People's Democracy

Delhi Meeting Pledges Solidarity With Venezuela 

HELD at New Delhi on January 22, a broadbased meeting has pledged solidarity with the government and people of Venezuela, who are fighting the US attempts to bring the country back into its sphere of influence. Addressing the meeting that was organised by the Third World Studies Centre at the Constitution Club in Delhi, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat stressed the necessity of wide forums of solidarity with the struggle of the people of Venezuela, when President Hugo Chavez visits India soon. Karat, who was recently on a tour to Venezuela, asked for understanding the overall context in which Chavez was fighting the machinations of the US imperialists who bag is full of subterfuges. The speaker also outlined the land reforms and other pro-people measures initiated by the Chavez government and its striving for alternatives economic policies.

Sentiments of solidarity came from all the three speakers --- Achin Vanaik (Delhi University), Sidhartha Varadharajan and John Cherian (journalists) --- all of whom recently visited Venezuela. 

Most of the speakers outlined how Chavez withstood all pressures against maintaining close ties with Cuba. They recalled his successive victories despite a variety of funds flowing to stop his advance.

There was unanimity that new forces had been unleashed in Venezuela and that it was an experiment worth watching with all its pitfalls, as it had not yet consolidated. The speakers also spelt out the constant churning and re-churning in Latin America, as also the emergence of leftist and other radical forces in the continent.

The speakers spoke of the difficult situation in which Chavaz was discharging his duties as president, with 86 per cent of the population being urban and in dire poverty. (INN)