Bolivarian Circles

By: Rodrigo Acuña - Red Pepper
Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007

Outsiders who are looking for democracy in Latin America, and in particular, interesting experiments in its expansion, may choose to visit Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. In Chile, thus far, you will find a President who calls herself a socialist, twinkles at the edges of the system with some reforms, but not much else.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Quito, Jun 26 (Prensa Latina) Disputes between Ecuador s executive and legislative powers intensified on Tuesday, after President Rafael Correa accused Congress of quashing several government projects beneficial for the country.

Among the main proposals, partially or completely disapproved by the legislative body, are legislation for financial control and for increased actions against oil smuggling.

Colombia Action Network (USA)
June 12, 2007

The US has given almost 5 billion in military aid to Colombia since 2000.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, & Colombia Action Network (CAN)
delegations have all documented that our tax dollars are going directly to
support military & death squad violence in Colombia.

Recent news reports demonstrate that US corporations like Drummond &
Chiquita, as well as the Colombian government, use US supported death squads
to attack & kill trade unionists, human rights workers, & campesinos

By Jorge Martin
Thursday, 19 April 2007

On Sunday, April 15, the masses of workers and peasants of Ecuador delivered a blow against the oligarchy and imperialism by voting massively in favour of calling a Constituent Assembly. The final results announced by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal were 5,350,000 votes for the Constituent Assembly (81,72%), and barely 824,000 against (12,43%).

While in the name of the fight against terrorism, hundreds of thousands of people have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and others - arbitrarily detained - are tortured in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the United States government protects the most notorious terrorist in this hemisphere, attempting to deceive public opinion through interminable pseudolegal manuevers and refusing to try him for his real crimes.

Dear President Chávez,

We, the undersigned citizens of Australia, would like to extend a warm invitation for you to visit our country.We have watched developments in Venezuela with great interest. We have been impressed by the great effort that your government has taken to improve the living standards of the majority of Venezuelans.We have also noted with keen attention the moves that your government has begun to make to create a society based on popular participation in all spheres of society—from the workplace up to the national government.

4th International Conference - Karl Marx and the Challenges of the XXI century
Havana, Cuba May 5 to 8, 2008

In the year 2008 we mark 125 years since Marx's death, 125 years
since (in Frederick Engel's words) humanity was shortened by a head,
'the most remarkable head of our time.' Only eleven mourners at
Marx's funeral on 17 March 1883 heard Engels (his brother both in
ideas and struggles) describe Marx as a man of science but above all,
a revolutionary. 'His real mission in life,' Engels pointed out, 'was
to contribute in one way or another, to the overthrow of capitalist

By: Roger Annis and John Riddell - Socialist Voice
Thursday, Jun 28, 2007
The dramatic advances of the Venezuelan revolution, and the alliances it has forged with other insurgent peoples and governments resisting imperialism, are creating an historic opportunity to strengthen international anti-imperialist collaboration and rebuild the revolutionary socialist movement worldwide.

Gabriela Ramos, La Prensa

Sucre – Leaders of the Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qollasuyu (CONAMAQ), and the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples from the East of Bolivia (CIDOB), warned that the indigenous peoples could separate themselves from the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) because they consider that this party is backtracking on its position in the Constituent Assembly.

DECLARATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLE'S POWER
Havana, June 29, 2007

In recent days, after a decades-long wait, parts of blue-penciled
official CIA documents were brought to light in Washington. The
documents reveal a number of plans to assassinate comrade Fidel Castro
and to execute other criminal actions against our people. We Cubans
have endured and denounced such actions for nearly half a century and,
thus, this news are not cause for surprise.

What the CIA now publicly acknowledges is not a thing of the past.