Venezuela Solidarity Campaign is a British political organisation which expresses support to the

Bolivarian Revolution The Bolivarian Revolution is a political process in Venezuela that was led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The Bolivarian Revolution i ...

and campaigns against its threats. Its Scottish section is known as the Scottish Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (SVSC).

Aims

According to the campaign, its aims are: *To defend Venezuela’s sovereignty and independence. *To support the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future free from external intervention. *To provide accurate and up-to-date information in support of democracy and social progress in Venezuela. *To defend the achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution. *To support and build activity around these objectives throughout Britain, within parliament, regional and local government, the trade unions, amongst women, lesbian and gay communities, black, Asian and Latin American communities, students and all others.

Activities

The VSC was established in 2005 in response to an attempted military coup against the then President of Venezuela,

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

. It sought to promote and strengthen links between trade unionists in Britain and Venezuela, organised solidarity tours to Venezuela, and promoted awareness of the Bolivarian Revolution through a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, ''The Revolution will not be Televised''. From 2009 the group promoted another documentary DVD, ''Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela'', directed by Pablo Navarrete. Following the death of Chávez in 2013, the campaign continued its work in support of his successor as President,

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...

. The activities of the VSC and SVSC in 2015-16 included maintaining websites with extensive information about the situation in Venezuela; organising conferences, lectures and other events; publishing a magazine, ''Viva Venezuela!''; maintaining a social media presence, and seeking to influence parliamentarians and others.

Key people

Honorary president

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

, former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP and

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

(2000-2008)

Patrons

Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987. A member of the Labour Party, she served in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Sh ...

MP for

Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney North and Stoke Newington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1987 by Diane Abbott of the Labour Party, who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 6 October 2016 to 5 April 2020. Abbott was o ...

Kelvin Hopkins Kelvin Peter Hopkins (born 22 August 1941) is a British politician. He was first elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Luton North in 1997. Hopkins was suspended by the Labour Party in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct were ...

, former

MP for Luton North *

Bruce Kent Bruce Kent (22 June 1929 – 8 June 2022) was a British Roman Catholic priest who became a political activist in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and held various leadership positions in the organisation. Early life Born on 22 June 1929 ...

, political activist and former Priest *

Ann Pettifor Ann Pettifor (born February 1947) is a British economist who advises governments and organisations. She has published several books. Her work focuses on the global financial system, sovereign debt restructuring, international finance and sustai ...

, academic

Former patrons (due to decease)

Rodney Bickerstaffe Rodney Kevan Bickerstaffe (6 April 1945 – 3 October 2017) was a British trade unionist. He was General Secretary of the National Union of Public Employees (1982–1993) and UNISON (1996–2001), Britain's largest trade union at the time. He la ...

was a patron until his death in 2017.

Affiliates

Trade union bodies affiliated to the VSC include the Southern and Eastern TUC (SERTUC), Yorkshire and Humberside TUC and Camden

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

. Individual unions affiliated include Unite the Union, the University and College Union, the National Union of Teachers, the Public and Commercial Services Union, ASLEF,

BECTU The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU), formerly the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following th ...

BFAWU The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union (BFAWU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1847 in Manchester, it represents workers in the food industry. History The union dates its origin to 1847. The Manchester Friendly Association ...

, CWU, FBU, GMB, MU, Napo,

NUM Num may refer to: * Short for number * Num (god), the creator and high god of the Nenets people of Siberia * Short for the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible * Khnum, a god of Egyptian mythology * Mios Num, an island of western New Guinea * Num, ...

PCS A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

, RMT,

TSSA TSSA may refer to: * Transport Salaried Staffs' Association * Technical Standards and Safety Authority The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) is a regulatory authority that administers and enforces technical standards in the province ...

, UCATT, UCU, Unite the Union and UNISON. Trade union affiliates to the SVSC include the STUC, CWU,

EIS Eis or EIS may refer to: Education * Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne, in Australia * Educational Institute of Scotland, a trade union * Ekamai International School, in Bangkok, Thailand * English for Integrated Studies, a program in T ...

, GMB, RMT, UNISON, Unite the Union, and Trades Councils in Dundee, Kilmarnock & Loudon and Midlothian.

References

External links

website of the VSCwebsite of the SVSC
{{Authority control Political organisations based in London United Kingdom–Venezuela relations Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Politics of Venezuela