"There is no doubt: The government of Mr. George W. Bush was behind the coup."
Hugo Chavez, February 17, 2004.

We, as solidarity activists in the United States, look attentively to the social movements in Latin America as the revolutionary spirit increases: Argentina’s protests, Bolivian campesinos’ defeat of Bechtel, the Landless Workers movement’s rise in Brazil. In Venezuela, we look to the Bolivarian Revolution, where President Chavez has mass support for his radical program, from a new constitution to local organising.

Already aware of the potential gains of the movement in Venezuela, many of us watched in horror in April 2002 as yet another U.S.-supported coup d’etat ousted a progressive leader from power, replaced him with a U.S. puppet, and began the attack on a popular movement. The use of CIA-backed right-wing coups against radical regimes in Latin America is nothing new. We remember the ousting of President Arbenz in Guatemala and Salvador Allende in Chile, which in both cases led to mass violations of human rights, tens of thousands of people killed or disappeared, and on-going civil strife.

Witnessing this tactic again was not surprising. Watching the coup fail was. The failed coup attempt in Venezuela in 2002 confirmed three important things. First, that the Bolivarian Revolution is strong and the people will maintain both their Process (‘el Proceso’ is the term for the revolutionary process) and their president. Second, that the U.S. continues its attempts to destroy any government of which it disapproves through violations of international law. Third, that U.S. imperialism can be defeated.

A group of Bay Area activists and community leaders watched the coup unfold and fail as a result of the mobilisation of the Venezuelan people. In response, we formed the Venezuela Solidarity Group and planned the first delegation to travel to the Bolivarian Republic. The delegation was not only a fact-finding mission, as it also aimed to denounce the U.S. backed-coup and serve as an act of solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution and its anti-imperialist victory.

Since the coup attempt, Venezuela has suffered the disastrous effects of $8 billion lost to the sabotage of an economic coup -- the bosses “general strike” of December 2002 -- a continuous media assault by the opposition-owned corporate media, the constant threat of a referendum to remove Chavez from office, and repeated accusations by the U.S. government of Venezuelan “support for terrorism.”

In this hostile environment, the Chavez administration and the Bolivarian Revolution continue to uphold their revolutionary aims. Thousands of Cuban doctors have been brought in to expand the health care system, often working in the poor ranchos and barrios where Venezuelan doctors rarely tread. There has been a 30 per cent decrease in infant mortality. Public school enrollment has increased by 1 million children. Teachers are paid at their highest rate ever. Economic development continues in the poorest communities, and the number of cooperative economic projects has mushroomed from 800 to 40,000.

The implementation of land reform and distribution will benefit 1.2 million of the most disenfranchised people. The formation of tens of thousands of locally organised Bolivarian Circles, community groups that facilitate continuous study of the new constitution and other community organising, has helped the pursuit of social justice to persevere. As with all struggles against the oppressive forces of racism, classism, and sexism, solidarity with the Venezuelan Process is an extension of our own local and national work. Supporting it is supporting a mass movement directed by a base of poor people of colour. Journalist Greg Palast has described the struggle as “blondes vs. brunettes”, with the fairer-skinned having been the traditional beneficiaries of the country’s oil wealth.

Venezuela encourages the Bolivarian aims of a broad movement seeking international unity, specifically calling for a more integrated Latin American economy. In the context of globalisation, unity based on cooperation and participation is a direct challenge to neo-liberal policy. Venezuela provides a strong example of what developing nations can do to resist the forces of globalisation. Venezuela positions itself against the expansion of the WTO, Chavez having declared that “Venezuela isn't obliged to comply with the regulations of the World Trade Organisation because it and other developing nations face unfair trade practices by industrialized countries.”

Uncovering the facts and educating ourselves about Venezuela is the first step in building solidarity. It is a direct challenge to the opposition’s international media assault. The coup and continued undermining of Venezuela’s democratic process is based on the misinformation and anti-Chavez propaganda that inundates Venezuela and contributes directly to shaping the U.S. public’s perception. Remember that in this country we were told that Chavez had resigned.

In this time period, demonstrating solidarity with Venezuela is imperative on a variety of levels. It is a basic rejection not only of the specific coup attempt and anti-Venezuela rhetoric but of U.S. foreign policy founded on the philosophy of imperialism, first world entitlement, and unchecked aggression. Anything less condones the U.S. legacy of Latin American intervention. We have failed to successfully protect and support movements in the past, and bear responsibility now.

The presence of U.S. citizens in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela proves the international public support of the revolution and demonstrates the divide between the force of the U.S. government and the will of its people. In the face of unilateral force and the massacre of Iraqi civilians, we must remind the world that the U.S. public disagrees with its government’s policy. As the Bush regime claims to wage a war in our name, we must continue to resist U.S. policy and intervention across the globe. By maintaining a presence in a country that has been the victim of a coup attempt we align ourselves against continued U.S. intervention and expansion and challenge the notion of unwavering support from an apathetic American public.

The Bay Area Venezuela Solidarity Group has now sent its second and third delegations. The next delegation is scheduled for summer 2004. For more information, contact venezuelasolidarity@hotmail.com.

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