Movement leader compares initiative to the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s
The national leader of Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), João Pedro Stédile, announced that popular movements across Latin America are coordinating to send brigades of activists to Venezuela in solidarity with the country’s government and people, amid growing threats of a possible U.S. military intervention. The statement was made in an interview with Radio BdF.
“We, as movements in Latin America, are holding meetings and consultations to organize, as soon as possible, internationalist brigades of activists from each of our countries to go to Venezuela and stand alongside the government and the Venezuelan people,” said Stédile. The decision was made during the World Congress in Defense of Mother Earth, held in Caracas last week, which gathered delegations from 65 countries.
According to him, the initiative seeks to echo the “historic epic” of the international left during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), when volunteers from various countries went to Spain to defend the Republic. “Are we going into combat? Of course not! We have no military training, nor should we. The Venezuelan people know how to defend themselves. But our activists can do a thousand things, from planting beans and cooking for the soldiers to standing beside the people if a U.S. invasion takes place,” he explained.
Stédile criticized the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which he described as having revived the “coup offensive” against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “It’s a mix of madness and fascism. He thinks brute force can overthrow Maduro’s government and hand it over on a silver platter to María Corina [Machado, the main opposition leader in Venezuela],” he said sarcastically. Stédile emphasized that the Venezuelan government “has never had such strong popular support” and “is not afraid of a U.S. invasion.”
The MST leader also urged Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to adopt a firmer stance in response to the escalating tensions. “I don’t think the Lula government has realized the gravity of the situation. It’s time to take a stronger position. If he doesn’t want to stand alone, he could coordinate a joint statement with Mexico and Colombia, which have already spoken out against the U.S. aggressions,” Stédile suggested.
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