“Solidarity can’t be an afterthought – it has to run as a thread through everything we do.”
Sarah Woolley, BFAWU General Secretary
By Ben Hayes, reporting for us at #TUC2025
On Sunday lunchtime in sunny Brighton Gawain Little, General Secretary of the GFTU, welcomed TUC delegates and local residents to the first fringe of this year’s TUC – ¡Viva la Solidaridad! Stand with Latin America Against Trump. Chairing the meeting, he highlighted that, as the world goes through major crises, there is both a necessity and opportunity to stand with, and learn from, those in Latin America demonstrating new ways forward for the left.
The meeting, organised by the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC), along with a range of solidarity campaigns including Justice for Colombia, Brazil Solidarity Initiative, Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America, Argentina Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Ecuador, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign Action Group and Arise – a Festival of Left Ideas, heard from Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BWAFU) General Secretary Sarah Woolley– who affirmed that, with the constant drumbeat of US hostility to progressive governments in Latin America: “Solidarity can’t be an afterthought – it has to run as a thread through everything we do. Our struggles are the same – the fight for justice and dignity. An injury to one is an injury to all”. Sarah also highlighted the two-way relationship of solidarity , and that through it “We strengthen not just their struggles [in Latin America], but also our own here”.
Phil Liptrot from Thompsons Solicitors, sponsors of the meeting, outlined how proud Thompsons were of their stance on international solidarity, and went through how the experiences of advancing workers’ rights in Mexico and Colombia have a great deal to offer the British trade union movement as we seek to strengthen our rights here. It was separately highlighted later in the meeting how Mexico has, for example, ended the outsourcing and sub-contracting of workers. Phil also stated the need to end the damaging US blockade and sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela, and for an end to what is happening in Gaza. Both were repeatedly mentioned throughout the meeting by speakers, keen to draw attention to the levels of destruction that sanctions and blockades are wreaking on various countries.
This point was also made later in the meeting by Natasha Witham, who had been on a National Education Union delegation to Nicaragua- where the failed coup attempt of 2018, financed by the US, killed around 2,000 people. She outlined some of the destruction that took place, and how sanctions are continuing to cut off access to vital funds needed to continue investing in health, education and other infrastructure. Natasha also spoke of how inspiring it had been to visit a country where education is prioritised by the government, and of how rooted in local communities schools are with children taking a direct role in their schools. Such programmes are how Nicaragua has seen an over 20% fall in illiteracy.
Earlier in the meeting, speakers had highlighted how such amazing achievements were being put in jeopardy by the actions of the US, with a risk of countries being returned to violent hard-right regimes as we saw in Brazil under Bolsonaro and now in Argentina. Francisco Dominguez, VSC Secretary, underlined the gravity of the situation in Latin America as Trump ramps up not just his rhetoric but his actions, with Venezuela in particular being targetted. Recent weeks have seen the US send a war fleet of 4,000 troops to the edge of Venezuela’s territorial waters and doubling the ‘bounty’ for the arrest of President Maduro to $50million- in effect, a push for regime change. As well as the continued sanctions on Venezuela and other countries, there has also been a stark increase of US military bases across the region.
This was also emphasised in the contribution of Colombian trade unionist Trina Chavarría of the CUT Federation, who had spoken of the increased US militarisation of the region and how military action against Venezuela risked sparking continental conflict: “we know very well the imperial interests of North America is in Venezuela’s oil”. This theme was returned to later in the meeting with the audience and speakers joining the call of ‘No War on Venezuela: No Blood for Oil”. Trina also highlighted that as well as within the region, solidarity with the Palestinian people is a key priority for progressive forces.
- You can follow the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (VSC) on Facebook and Twitter/X.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
