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Hands Off Venezuela's Sexism against the Women of Venezuela A letter to the Hands Off Venezuela from the Global Women’s Strike 15 March 2006 We write regarding your report of the adjournment debate on Venezuela on 8 March. Your account of John McDonnell’s speech leaves out the revolutionary announcement by President Chavez on 3 February: the first payment beginning in June to the poorest housewives in recognition of their work in the home, a path-breaking measure that was central to John’s speech. It also leaves out any mention of the Global Women’s Strike while noting that John is chair of HOV. In this way, you succeed in taking credit for his speech on women’s contribution to the revolution, which you have never shown the least concern for. John’s speech was based on the Strike’s briefing. We were struck that reporting what John said was the first we had ever heard from HOV about women, and even then you couldn’t mention that women had won money for their caring work. We started organising with Venezuela well before others precisely because women in Venezuela were the first to mobilise in defence of the revolution and to call for international support. (John introduced his first EDM on Venezuela with us.) Although the parliamentary debate took place on International Women’s Day, little or nothing would have been said about women had John not called for our briefing (Jeremy Corbyn was the only other MP to even mention women). Yet, there would be no revolution and no President Chavez in power today were it not for the women who defend them, carry out the government programmes and take on corrupt politicians, including of the left. Many Venezuelans, women and men, will be thrilled with John’s speech and with his mention of Chavez’s money for housewives, the Nora Castañeda tour and the Strike, which are all well known there. There are many people around the world who are turning on to the Venezuelan revolution because of the economic and social recognition that Article 88 of the constitution gives to unwaged work in the home, and because Chavez himself acknowledges women’s work in the home and for the revolution – a real commitment to building a more caring society. Their interest is vital to help prevent intervention. Your censoring of what grassroots women accomplish who organise independently of political parties and trade unions is an old story with the left, as if unions and parties are the only possible expression of working class power (in this day and age they are more often an expression of betrayal than of our power). This amounts to a policy of sexism, particularly glaring in this revolution which up to now has so obviously been spearheaded by the unwaged sector, mainly women. Grassroots women have recently written to the president demanding action against corruption, and detailing how they want the money to housewives to be handled. (See our website for the text of the letter in English and Spanish.) The revolution depends on this self-activity, and we hope you will give it prominence. Power to the sisters and therefore to the working class Nina Lopez and Selma James For the Global Women’s
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