The film brought about an enthusiastic response from the audience, especially the significance of Venezuela’s fight for socialism for the rest of the Americas. Activists from Hands Off Venezuela and the November 16 Coalition answered a slew of questions on the events in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America. More importantly, people were concerned about how Canadians can best help the Venezuelan Revolution. Camilo Cahis from HOV answered that Chávez has said in the past that the best way to help Venezuela is to build our own revolutions; the response drew great applause. A common theme through the evening was how the Canadian working class has much to learn from their Venezuelan counterparts, especially in an area that has suffered huge job losses in manufacturing.
The evening ended with a very healthy collection and merchandise sales that are helping to build the Hands Off Venezuela campaign across Canada. Hands Off Venezuela greatly appreciates the support of the November 16 Coalition and the Skydragon Centre in arranging the film screening. Several people in the audience expressed an interest in launching a branch of the HOV campaign in Hamilton. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact
canada[@]handsoffvenezuela.org.