Jim McIlroy
& Coral Wynter, Barquisimeto
Some 800-1000 members of revolutionary organisations from around Venezuela gathered in the regional centre of Barquisimeto in the state of Lara on July 1-2 for the First National Conference of Revolutionaries for Socialism. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), the Network of Bolivarian Circles MBR-200 and the Socialist League.
Participants took part in a wide-ranging discussion about problems facing the development of popular power and the struggle for "socialism of the 21st century".
Speakers at the opening plenary session included David Velasquez, a PCV deputy to the National Assembly (AN) and president of the AN commission on civil participation and regional development; Roberto Hernandez, second vice-president of the NA; Maria Leon, president of the National Institute of Women (Inamujer); and Blanca Romero from the Women's Bank of Venezuela.
Workshops covered topics including the struggle against imperialism and for socialism of the 21st century; popular power; democratic participation and Venezuela's social missions; national security and defence; and the role of women in the revolutionary process.
A conference organiser, Marco Sossa, said that delegates "approved proposals for including women and youth in the struggle in Venezuela. We also discussed ways to deepen democratic participation in the march toward socialism of the 21st century."
From Green Left Weekly, July 19, 2006.
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