The War on Democracy

We'll be showing John Pilger's film the War on Democracy on Thursday the 17th of July at 19:00 at Unity Hall (opposite the bus station).

The ruling elite in United States likes to go on about how they spread democracy, but this film shows the “hidden war” that is being waged against democracy - how democratically elected governments are overthrown and replaced by dictatorships who represent US corporate interests. It shows what the United States really likes to spread is capitalism, free markets and the neo-liberal doctrine against all public ownership, it shows how the people of Latin America are plunged into poverty by economic “shock treatment” consisting of massive privitisation. And it shows how the people are fighting back in Venezuela and other countries of Latin America.

Here's what John Pilger had to say about the film:

The film is about the power of empire and of people. It was shot in Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, and the United States and is set also in Guatemala and Nicaragua. It tells the story of “America’s backyard,” the dismissive term given to all of Latin America. It traces the struggle of indigenous people first against the Spanish, then against European immigrants who reinforced the old elite. Our filming was concentrated in the barrios where the continent’s “invisible people” live in hillside shanties that defy gravity. It tells, above all, a very positive story: that of the rise of popular social movements that have brought to power governments promising to stand up to those who control national wealth and to the imperial master. Venezuela has taken the lead, and a highlight of the film is a rare face-to-face interview with President Hugo Chavez whose own developing political consciousness, and sense of history (and good humour), are evident. The film investigates the 2002 coup d’etat against Chavez and casts it in a contemporary context. It also describes the differences between Venezuela and Cuba, and the shift in economic and political power since Chavez was first elected. In Bolivia, the recent, tumultuous past is told through quite remarkable testimony from ordinary people, including those who fought against the piracy of their resources. In Chile, the film looks behind the mask of this apparently modern, prosperous “model” democracy and finds powerful, active ghosts. In the United States, the testimony of those who ran the “backyard” echo those who run that other backyard, Iraq; sometimes they are the same people. Chris Martin (my fellow director) and I believe “The War on Democracy” is well timed. We hope people will see it as another way of seeing the world: as a metaphor for understanding a wider war on democracy and the universal struggle of ordinary people, from Venezuela to Vietnam, Palestine to Guatemala.

Everybody is welcome to come along, after the film we'll throw the floor open to discussion on topics raised in the film.