No To Sanctions! No To the Coup! No To War! U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!
This past Saturday, March 16, demonstrations took place around the world in solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution and the people of Venezuela to say “Hands Off Venezuela!”
From in front of the US consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Argentina and Brazil, and in the United States in Washington DC, Seattle and Los Angeles, advocates for democracy and national sovereignty met to denounce the US led coup and economic sanctions.
(Socialist workers parties protest in front of the US consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa. March 16, 2019.)
(Washington DC, March 16, 2019)
(Protesters beginning their march at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, March 16, 2019.)
Many prominent anti-war activists and human rights defenders participated in the event. All of them echoed a similar message: That economic sanctions kill, and that this attempt to usurp democracy in Venezuela is only the latest attempt of US imperialism attempting to crush socialist movements abroad.
Events and demonstrations like these are important because it sends the powerful message that ordinary citizens recognize the threat posed by this intervention in Venezuela, both for the people of Venezuela and for themselves.
As sanctions continue to strangle the Venezuelan economy, and war is threatened from the north, the people of Venezuela need to know that there are people willing to make a stand for them all around the world.
The Chavista movement is the biggest threat to the US imperial order, and along with Venezuela’s rich natural resources, it makes it a target of the big businesses that run Washington.
We mobilize to say no the sanctions, no to the coup, and no to a new war in Latin America.
Chavez Vive, la luche sigue!
b.j.c. 