[list_indonesia] [ppiindia] Packed event builds stronger ties with Venezuela
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 21:00:04 +0100
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http://www.workers.org/world/2005/venezuela-0303/
'Imperialism cannot stop history!'=20
Packed event builds stronger ties with Venezuela
By Rebeca Toledo=20
New York=20
Published Feb 23, 2005 10:55 AM=20
A standing-room-only crowd of several hundred people attended an historic e=
vent here on Feb. 11. The activity was organized by the Alberto Lovera Boli=
varian Circle, Fuerza de la Revolucion, International Action Center, Cuban =
Solidarity N.Y. and others. It was held at the 1199 Health and Hospital Wor=
kers' hall.
The event brought together many differ ent movements for an evening in soli=
darity with the Bolivarian Revolution of Vene zuela. It was dedicated to th=
e memory of Malcolm X, Ossie Davis and James Forman.
Speakers included former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and author Jane=
Franklin.=20
The highlight of the night was back-to-back speeches from representatives o=
f the Venezuelan and Cuban governments.=20
First up was Dr. Carlos Alvarado, vice minister for social development in V=
enezuela. He explained that he was in New York to attend the 10-year celebr=
ation of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration to eradicate poverty.
The Bolivarian government under President Hugo Ch=E1vez in 1998 "started to=
change the laws and the structure of the government and declared that it w=
as responsible for the basic rights of the people: housing, education, heal=
thcare, jobs, women's rights and Indigenous rights." The social indicators =
in 2000 and 2001 quickly started to show a decrease in poverty in the count=
ry.
"When we continued our march toward eradicating poverty, invoking the peopl=
e to be participates in history and challenging the very core of the powerf=
ul, we were met with a coup attempt in 2002 and work lockouts at the end of=
2002. This can be called nothing but terrorism," Alvarado stated. "This wa=
s organized by a minority in the military and the government and of course =
it was supported by U.S. imperialism. All those who carried out these acts =
of terrorism are mostly living in the U.S. now, with some living in Colombi=
a. We ask, who then really supports terrorism?"
Instead of giving in to the tremendous pressure it faced, in 2003 the Venez=
uelan government turned to developing social programs that would raise the =
standard of living of the people. "Mission Robinson has raised literacy to =
80 percent in less than a year. Mission Barrio Adentro has brought healthca=
re to the most excluded sectors for the first time; 15,000 Cuban medical pe=
rsonnel have made this possible. Mission Zamora has begun to distribute lan=
d to the peasants. Credits have been made available and the peasants have b=
egun to be organized into cooperatives."
'U.S. is destabilizing force'
Marcos Fuenmayor, a Venezuelan representative to the United Nations, spoke =
next. Responding to a recent U.S. State Department declaration that the Ven=
ezu elan purchase of Russian arms will be a destabilizing force in the regi=
on, he said, "We consider the U.S. military-industrial complex the destabil=
izing force in the world. We state again that Venezuela will defend itself =
against outside threats."
Responding to Condoleezza Rice's comment that Venezuela is having a negativ=
e impact on the region, he replied, "Perhaps it is a negative influence for=
those who want to starve us and declare 'free trade,' which means a concen=
tration of wealth by big capital."
Responding to the recent kidnapping of a FARC leader in Venezuela, he said,=
"Colombia was used by imperialism. Imperialism's goal is to put Venezuela =
on the list of states harboring terrorists.
"The Bolivarian Revolution is with all of the oppressed of Latin America, A=
sia and Africa and the workers in Europe and the U.S. As Che said, 'We are =
anywhere where the powerful oppress the weak.'"
He continued, "The cost of being the voice of the poor is to be threatened =
and harassed by imperialism. But we readily take on this responsibility. We=
do not want a confrontation with the U.S. But we will not let anyone threa=
ten our sovereignty.
"Events like tonight's show us that we are on the right path, the path of h=
istory. Imperialism can not stop history," he stressed.
'Political will finds a way'
The Cuban ambassador to the UN, Orlando Requeijo, began by saying, "Venezue=
la is a vibrant example for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is d=
oing everything that goes against neoliberalism. Like Venezuela, Cuba does =
the exact opposite of what organizations such as the IMF [International Mon=
etary Fund] and World Bank dictate. Our two countries have done more with l=
ess resources because of this."
In December 2004, Venezuela and Cuba signed a broad range of accords, inclu=
ding the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America (ALBA), a direct response=
to the U.S.'s Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Requeijo explained, "ALBA is based on the integrative, complementary use of=
resources. Some of the things we are trying to do are to end customs tarif=
fs between the two countries, develop industries both in Cuba and Venezuela=
and we trade in kind or in other currencies. We do not have to rely on the=
U.S. dollar for anything."
Cuba provides scholarships to Vene zuelans to study in Cuba as well as medi=
cal personnel to carry out its missions. Requeijo proudly stated that in 10=
years, tens of thousands of Venezuelan medical staff will have been traine=
d by Cuban personnel.
"But I want to talk about what Venezuela is doing for Cuba. Venezuela is pr=
oviding energy technology to Cuba, providing scholarships to Cuban students=
for energy training. Venezuela is financing energy and electrical developm=
ent, road pavement, the building of aqueducts, the maintenance of ports and=
the sewage system.
"This is the problem, this is the danger to imperialism," he concluded. "Th=
e integration of a Bolivarian Latin America is moving forward in a real way=
. Political will finds a way. Problems are solved when the lines of communi=
cation are clear. When there is a clear strategy, victory is certain."
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