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Saturday 1 November / 2:00-5:00pm
Southall Seminar: Why is the west targeting Venezuela?

Venezuela is now into a people-oriented revolutionary process aimed at bringing first sovereignty and then socialism to the mass of the people. But every step of its progress has been hampered by the bitter animosity and outright sabotage of the west. From suffocating sanctions to coups, invasion plots, assassination attempts and fascist street thugs, no stone has been left unturned to foil the Bolivarian process that was launched by President Hugo Chávez in 1999 and which has been continued for the last 12 years under the leadership of his successor President Nicolás Maduro. As Venezuela gets ready to launch its new Comuna constitution, one that aims to shift the centre of power further from the hands of the rich and closer to the grassroots organisations of the poor masses, the country is once again under extreme attack. The USA has loudly , put a “bounty” on the head of its president and in international waters – taking imperial arrogance to brazen new heights. But since we now know that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ (waged, we note, by the world’s biggest drug-pushers) has only ever been a pretext for aggressive imperialist military actions, what is really behind the redoubling of imperialist hostility toward this Latin-American nation? And how are the Venezuelan people responding to the latest threats of invasion? Come and join us as we discuss the roots of the west’s relentless animosity towards Venezuela, the meaning of the country’s new constitution and more. Speeches from comrades who have been to Venezuela and toured some of its communes. Chair: Joti Brar

Saturday 8 November / 6:00-9:00pm
October Revolution 108

Along with speakers and special guests from fraternal embassies, our party will be marking the 108th anniversary and celebrating the historic achievements made possible by the . We will be marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism, a victory possible only because of the impact the October Revolution had not just on the Soviet Union, but also on China, the other principal force in the antifascist fight.

Why celebrate the October Revolution?

We live in a world dominated by greed and misery – billions labour in so a tiny minority of people can live unimaginably extravagant lives. While most workers in have generally been better off – bought off by the loot from the British empire, conditions here are rapidly worsening. Constant , increasing poverty, unaffordable , rampant , a disappearing social security net and destroyed public servives define 21st-century Britain. The October Revolution of 1917 is by far the most progressive event in human history; it proved conclusively that there is a way of out of the downward death spiral of imperialist crisis and war. It ushered in the era of the end of imperialism and the victory of proletarian revolution. Despite all reverses, this is the era we continue to live in; and with capitalist again raging, there has never been a better time to revisit the lessons of October. The history of almost the entire 20th century was shaped by the tremors set in motion by this gigantic earthquake in what was then tsarist . Defying all predictions, and in the teeth of bitter hostility from the overthrown exploiting classes as well as of international imperialism, Soviet workers and peasants went on to build a powerful socialist state and a powerful socialist economy, in which to satisfy the constantly rising needs of the working masses replaced the anarchy of capitalist production, whose sole motive force is the production of ever increasing amounts of surplus value to satisfy the insatiable greed of a handful of exploiters. By 1935, the was the only country that had got rid of the scourge of , while the capitalist world saw the devastating waste of capitalist crisis; unemployment rates in (and elsewhere) hit 25 percent. The only 'way out' for the imperialist nations (, USA, , , , , etc) was to drive the entire , at the phenomenal cost of more than 60 million lives (in WW2 alone). Such was the vitality and strength of the social system of the USSR that she made the single most important contribution to the defeat of the allegedly invincible . The courage and heroism with which the Soviet soldier and civilian alike fought against fascism is an eloquent tribute to the socialist system that was founded through the October Revolution; a source of pride to workers all over the world. By its earthshaking achievements in the field of socialist construction, the Soviet working class provided living proof that the working class everywhere is not only capable of destroying the old but also of building the new. The smashing of tsarism and imperialism by the workers and peasants of Russia and the Russian empire, the successful building of a planned socialist economy by the united Soviet workers and peasants, and the smashing of the ‘invincible’ Nazi war machine by the Soviet armed forces, partisans and peoples – these earth-shaking achievements of workers who had set themselves free from the shackles of capitalist exploitation and servitude lit a flame that still burns, continuing to light the path for workers and oppressed peoples everywhere. Whatever the zigzags of history, the final victory of communism is inevitable, as is the demise of capitalist imperialism. As the imperialist plunges ever deeper into its worst-ever crisis, and as its ravages and spark a new wave of and socialist revolutionary struggles, it is more important than ever not only to celebrate the history of our movement, but to recongnise the necessity of continuing to fight for the bright future the awaits humanity along the road of October. October proved, and our party stands by the truth, that communism () is the ideology of the modern working class, which can no more be exterminated than can the proletariat itself. Come and celebrate, and join with us in struggling to build a bright socialist future for Britain and the world. ------------------------------ Read: Watch speeches from the centenary celebrations: - (Cuban ambassador) - (Joti Brar) - (North Korean embassy) - (Laos embassy) - (Ella Rule) - (Mohamed Hassan) - (Ranjeet Brar)