A WORKING CLASS HERO COMES TO TOWN

www.rmt.org.uk :: june 2006 :: RMTnews 27 Supporters of US president George Bush have said that Hugo Chavez should be assassinated, and security was strict at his rally at Camden Centre in London last month. He is so popular, even in London, that hundreds of people were unable to get into the packed hall. I was lucky enough to be among the audience when President Chavez spoke about his experiences, the brilliant progress in Venezuela and the need for worldwide solidarity of working people against war and oppression. Hugo Chavez has won election after election with huge support, and continues to receive up to 70 per cent approval in opinion polls. The reason for this huge popularity is that he is using Venezuela’s oil wealth for the benefit of the people and to change the lives of the poor. DEMOCRATIC CHANGE He told the story of how, when his government first started to provide free education for all, they had to televise the fact that it was free so that parents could report the rip-off merchants who were still trying to charge for it. “Now”, he said, “Venezuela has basically become a huge school”. Older people who missed out on education are being given new opportunities and the government has supplied over a million pairs of spectacles, to help people read. Health care has been improved and basic foodstuffs kept at low prices. As a result, health and life expectancy has gone up in the 10 years he has been in power. Unlike Britain, where we are steadily losing our democratic rights, Venezuelans are gaining more. To the huge frustration of the right and big business, the economy has never been stronger, with low interest rates, a huge increase in investments and big infrastructure projects under way – including railways across Venezuela, which they have never had before. To my amazement, Chavez talked for over three hours without losing the interest of his huge audience. He told the meeting that we needed a new socialism that was not just dogma – and he invited all of us to join in and be creative! Hugo Chavez made a practical offer as well – to supply cheap heating oil to pensioners and poor in London, if Ken Livingstone was able to arrange it. Venezuela already provides this for the poor of New York and other US cities. Hugo Chavez didn’t just talk politics, he chatted about people he had met and told many stories about ordinary people on the streets of his country. It is easy to see why Chavez is loved by the poor and hated by the rich and its media machine. Ollie New is chair of RMT London Regional Council A working class hero comes to town RMT member Ollie New reports on the welcome that London gave Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez when he visited London last month EDUCATION: Pupils in Petare a poor neighbourhood Barrio in East Caracas benefiting from Mission Robinson, a very successful project introduced by President Hugo Chavez to provide primary level education across the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Copyright © Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk