Remembering Chavez

http://www.venezuelasolidarity.co.uk/the-inaugural-hugo-chavez-memorial-lecture-with-tariq-ali/

The comrades from the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign deserve congratulations‎ for organising the first Hugo Chavez memorial lecture this evening.

Tariq Ali spoke to a packed lecture theatre at the School of Oriental and African Studies, explaining the background and origins of the Bolivarian revolution and ‎identifying it's global historical significance.

‎With the tentacles of US imperialism manipulating their puppets in the Venezuelan opposition against the Government in the hope of destroying a beacon of hope to the world it is an important time to renew solidarity with progressive forces in Latin America.

‎Being reminded of the gains being made by the left in America's own "backyard" is also an important antidote to the depression which can easily set in when considering European politics - which Tariq Ali persuasively characterised as dominated by the "extreme Centre " (which is the coming together of the "centre-right" and "centre-left" around neo-liberal consensus - and which is "extreme" for the foreign wars it has waged and for the domestic war it fights against its own people under the banner of austerity).

‎When your "day job" is all about acting locally it's good to be challenged to think globally from time to time.

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Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the EE network.