Michigan: Activist reports back from Venezuela at Grand Valley State University

Allendale, MI – FRSO organizer Jessica Plichta was invited by Grand Valley State University students to report back from her recent trip to Venezuela on Wednesday, January 14. The reportback event was hosted by the GVSU Progressive Student Union and the Grand Rapids district of Freedom Road Socialist Organization and was held at the Allendale campus of GVSU.

Plichta joined other FRSO members and community activists from across the country in defying the United States’ closure of Venezuelan airspace in early December, in order to attend the International Assembly for Peace and Sovereignty in Our Americas, hosted in Caracas by the Simon Bolivar Institute. The assembly, having successfully convened three weeks before the U.S. government bombed Caracas and kidnapped President Maduro, stressed the need for peace, and for unity among American people fighting against war.

In the days since Trump’s illegal military actions in Venezuela, the mainstream media and social media have been flooded with pro-war, anti-Venezuelan propaganda. Erroneous claims against the democratically elected leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, are commonplace, coming from a mix of bot accounts and wealthy elites, who would benefit from seeing Venezuela’s government overthrown.

25 students packed into a classroom for the event. Plichta had photos of her trip to Venezuela projected while she talked about the experience. She highlighted the experience of meeting President Maduro, and how his behavior contrasts with that of U.S. politicians.

“Maduro walked the streets of Venezuela, he openly walked the streets and thousands of people walked alongside him,” said Plichta, “with no police, with no barricades.”

By contrast, U.S. presidents routinely speak behind bulletproof glass, elevated above and far away from crowds. When Trump visits cities, highways are blocked off to everyday commuters so that hundreds of police cars can usher him in with a show of obscene force, as was the case with Trump’s visit to Detroit this week.

Other topics highlighted in Plichta’s presentation included the system of communes in Venezuela, the workplaces, architecture and political artwork in the streets of Caracas, and the vibrancy of the queer community in the city.

With the facts set straight, GVSU students are now better equipped to debunk U.S. propaganda against Venezuela among their friends, classmates and families, and they are better prepared for the anti-war movement to demand President Maduro and Cilia Flores be released.

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