and answering questions on the political situation in Venezuela, together with Heryck Rangel.
On Monday August 31, Daniel and Yoly met with Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Victorian state secretary Stave Dargavel, where they briefed him on the current situation in Venezuela and in detail about the communal councils and commune process. The AMWU Victorian branch is affiliated to the AVSN.
Later that day, Yoly and Daniel traveled to the regional city of Geelong, where they addressed an AVSN-organised public forum held in Geelong Trades Hall. “We are here in Australia as community activists but also as working-class activists”, Daniel told the Geelong audience of around 25. “We want to explain how Venezuela's communal councils were formed and the new proposal for socialist communes.”
He described the origins of the communal councils in neighbourhood committees which began to be set up in Venezuela in the 1960s and ‘70s, but whose development was held back by right-wing parties and governments in the 1980s and ‘90s. He explained that in south Valencia, a progressive Catholic youth group in which he was involved played an important role in community organising in the early days. After President Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, the idea of communal councils developed, based on the experiences of past neighbourhood committees.
After the new law on communal councils was passed in 2006, the process developed, with 30,000 communal councils now formed in the country, he said. He went on to outline the more recent development of experimental communes as organisations to coordinate the work of 20 or more communal councils in a municipality.
Yoly described the work of Mission Mercal as “making sure that food gets to the people”. It is part of the revolutionary government’s plan for national food security, and works with food co-operatives to ensure that food is cheaper and available to the whole population. She also talked about Mission Sucre, which provides tertiary level education to students outside the traditional education system. “Students are taught to apply their classroom learning in their communities. That is, we are socialist students”, she explained.
On Tuesday September 1, Daniel and Yoly joined a 7000-strong trade union march and rally for occupational health and safety in Melbourne. They were warmly welcomed by workers at the protest, and expressed their solidarity with Australian unionists.
That lunchtime, they addressed students at a forum at Melbourne University co-sponsored by the socialist youth organisation Resistance.
On Wednesday September 2, Yoly and Daniel flew to Adelaide, where they spoke to 30 people at a public forum organised by the AVSN at the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union South Australia offices (the AMWU waived the venue hire fee in support of the tour). The forum was strongly supported (in organisation and attendance) by the FMLN committees.
On Thursday September 4 they attended the EarthSong Aboriginal Healing Pathways Foundation Open Day, organised by a local Indigenous activist and AMWU member. They also held discussions with the Romeros (liberation theology and solidarity activists), who also took them on a tour of a day-care centre, a health clinic and a food garden. The Romeros pledged a donation to a program of Daniel and Yoly's choice, and interviewed them for Romeros’ newspaper, Adelaide Voices.
While in Adelaide they also did interviews with Radio Adelaide Community Radio and there is interest from two local Spanish-language programs for more material on Venezuela to broadcast.
They then flew to Brisbane. On Friday September 4, in the Queensland Council of Unions auditorium, 40 people joined Australian Indigenous leader Sam Watson in welcoming Daniel and Yoly. “We welcome you as brother and sister and extend our solidarity to your struggle, as I know you do to ours”, Sam Watson said. The crowd then sang revolutionary songs with local Guatemalan activist Leonor Orellana.
At the Brisbane forum, Daniel said about the new communes in Venezuela, “The proposal is in the hands of the people, and with each of these councils comprising of 25 spokespeople for each community, we can say it makes up a great social battalion.”
Yoly inspired the audience with her account of the gains for women in Venezuela. Before the revolution, she said, the greatest illiteracy rates were among women and only 4 to 5% of women had the opportunity to participate in politics. Inspired by President Chavez’s call of “Yes I can!” from the Mission Robinson campaign, women have been given the opportunity to have an equal say in politics, illiteracy has been eradicated and the opportunity to take on further education has opened up for women. Yoly said, “Our president has declared himself a feminist and supports all developments for women”.
Daniel and Yoly expressed their pleasure to be in Australia to share their struggle, and said they hoped to build further solidarity, urging forum participants to visit Venezuela with an AVSN solidarity brigade and see the revolution themselves.
As well as working hard for solidarity while in Brisbane, Daniel and Yoly managed to squeeze in some sightseeing, koala cuddling, souvenir shopping and relaxing (including sampling fish and chips out of paper, pavlova and vegemite on toast!).
On Saturday September 5, they addressed a meeting of Resistance members, talking about the role of young people in the Venezuelan revolution, and young women especially. Daniel shared his experiences as someone who developed from “street kid” to revolutionary community leader.
That evening, they met with activists from El Salvador’s FMLN and Guatemala’s URNG organisations in Brisbane.
On Sunday September 6, Daniel and Yoly visited the Northey Street City to see some community organising in action. They chatted with some farmers present who are very much in solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution, and a Northey Street committee member gave them an overview of how the City Farm is organised and its program of activities. They then participated in a discussion (of about 12 people) at the Chai Café.
The Brisbane visit finished up with a lunch at the home of AVSN members Debeihl and Richard (who had met Daniel and Yoly as Brigadistas last December).
On September 7, Yoly and Daniel traveled to Canberra where they attended a lively reception at the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, hosted by Ambassador Nelson Davila.
On September 8, they addressed an AVSN-organised public forum of around 40 at the Canberra Civic Library, where they reported on the development of popular organisation in Venezuela.
After returning to Sydney from Canberra, Daniel and Yoly then traveled to the regional city of Newcastle, where they spoke on September 10 at a meeting of the Newcastle Trades Hall Council.
Later that evening they addressed an AVSN forum of around 25 held at the Suspension Cafe. Daniel told the audience, about half of whom were young people, that as part of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela “we are beginning to implant community organisations so that the people become the government. People are electing their own leaders to carry out their own projects.
“We are dreaming that we can raise the consciousness of the people so that they can oversee the public works of the communities. We have had many positive experiences, in regard to public transport, construction of houses, and other services such as lighting and water supplies”, he said.
”We are generating a whole system of participation that allows Venezuela to be a reference point, not only for Latin America but the whole world.” Daniel and Yoly then gave detailed answers to questions about strategies for fighting bureaucratic tendencies, where to next for Mission Tree, the specifics of Mission Mercal, confronting domestic violence, the problem of capitalist media and other questions.
The final leg of Daniel and Yoly’s tour was in Sydney. Around 60 people packed into the Sydney Resistance Centre on Saturday September 12 for the AVSN forum with Yoly and Daniel.
On Sunday September 13, they had an informative discussion with Greens local councillors from Burwood, Marrickville and Canterbury councils over afternoon tea.
During the following week, they met with a range of Latin American community activists, trade unionists, students on two campuses, Greens local councillors. Later that afternoon, they gave greetings to the Latin American community, at Casa Latina in Marrickville, and then gathered for a social event with members of the Latin American Social Forum.
On Tuesday September 15, Daniel and Yoly presented a seminar to students and staff in the International Studies Department at Macquarie University. That afternoon, they met with Andrew Ferguson and Mal Tullock, NSW state secretary and assistant secretary of the construction division of the CFMEU at the union’s offices in Lidcombe. All participating in this meeting pledged to develop future solidarity activities between Venezuela and Australia.
On Wednesday September 16, Yoly and Daniel visited a National Tertiary Education Union picket line at the University of NSW, where they spoke to and expressed their solidarity with the striking workers.
On the morning of September 17, the Maritime Union of Australia organised a visit to the docks at Port Botany, where Yoly and Daniel gave greetings to the maritime workers there, and were warmly received. The unionists passed resolutions of solidarity with Venezuela, and pledged support for the struggle of the Venezuelan and Latin American peoples.
While they were in Sydney, Daniel and Yoly also addressed a forum for students and staff at the University of Western Sydney (Bankstown) and a meeting with the NSW Teachers Federation.
Welcoming Daniel and Yoly to the farewell party hosted by the MUA on September 17, MUA state secretary Paul McAleer said that the Maritime Union had a long history of supporting struggles in Latin America. “The threats of the US against Venezuela need to be opposed. International solidarity is one of the most beautiful principles of socialism”, he told the audience of about 50.
Venezuelan Ambassador to Australia Nelson Davila told the gathering, “Across the Latin American continent, the revolution continues. The proposed seven new United States bases in Colombia are a direct threat to Venezuela. But, just as we fought and won against Spanish colonialism in the past, we’ll defeat US imperialism now.” Cuban consul-general Nelida Hernandez said: “The US has plans to overthrow President Chavez in Venezuela. We must remain vigilant and united against these attacks.”
“I feel very sad to be leaving, but happy and proud to receive your great gift of solidarity with the people of Venezuela and Latin America," Daniel told those at the farewell. “We will take back these shared experiences of internationalism to our people in the [Rebirth of the South] Commune in Valencia.” Yoly added: “At all the meetings we have had in Australia, we have felt great support for Venezuela and Latin America. Please raise your hands for the unity of the peoples of the world.”
Daniel and Yoly left for home on Friday September 18, enthusiastic about their experiences in Australia and keen to spread the word in Venezuela about the development of international solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution.
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