On the 35th anniversary in September of the military overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile, which had the overt support of the United States, the presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela asked the US ambassadors to their countries to leave. Both believed they faced the threat of imminent coups and accused the United States’ administration of involvement.
In Bolivia, the right wing separatist governors of the five eastern regions, in close touch with the US embassy in La Paz, have launched a campaign of racist violence and economic sabotage, aimed at destabilising the country, which has left many dead. President Evo Morales has warned against this “civic coup d’etat” to overthrow his government. In an unprecedented show of unity with Bolivia, the Union of South American Nations met in Chile on 15 September passing a resolution unanimously supporting the Morales government.
In Venezuela, a plot to assassinate elected President Hugo Chavez and overturn democracy was revealed in telephone conversations between senior military officers broadcast on national television.
With these threats to democracy and social progress in Latin America, the meeting will hear directly from the Ambassadors to Bolivia and Venezuela on the current situation, and look at the need for an independent policy from the British government towards the progressive developments in Latin America.

Organised by Labour Friends of Venezuela
RSVP to brownlj@parliament.uk