“This May Day will be the first in Venezuela since Trump’s deadly, illegal assault on the country.”
By Matt Willgress
As has been written about more here, this May Day will be the first in Venezuela since Trump’s deadly and illegal assault on the country (which killed over 100 people) – and the accompanying kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro – on January 3. It will also see massive mobilisations from trade unions and others in the country against the extensive and crippling US sanctions which continue to do so much damage to the country.
It also takes place at a time of months of heightened solidarity activity here in Britain with Left forces in Venezuela and across Latin America, including from trade unions. At the time of the January attack, unions such as UNISON, the NEU, the GMB, Prospect and the RMT condemned the war.
The TUC issued a statement saying it “joined the ITUC and ITUC-Americas in expressing our ‘absolute and unequivocal rejection’ of the US military attack in Venezuela, and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores,” adding that “this is a clear breach of international law, the UN Charter, and of Venezuela’s sovereignty.” And the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) totally condemned “the illegal attack on a sovereign nation.”
In light of this, Venezuela’s main TUC-equivalent (the CBST, ‘Bolivarian Socialist Trade Union Central’) has recently both thanked the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign and trade unions in Britain for their solidarity against war and sanctions, and emphasised the importance of this solidarity continuing, even when Venezuela is not so prominent in the headlines.
Specifically, the CBST – which brings together nineteen national trade union federations, including in sectors as diverse as oil, public services, transport and many others – has written to the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign to convey “fraternal and combative greetings from the CBST on behalf of the Venezuelan working class, which today more than ever is resisting imperialist aggression with dignity.”
Noting the opposition of Britain’s trade union movement and over 40 parliamentarians to Trump’s war, they say that “Your commitment is a beacon of hope and a call for global unity of the working class in the face of imperialist oppression.”
Then explaining the situation facing the workers and people of the country, the letter (which can be read in full here) goes on to say that “The Yankee attack on Venezuela, in addition to violating our sovereignty, has left a deep wound due to the criminal murder of more than 100 people, including military personnel and civilians, and the kidnapping of the president and his wife, carried out with cold cruelty and fascist motivations,” before adding that “It is a difficult situation to manage, but we are certain that we can count on the support of our people and international solidarity to achieve their freedom, for which we need the maximum international effort.”
Two prominent militants of the CBST also send extended video recordings to a recent solidarity event online entitled “Voices from Venezuela,” (which can be viewed in full here.)
In the first, CSBT President Wills Rangel argues that the organised working-class will remain central to Venezuela’s fight for national sovereignty and self-determination, saying “We have endured everything and now we are leading the way,” before concluding with a calls for an end to Trump’s show trial of Nicolas Maduro.
In the second, young workers’ organiser Yusbelys Ramirez says how important it is for international movements to hear Venezuelan voices explaining what is really going on, and calls out external intervention in the country, saying that people remain vigilant, have demonstrated “great resilience” in the face of sanctions and war, and are continuing to mobilise.
As well as strong international links with trade union and solidarity activists here in Britain, the CBST has received solidarity from across Latin America, the Global South and beyond in recent months, including from the World Federation of Trade Unions, which in March again expressed its “internationalist solidarity with the workers and people of Venezuela” and “reaffirmed that its solidarity with the Venezuelan people was expressed without hesitation and is not occasional.”
Mobilisations against sanctions as part of a “national vigil” have already been taking place for some weeks, and May Day’s actions promise to be even bigger. They will also, of course, coincide with other demonstrations across Latin America and the Caribbean, including Cuba’s legendary May Day parade, taking place against a backdrop of increased hostility, threats and intervention from the war-mongering Trump.
This May Day, here in Britain and internationally, solidarity campaigners, trade unionists and others must continue their support for Venezuela’s right to determine its own future by backing calls for the full ending of the US economic blockade, demanding the return of the gold being illegally held by the UK, and being part of international campaigns against Donald Trump’s show trial of Nicolas Maduro.
- Join the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign at www.venezuelasolidarity.co.uk/join
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