'It is Venezuela against imperialism'

Coral Wynter & Jim McIlroy, Caracas

Walter Gaviria, president of the Latin American Parliament, spoke briefly to Green Left Weekly on September 1, during a march to greet President Hugo Chavez, who had returned from an overseas trip.

The campaign for Chavez's re-election on December 3 "is going well", he told GLW. "We are aiming for 10 million votes for Chavez, with 16 million people on the CNE [National Electoral Commission] rolls.

"It is Venezuela against imperialism. Today, we are living in a world of conflict. But now, we have a leader committed to peace, a leader supporting human rights in the whole world, a leader who defends the people s interests. We are going to achieve a socialist and anti-imperialist country. People in many countries agree with Chavez ..."

In a message to Australian supporters of Venezuela's revolution, Gaviria said: "We are happy to know that people in the continent of Australia, so far away, have confidence in Venezuela — although your government has a close alliance with the United States. We send our greetings to you, and thank you for your support."

From GLW issue 685