Steve Ellner, who will do an educational speaking tour this fall about US sanctions against Venezuela. Photo credit: Ángel Dejesús.

By Cindy Domingo
Chair, Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee

WILPF’s Cuba and the Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee invites branches to participate in the October/November 2018 national speaking tour of Steve Ellner on the hardships imposed on the Venezuelan people by US-Canadian sanctions.

This 17-city tour will educate the public on the realities in Venezuela and aim to organize a stronger movement against ongoing and ever-increasing intervention by the US and Canada in Venezuela. The tour will build on the statement issued in March 2018 by the Alliance for Global Justice calling for a return to mediation to save democracy in Venezuela.

At that time, an open letter describing the detrimental effects of these sanctions and stressing that “unilateral sanctions are illegal under international law” was signed by over 150 prominent US and Canadian individuals and organizations, including WILPF US. The letter was delivered to US Senators and Representatives and Canadian Parliamentarians.

Here is a tentative schedule of the toursubject to change and dependent on sponsorship.

Steve Ellner has taught economic history and political science at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, and for a ten-year period he taught in the graduate school of law and political science of the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Ellner has published several books on Venezuela and is a regular contributor to NACLA: Report on the Americas and other progressive US publications. A complete profile and informative posts can be found at Ellner’s Blog on Venezuela, Latin America and Beyond.

For more information on this tour and to cosponsor events, please contact Cindy Domingo at cindydomingo@gmail.com or Stan Smith at stansfieldsmith100@gmail.com.