News

7 June 2007. by Federico Fuentes from Greenleft Weekly

Under the banner of “For freedom of speech and against imperialism”, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas on June 2 in defence of their revolution, and as a direct response to the domestic and international campaign being whipped up by Washington in the wake of the non-renewal of Radio Caracas TV’s (RCTV) broadcasting concession, dwarfing all of the opposition marches that had occurred in preceding days.

8 June 2007. Stuart Munckton from Greenleft Weekly

The corporate owned- and controlled-media’s accounts of recent events in Venezuela give the impression that a new student movement is fighting for their democratic rights against an increasingly autocratic government. This is testimony to the way the corporate media turns reality on its head — making the victim look like the aggressor and vice versa.

Caracas, June 8 (ABN).- In an exclusive interview published this Friday by the Folha newspaper of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, assured that not renewing the concession to the 1 Broadcasting Caracas (1BC) Group «is as democratic as giving it».

In his declarations, Lula pointed out that the subject should not be ideologized and he held that: «The same State giving a concession is the State that could not give it. Chávez would have acted violently if after the coup d’état failed (in 2002) he would intervened that television channel».

By Frederico Fuentes and John Cleary - brigade organisers

Composition of delegation

5 members of Electrical Trades Union (ETU) 2 from Vic, 1 from WA, 2 from QLD, officially representing the ACTU
1 Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) Vic in personal capacity
1 Rail, Bus and Tram Union (RBTU) from NSW in personal capacity
2 Australian Services Union (ASU) WA and Vic in personal capacity
1 National Union of Workers (NUW) NSW in personal capacity
2 solidarity activists from QLD
1 PhD student from England
1 organiser/translator

Activities of the delegation

ABN 07/06/2007

Caracas, June 7 (ABN).- After the withdrawal of the opposing university students from the National Assembly, before the end of the session accorded for this Thursday, students from diverse Venezuelan universities presented their vision to the Legislative Power about the national sovereignty with the radio-electric spectrum, the quality of the education, and the soundness of the ideas of those who question the legitimate actions of the National Executive.

Sujatha Fernandes, June 06, ZNet

After gathering proposals during a six-week trip around the country, members of Bolivia’s National Constituent Assembly met on April 30, 2007, to present the proposals and draft recommendations for synthesizing these proposals into a new constitution. As in Venezuela, where a new constitution followed the swearing in of leftist president Hugo Chávez, hopes were high for constitutional reform in Bolivia that could alter entrenched inequalities and facilitate the inclusion of indigenous majorities into society.

Saturday, May 26, 2007. By: Chris Carlson, Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, May 26, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Several major Venezuelan journalists have received all-expenses paid trips to the U.S. for courses in an apparent effort of the U.S. State Department to influence the media in Venezuela, according to recently released documents. The Venezuelan-American attorney Eva Golinger, who released the information yesterday in a press conference in Caracas, also revealed evidence of a destabilization plan against the Chavez government to take place this weekend.

29th May. Socialist Worker (UK). by Joseph Choonara

Nobody should shed any tears over the refusal of the Venezuelan state to renew the license of the RCTV television station.

The howls of outrage from the right over "freedom of speech" ignore the role the station played in April 2002, when it helped to launch a violent coup against democratically elected president Hugo Chavez.

RCTV helped mobilise supporters of the coup in the streets, falsely claiming that Chavez's supporters were shooting at opposition demonstrators.

31 May 2007. Stuart Munckton from Greenleft Weekly

Venezuela has been facing the most sustained campaign of destabilisation, including a barrage of media lies internationally and violent riots inside Venezuela, since the last serious attempt to overthrow the left-wing government of Hugo Chavez in 2004.

1 June 2007. by Peter Robson. from Greenleft Weekly

The Latin America and Asia Pacific International Solidarity Forum (LAAPISF) in Melbourne on October 11-14 will be attended by one of the most important and interesting leaders of the Venezuelan revolution — Comandante William Izarra.

Izarra was a leader of the underground revolutionary organisation that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez led inside the armed forces. When Chavez formed a new party — the Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR) — to contest the 1998 presidential elections, Izarra was its first national director.