After the death of Hugo Chavez Frias, the WMW issued a statement in solidarity with the Venezuelan people. The document also recognized the role played by former President Chavez in the Latin American social processes on issues such as the struggle against free trade and neoliberalism in the region.

Historian Sarah de Roure, a delegate of the WMW at the meeting, spoke with Real World Radio’s correspondent Danilo Urrea about the meeting’s positive progress. She also talked about the important moment Venezuela is going through to determine the future course of the Bolivarian Revolution.

The participation of over 200 international delegates at the meeting enabled to continue with one of Chavez’s goals of international coordination and solidarity among equals.

The historian said the meeting is also “a challenge to think about the other Latin American processes, where we are going, the discussions here help us assess the years of Bolivarian revolution, but at the same time of a change in Latin America, a new political model”.

About women’s participation at the International Meeting and in general in the Bolivarian Revolution, Sarah recalled Chavez’s famous quote “there is no socialism without feminism”. Sarah said that was “a statement, not just something he came up with and this premise agrees with the deal reached with a very important sector of feminism, the women’s movement, which is something we need to pay attention to since the revolution is a process where the antipatriarchal struggle should always be present. The women here have said it, but Chavez also set the stage for a Bolivarian process of stating socialism only exists with feminism”.

The process of the WMW that began as an international coordination has turned into a social movement over the years. Today it has its own agenda at the global debates and its own alliances with international organizations. In 2013, the WMW will carry out its international meeting to assess its status as an “international political subject”. “If we are saying capitalism is international and patriarchy is based on the inequality between North and South, we need to build a subject that counters this”, said Sarah. “This year we want to assess that and see where we are headed, think about the challenges from now until 2015, when we will carry out our fourth international action”, she concluded.

* Danilo Urrea is a member of CENSAT Agua Viva – Friends of the Earth Colombia.

Photo: generoconclase.blogspot.com