My Friend Hugo, a moving film tribute to former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made by well-known Hollywood director Oliver Stone, was screened at the Resistance Centre on March 4 to mark the third anniversary of the death of the leader of the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela.
The showing was organised by the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN) and the Latin American Social Forum (LASF), with the support of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Australia.
Originally released in 2014, the hour-long film is a gathering of testimonies of family, friends, intellectuals and politicians who honour and remember Chavez, who proclaimed the goal of the revolution as "Socialism of the 21st Century". Interviewees in the film include leaders of other progressive governments of Latin America, including Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Argentina's former President Cristina Kirchner.
AVSN is planning to hold a Solidarity Brigade to Venezuela later this year.
The film showing followed a public forum organised by the AVSN on February 6, entitled: "Chavista! The end of Chavismo? A discussion on the recent electoral defeat and the future of Venezuela's revolution".
Speakers included: Venezuelan ambassador Nelson Davila; Luis Fernando Angosto-Ferrandez, author of the new book Venezuela Reframed: Bolivarianism, Indigenous peoples and socialisms of the 21st century; Federico Fuentes, co-author of Latin America's Turbulent Transitions: The future of 21st century socialism; and Roberto Jorquera.
The speakers stressed the serious challenge to the Venezuelan people's revolution posed by the right-wing victory in December's National Assembly elections, but expressed confidence that the popular movement supporting the Bolivarian Revolution would rise up and confront this threat to the social gains achieved over more than 15 years of Chavismo in Venezuela.
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