Grayson Walker: The revolution in Venezuela is inspiring youth all around the world

teleSUR English

On the occasion of this congress, our correspondent Belen de los Santos interviews Grayson Walker, U.S. Attorney and Political Analyst.

Transcript

00:00And as the first date of the Anif, fascist youth and students who work congress is on their way

00:04to Caracas. We go live for updates with our correspondent Belén de los Santos.

00:10Hi Belén, tell us all the details you can share with us.

00:19Hello studios, we are here, we continue here in Caracas at the Youth Congress of the Anti-Fascist

00:27Congress that is underway here in Caracas as Venezuela has summoned over 1,000 delegates

00:35that is from 70 countries and this was the first day of the congress. We are here, we continue to

00:41see the activities that are underway, delegates from all over the world as we were saying,

00:47specifically from the global south but really from everywhere that come here to share their

00:54perspectives, their fights in their own territories, in their own countries to analyze

01:00and discuss what does the fight against fascism mean today, mean in every country, in every

01:07territory, at a world context that we know is very complex and many countries have suffered

01:13the consequences from this. So this congress summons the youth to come together and think

01:19of possible alternatives to really face these challenges and with us at this moment we have

01:25Grayson Walker, he is a law graduate from the United States, an attorney and also a political

01:33analyst. So first of all thank you Grayson for joining us in Tell Us Your English and to begin

01:38I would like to ask you about your experience, how have you lived the day, the experience of

01:44really joining together with other delegates from all over the world? Well first of all thank you

01:48for having me on this channel and for welcoming me to Venezuela. I'm honored to be here as a part

01:53of an American delegation. Our country obviously has a very unique role especially as it concerns

01:59world imperialism so I'm very happy to be here. Regarding my impressions of the country and just

02:04being here, it's one thing to be reading about anti-imperialism, to be writing about it, to be

02:11working on this outside but to be here in the center of the Bolivarian revolution, to be amidst

02:17so many anti-imperialist students and youth, it really shows you that Chavismo is not dead

02:23and the revolution is living on not just here in Venezuela but it's inspiring people around the

02:28world, not just from Russia, Vietnam, Iran but also us in the United States who are looking for some

02:34alternative to the two-party duopoly which is as alien to us as it is the countries that it occupies.

02:41Of course and as we were saying we're living at some very particular and difficult times around

02:47the world with for example an ongoing genocide that is happening right now. Palestine is one of

02:53the main topics of discussion, it's around the world, we see it in t-shirts, we see people

02:58walking around with flags and it's been a worldwide struggle to denounce the genocide,

03:05to denounce the financing for example of not only the genocide but other armed conflicts around the

03:11world. So from an analyst's perspective, what does this sort of congress that brings together

03:18experiences from the global south, experiences of resistance, what does this mean and what's

03:24the importance of this at a moment like this? I think there's two things that are very important

03:29for international solidarity regarding the genocide and also the ongoing wars, not just

03:35regarding the ongoing funding of the Ukrainian regime and the Russian special military operation

03:40but also these other wars around the world that are part of imperialism. The first important thing

03:46is that it gives a voice to the people of these conflicts who are not otherwise able to be

03:51expressed in the mainstream media that's dominated the imperial core. So by giving these people in

03:57Palestine and Gaza a voice here for instance, it shows them that they are not alone, that their

04:02fight is not something that they are solely David versus Goliath but they have nine-tenths of the

04:07world behind them and that it only requires awakening that nine-tenths to realize what

04:11power that they have. The other prong I think to this is that we need to learn from each other

04:17and learn from the experiences of various movements around the world so we can integrate that into our

04:23own. Chavistas should learn from those in Gaza who are waging resistance against the Israeli occupation

04:29and those in the United States should learn not just get information about you know what their

04:34occupied government is doing in these countries but also should learn the tactics and the theories

04:40and the struggle from these countries in order to integrate that into their own experience

04:44because in the U.S. we have of course also disgruntlement against the state but it's not

04:48channeled in a way that's historically what we would say is maybe progressive. It's sometimes

04:52channeled in ways that is antithetical to their own interests so learning from the experiences of

04:58other people around the world and integrating that into our own that is a core part of the

05:02anti-imperialist struggle. And you were talking from a United States perspective and I would like

05:07to add and also just ask you in this context what does it mean to participate in the anti-imperialist

05:16struggle from the United States? You were talking about the learning process from other movements

05:23all over the country but how's the struggle like in the United States? You've just come from an

05:30election process, you're facing a new mandate of Donald Trump in the coming years. How do you see

05:36the movement? Do you see hope that the anti-imperialist struggle will grow? We've seen great

05:42mobilizations in favor of Palestine for example. What does it mean to carry that flag in that

05:48territory? Well I think anti-imperialism in the American context in our view is an inherently

05:57patriotic position because the United States government, what it calls itself a democracy,

06:02does not reflect a popular will. If you want evidence look at the fact that both Donald Trump

06:07and Kamala Harris were the two nominees. Wildly unpopular candidates, Kamala Harris who wasn't even

06:12properly vetted as part of the democratic process. So I think that we need to essentially

06:19view this as one struggle. The imperialist system is one system.

06:26NATO, imperialism, the genocide in Gaza, this is one conflict and the American people are a part

06:32of that conflict. Their struggle against their own government, their own discontent is tied up

06:38with the oppression in Gaza, with the war in the Ukraine and I think that integrating this into

06:45our own struggle from a patriotic popular position against the states. To understand this

06:50is one movement that the youth of the world is united against this system that is also alien to

06:54us. That's very important. Of course it's the task of the left to articulate this and the American

07:01left has trouble doing this. There are factions of the American left that often appear very

07:06anti-imperialist but in fact they spout the same ideology of the democratic party and the ruling

07:11establishment. So although this election wasn't necessarily a happy one, at the very least because

07:17the democratic party has been destroyed, decimated because of this, discredited, it at least opens

07:23the space for something new to emerge. It allows for a new left that is independent of the democratic

07:28and republican parties, that is rooted in the working class of our country and which can be

07:33tie the national struggle in the United States with the anti-imperial struggle around the world.

07:39So I think that there are lots of lessons to learn but we have a very long road ahead.

07:44We will continue to analyze and hope that effectively something new emerges. Definitely

07:51the struggle in the global south has a lot to think about. It's solidarity and the possibilities

07:56of solidarities with the working class in the United States and so we truly appreciate your

08:02work and whatever you're doing there. So thank you Grayson for joining us in Teluser English

08:07and we go now back to studios before saying that the congress is ending its first day but

08:15we'll continue on Saturday and as you were saying and as you were seeing, this side of discussions

08:22are the ones that are being carried out at this youth anti-fascist congress here in Venezuela.

08:28The idea that the different struggles around the world in their fight against fascism can

08:34come together to debate these ideas and also analyze possible strategies for the years to

08:40come. That's the idea and the goal for this event that the youth, the young generations

08:45from every country can build and think and draw up a map for the coming years around the world.

08:53So now we go back to you. Thank you Hélène for bringing us all the details

08:57regarding the first days of the anti-fascism days of student world.

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