Good morning,

We have had some minor changes, because President Maduro is coming later and we are taking all the necessary measures.

We came here today to talk about unity and to speak of unity in the left, the left movements; the revolutionary movements have always been a difficult matter.

Today is April 19. Today is the 211th anniversary since the Venezuelan people decided to be free on April 19, 1810; that was the first referendum in the history of Our America.

It was here in Plaza Bolívar (Bolívar square), today Plaza Mayor. At that time, we were a bit controlled, Juan Carlos. There, the Spanish captain general, overwhelmed by the uproar of the people reacting to what was happening in the Iberian Peninsula, which was invaded by the French, the king had abdicated. Well, the Venezuelan people said: “let’s make the most of this circumstance to be free”.

And surprisingly, Captain General Vicente de Emparan decided to ask the people of Caracas if they wanted him to continue in charge or not, and the people of Caracas, with a Catholic priest behind making a hand sign, told them to say no, that they did not want him in charge. And he said: “If you don’t want me in charge, I don’t want it either. And he left. Then, the war broke out.

Afterwards, the worst happened, but April 19 was the key to July 5, 1811, which was the birth of independence. But also on April 19, gringos got what they deserved and they ate “not dust but sand” in Playa Girón.

Undoubtedly, that fact also sealed the future of the Cuban Revolution and of all our revolutions.

On April 19, 2018, the Nicaraguan people defeated the imperialist onslaught that almost led them to war and confrontation. Also, on April 19, 2013, 11 years ago, President Nicolás Maduro, president of the people, formally came to power with his presidential sash elected by the people.

I want to talk to you today about ALBA, because we feel that ALBA is the great platform, the great geopolitical and popular contribution that Commanders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez bequeathed to the peoples. We met with ALBA Movements three days ago and I told them: take ALBA as your own. ALBA is not only for the governments; the governments participate in ALBA as a consequence of the fact that the peoples are moving in that direction, but we have to make you, in the world – there are people from Africa who had a hard time getting here, from Europe, from North America, and from our America, from Asia – to embrace ALBA as Bolivar.

Bolívar is here in a very particular way, very precise for these times. Bolívar is not just Venezuelan, Bolívar is not just a great Colombian, Bolívar is not just an Our American: Bolívar belongs to the peoples of the world, but take him into your heart, into your minds.

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America! The Bolivarian Alliance is where we have to be very clear about what Bolivar means. Because if Fidel – and he was a great Bolivarian – someone more Bolivarian than Fidel is difficult, maybe Martí or Sandino. What was Sandino’s plan? The plan to achieve Bolivar’s supreme dream, that was the plan Sandino presented to the world. So, Bolivar wanted to make it clear: Bolivar is a spirit and ALBA is a spirit that goes beyond those ten ALBA countries, and beyond Our America.

And perhaps we have made mistakes in explaining it. ALBA cannot be – and I have repeatedly said this to our teams – something that relies on a team in a Foreign Ministry, a summit that takes place once or twice a year with a few presidents, a group of people concerned about the terms and principles of a declaration.

We have to assume ALBA as a part of the peoples. In our houses, in our homes; to talk to our children about ALBA, about Bolivar’s unity, about the possibilities. That is why I want us to see ALBA from another point of view.

What I wanted to address is related to our continent, in the case of Our America, which is the first great one, let us say, impacted by ALBA. Now, yes, it is about this historical confrontation. Monroism, which, by the way, we did not want to put a picture of James Monroe here because it was not James Monroe, it was his Secretary of State, but it was the imperialism that was already born and already present during our independence process. Yes, it was the United Kingdom, England, Great Britain, the great empire then. And we fought against the Spanish empire in our lands, but the United States even sabotaged the Congress of Panama that was convened 200 years ago this year.

Look at this quote, and then I’ll give you the date: “Our present federal limits are not too large for good government, nor will the increase of votes in Congress produce any ill effect. On the contrary it will drown the little divisions at present existing there. Our confederacy must be viewed as the nest from which all America, North and South is to be peopled. We should take care too not to think it for the interest of that great continent to press too soon on the Spaniards. Those countries cannot be in better hands. My fear is that they are too feeble to hold them till our population can be sufficiently advanced to gain it from them piece by piece”.

This was Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. And this is not from 1823, which was the year when James Monroe brought the doctrine to the U.S. Congress, but from January 25, 1822, six years after U.S. independence, less than 10 years later, eight years, nine and a half years. They already said that the only concern they had was whether Spain would have the capacity to keep those colonies in their hands so that they could take them from them one by one, piece by piece.

This is the dispute we have. If we look at the OAS, it is the tool of the Monroe Doctrine, it is the tool of U.S. Manifest Destiny in our continent. The OAS is anti-Bolivarian, it is anti-popular; it is the main tool for the enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine. And that is why, in response to the Monroe Doctrine, to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which was the proposal that emerged from the Summits of the Americas, which is the next highest level of the OAS, ALBA was created, emulating the spirit and the project of the Liberator. And although CELAC is the great proposal of all our united America, from Mexico to the Argentine and Chilean Patagonia, we cannot think that its mere existence is already the dream of the Liberator. No, CELAC without the spirit of ALBA is not the dream of the Liberator. It would be just another mechanism of liberal integration of the countries in this system. That is why we have to be the insurgents; we have to rise up against the rest of the union and integration mechanisms with the Bolivarian Alliance.

Look, insurgence is equivalent to rebellion, and who revolts? Peoples. Well, there are elites that revolt at a certain point as well; here we endured the guarimbas in Venezuela, the bourgeois youth, the white bourgeoisie, trying to overthrow the people’s government. But essentially those who can indeed succeed are the peoples when they rise up.

Who guides the insurrection? Sometimes it is very spontaneous, such as the Caracazo in 1989, but who should guide it: the leadership of the people turned government and the people themselves in the streets, the movements, the organizations, you, us, we are the ones who can lead and channel this rebellion.

Let’s remember in the United States, during the Trump era, with the case of George Floyd, there was an uprising in a large part of the United States, but who channeled it? Who had the schedule? There was none! And the system managed to control it, put an end and continue.

Here are some of our leaders: Maurice Bishop, national hero of Grenada since last year, Tupac Amaru, José Martí, Chatoyer from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with a great story of freedom to be told, Miranda; here is O’Higgins but Sucre could be here, San Martín could be here, of course.

Néstor Kirchner said in 2005 in Mar del Plata: “you are not going to browbeat us here”. He was making this point to George Bush and the satellite countries of the United States at the time. And in that sense, at the end of the Summit at Mar del Plata where they could not impose the FTAA on our countries, thanks to Chávez – in that occasion Cuba was not there – thanks to Mercosur and the Mercosur countries: among them were Lula, Evo, Nicanor Duarte, and the Kirchner, of course Nestor. Thanks to this, we sent the FTAA to hell and ALBA was born, which we will now carefully see what it is all about. Here are some of our presidents, they were happy, weren’t they? Happy!

But check this out: Hugo Chávez was overthrown in 2002 for 47 hours.

In the case of Rafael Correa: how difficult it has been to bring power back to the people in Ecuador! That he did not continue in power; the lawfare and all the tools that have been used against him. Mel Zelaya was the first to suffer a coup d’état and one of the reasons why he was couped was because he joined the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America. Evo was overthrown in 2019. Here in Venezuela we are not taking things lightly, we are not doing it; we are not playing games; “we are not fooling around”. We are fighting against imperialism; we are fighting against the Monroe Doctrine. This is a brief explanation of what I wanted, this like the simulation of a gear engine.

The people are the fuel, they are the driving force; they are the energy. But the peoples need to be in touch with some kind of democratic institution with a democratic authority, as Enrique Dussel would say, to be able to communicate, to be able to transmit their feelings and their democratic power. Well, that crucial driving wheel is ALBA. Afterwards, ALBA will move Unasur; it will move CELAC, CARICOM, SICA, or the Andean Community, whatever exists. But if there is no ALBA, what we only have liberal and neo-liberal projects that will not lead us to the desired result. ALBA must be taken over by the uprising of the peoples so that ALBA can achieve its fundamental purpose.

It was signed on December 14, 2004. There were two of them. In 2001 it was Chávez alone. At the Summit of the Americas, Fidel was not invited. Neither was Cuba. But on December 14, 2004 there were two of them, and then in 2006 Evo joined, and then Correa joined, and then the Caribbean countries joined and then the peoples took over, and we are in the current situation. Honduras joined in 2008 and left in 2009; it was taken out by the imperialists.

What is ALBA’s purpose? Achieve comprehensive development, ensure social equality and contribute to guaranteeing the life standards, good living, independence, self-determination and identity of the peoples. You are not reading there about the lifting of tariffs, customs meetings, all that may be present in a complementation process, but that is not the purpose of ALBA. The purpose of ALBA is not to negotiate a free trade zone with the European Union or with the Nasdaq in the United States. It is to achieve self-determination, to make us free and happy, with our needs satisfied.

These are the current member governments of ALBA. We are 10. Hopefully we will soon be more, but as I have said here, there could be 20, 30, and it would not matter if the peoples are not present. That is why we were talking to Alba Movimientos: it is necessary to develop the method. We are not going to do it from the bureaucracy of an Executive Secretariat; we are not going to do it from the Foreign Ministries. It is only possible to do it with you: to develop the method to activate the Council of Social Movements of the Bolivarian Alliance.

Many of you were with President Chavez and the ALBA Presidents in 2008, in Tintorero. And over there, Chávez already said “we need a Council of Social Movements”, but we have not been able to activate it. Well, that is our challenge. And it has to be a Council of Social Movements with an agenda, with a program like the world social alternative’s one, which is what we are working on today on the eve of a new time for humanity.

The principles: cooperation, solidarity, complementarity. Look, we cannot apply tariff elimination in ALBA. How does the Venezuelan economy compete with the economy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines? How does the economy of Antigua and Barbuda compete with the economy of Bolivia? It is impossible! We have to be complementary, respect our differences, respect the economic realities, respect the laws of each country and we are currently working on the ALBA-TCP, which was the contribution of the government of President Evo Morales: the Peoples’ Trade Treaty.

We are working on this, President Maduro, President Díaz-Canel, President Arce, with whom we have met: a great TCP among the 10 ALBA countries, but where complementarity, complementation is the fundamental element, not a merely elimination, not free trade zones, but something else that identifies us with a new type of economy, an economy for life, which is our goal.

The defense of Latin American and Caribbean cultural identity. The coordination of multilateral positions in negotiations with countries and extra-regional blocs. Trade and investment should not be the ends but instruments to achieve sustainable development. At an ALBA summit, I remember Professor Aristóbulo Istúriz, our teacher, may he rest in peace, who told us that the social aspect is always strategic and the economic aspect is tactical.

If we do not put the economic goals in line with social purposes, we are not moving in the right direction. Energy integration: Petrocaribe, for example. Venezuelan fuel for the Development of the Peoples, and it can be Mexican fuel, and it can be any country’s fuel for the Development of the Peoples. The promotion of investment with Latin American capital, respect for intellectual property, the development of communications and transportation, and the sustainability of development through regulations to protect the environment.

This is what I wanted to address. There is an ALBA Presidential Council. Who are there? The presidents, the prime ministers, the heads of government of the Alliance. Then, there is a Social Council: the Social Council, the missions, the great social policies, the eye surgeries, the doctors who are trained in Cuba and Venezuela and go to those countries, the aid for the disabled.

The Political Council is made up of the Foreign Ministers. The Executive Secretariat is a tool to ensure the continuity of the processes. The Economic Council is actually called the Economic Complementation Council: it is made up of the ministers of the economic area who meet to build the major policies. But then, look at the Social Movement Council. Comrades, the commitment is to say next time we meet: “here is the Council of Social Movements of ALBA-TCP”. We emerged. We meet with our presidents and prime ministers”.

On December 14, ALBA will be 20 years old, hopefully on that day we will be able to inaugurate – it is a challenge – the Council of Social Movements of ALBA and bring it together with the ALBA Presidential Council in Havana, Cuba, to celebrate the 20 years of our alliance.

These are some achievements:

• Misión Milagro (Eye care social mission): surgeries to fight the “blindness of poverty”, as Commander Hugo Chávez used to call it. 5 million 482,525 surgeries conducted and over 41 million glasses provided.
• Care program for people with disabilities: over 1,075,000, technical aids for people with disabilities.
• Literacy: almost 5 million people literate thanks to Cuba’s “Yo sí puedo” method, which has always been present in ALBA.
• Latin American Children’s Cardiology Hospital: has performed over 1,698 surgeries on children from ALBA countries with heart disease problems
• Sports games: sports games have been organized among the ALBA countries
• Vaccine shipping during the pandemic: when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, Conviasa, ALBA’s flagship airline, became the vaccine carrier for the ALBA countries. Although we could not buy vaccines due to sanctions, it was even more difficult for Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, as vaccines were being “hijacked” by the capitalist countries. Thanks to ALBA, Chinese and Russian vaccines reached those countries and were able to fight the pandemic.
• Community-based integral doctors: the best thing about medicine both in Cuba and in Venezuela is that they are not trained to go to Europe or to open a private practice. If you come from a small town or village, you are trained in Cuba or Venezuela and you go back to your town to help the people with their health. We have more than 22,000 doctors and I think this is not enough.
• Fund for the care of Eastern Caribbean countries: there is a fund for the care and support of Eastern Caribbean countries.
• New flights: New flights have been opened. For example, the Argyle Airport, a very beautiful airport in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where ALBA provided resources. Commander Chavez allocated a good part of Venezuelan resources through the Bank of ALBA for the construction of that airport. Now, there are flights from Venezuela to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which were never considered before.
• The LIAT airline, which has been financed by ALBA in Antigua and Barbuda, aims at connecting the Caribbean countries with Venezuela, Cuba and the countries of Central America in order to ensure interconnectivity among us so we don’t have so much trouble, because I know that some of you took four planes, one day traveling to get to Venezuela, while on a direct flight takes one hour.
• Protection of Pachamama: ALBA is working together; Bolivia has always been the great force to protect Pachamama in ALBA.

ALBA rejects unilateral measures and is a peace alliance. Therefore, we have to guarantee being a zone of peace so that our Latin America and the Caribbean can be, as CELAC says, a zone of peace.

2030 ALBA Agenda: I won’t go into detail here, but we have a 2030 agenda, just as the world social alternative in your hands. There is a 2030 ALBA agenda, a 2030 horizon, to develop a dynamic, complementary and fair trade relationship among ALBA member countries by 2030.

How can this be done? We have to move towards this complementary People’s Trade Treaty. We have to move towards maritime and air transportation to be able to take our products from one country to another.

Common purchases: Joint purchases of what is necessary for our peoples.

Some necessary deregulations in our economies, some necessary disconnections: Some Caribbean countries must disconnect, but for that we need to provide the conditions for them to be able to connect with the ALBA mechanism and disconnect from some trade mechanisms that tie them to their ex-metropolis or that can tie them to the United States.

The growth of the Bank of ALBA, that is to say, what I wanted to show you with this is that there is a plan, there is an agenda. Some people think that it is ambitious for 2030, but President Diaz-Canel said that between now and 2030 is a long time, so we have to keep pace with our leaders and try to achieve the goals.

Commander Chávez proposed it for our Latin America and the Caribbean, he proposed it for South America, it was not possible to move forward for whatever reasons. The Bank of the South is expressed in ALBA as the Bank of ALBA, Petrosur, is expressed in ALBA as Petrocaribe.

The ALBA economic zone was the great trade zone that Commander Chavez wanted, the Sucre is a common currency that we could not implement with the rest of the countries, but it is in ALBA, it exists, the bank and the currency are there, we are going to reactivate it now with the new crypto-asset modalities that allow us to easily overcome the sanctions of the gringos if we do it correctly, But it is the spirit, that is why I was telling you, if we manage to turn the Bank of ALBA into the Bank of the South tomorrow, it is because Alba already exists, that Petrocaribe becomes Petrosur, that the Sucre becomes the common currency or with any other name. Perhaps, the bolivar of Our America, well, we would be there. Here is the seed. Water this seed and we will succeed in harvesting its fruits at a higher level.

But it is that engine, that first driving wheel in direct contact with the peoples that must be geared with the rest of the integration processes.

In the social area, to meet the basic needs of our peoples, especially the most vulnerable populations, by 2030. Well, that is where food sovereignty comes in. Misión Milagro, re-launching assistance for strengthening the Caribbean. It is very important the mitigation and attention to disasters, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, and now with climate change it is even more important, because the small island states are subjected, in the first place, to all the consequences of climate change that the countries of the global North have caused. And well, we have social infrastructure here: hospitals, schools, etc. We have tools, of course.

Basically, we can take this to the 10 countries, but bear in mind that Commander Chavez, Commander Fidel, foresaw that local governments can also be associated with ALBA, that the mayor’s office, even the mayor’s office of San Salvador with Mr. Bukele was part of ALBA and benefited from ALBA resources, then that man betrayed ALBA, that is something different. Back in the day, the Managua Mayor’s Office also benefited from ALBA.

But let us analyze, is it possible, I mean, I am venturing here, dear Ambassador of Mexico, is it possible that some governor or some mayor’s office in our countries would like to associate with ALBA? Welcome, always welcome. Well, policies against illiteracy, medicines, among others.

Politically, to have constituted ALBA by 2030 as an international reference of moral authority and credibility regarding its joint political positions as a large bloc of opinion and concrete action. We cannot have not discussed, debated, negotiated -we say in multilateral terms- among ourselves the joint positions. This is less and less the case, but it does happen. But with the Council of Social Movements, this will not merely be a joint position between governments; we have to listen to the Council of Social Movements, we have to listen to the peoples’ views on climate policy, on economic policies, on trade policies, on policies for social rights. That is why we want to put the whole puzzle together with the Council of Social Movements.

We have been talking about an ALBA parliamentary network, we have to design it. We could invite 10 extra ALBA parliamentarians, if we can, because ALBA goes beyond its formal member countries. Also, it works for local governments.

We also need to work on a network for the protection of social rights and human rights. Why do we have to depend on the High Commissioner or the former High Commissioner, and why do we have to depend on the United Nations when we can have our own mechanisms?

And of course, I stress that ALBA should be the heart of CELAC, and I insist that if CELAC does not bear the essence of ALBA, it will end up tomorrow as the new Organization of American States (OAS), that is why we have to look over it and fill it with the great spirit of ALBA.

In the cultural field, ALBA is very diverse, Our America is diverse; there are those who believe that Latin America and the Caribbean should not be seen as a unit, we believe they should. Not only a geographical unity, there is a type of drum that is used here in Barlovento very particular, I do not remember its name, our ambassador Jorge Guerrero in Grenada referred to it. He is a scholar, a researcher of Afro peoples and the African diaspora around the world and he, being a researcher and having 10 years of experience as an ambassador, had not seen that, in a small town of Grenada over there, where he was invited, they use the same drum with the same materials, with the same sound, with the same rhythm.

In the Caribbean countries, in some countries, look, the English forbade the use of drums. That’s why the Steel Band was born, it was with the barrels they used to trade and some drumsticks; some sticks to play them. Because if the British heard the drum, they said: “no, these people remind their mother Africa, let’s ban it from the root”. And yet, in those countries there is the drum, the drum survived. Well, this is how our peoples resist.

And in terms of culture, there is much we can achieve, much we can even achieve in terms of thinking, knowledge, with the research institutes of global thinking in the South.

In terms of communication, it is a great challenge. It is in the social networks, it is artificial intelligence, what are we going to do? Are we not going to debate artificial intelligence from ALBA? No, because then they will say that we want to regulate it. And we do want to regulate it. What is the problem?

These genetic cloning issues, do you remember when those came up? The end of the world, well, basic codes of ethics, and here we go, you can’t regulate new technologies. Do we have to kneel before Elon Musk? Or can we regulate it, but with the breadth of the historical moment, not with dogmatism, but knowing how to use artificial intelligence for the good, for prosperity, for the evolution of our peoples? But we have to debate. Nobody is debating it. Tomorrow we will see people with chips in their heads saying what they want them to say, and we have not yet debated. But here we have ALBA Digital’s support, the communication networks.

Now, there is something very important: communication in social networks, TikTok and Instagram, whatever you want, but the real communication of the people is door to door, it is through hugs, it is shaking hands, it is giving a kiss, it is discussing. For this reason, President Maduro’s determination over the last few years to ensure that communal councils and communes have the leading role. Therefore, the popular vote that you are going to attend on Sunday, where our communities in the territory make up the Government and they decide what the Government finances and what it does not finance. It is not decided by a mayor, a governor or a minister, they decide. But well, for that, as Estefani said, she said: “Organization is fundamental”.

For those who say they fight against imperialism and do not believe in organization, that is pure rhetoric. That is why I insist, the media impact of Telesur, the radio in other countries, big multimedia platforms of ALBA to communicate information in Spanish, in English, and other languages. We can strengthen all that, but if we allow the political work to be done in the community, we will be able to do it.

Against artificial intelligence, people’s intelligence is the only way to go.

This is the big picture. Next week there is a Summit, as I told you yesterday, a meeting of presidents. I hope that some of you can stay in the country to report to our presidents, prime ministers, on what this meeting has been about, the role played by the movements, the role you want to play in ALBA, the reactivation or activation of the Council of Social Movements and, well, of the Alliance, sorry, the social alternative, which we are proposing from this forum.

But this new document that we are presenting, apart from its main principles, this global social alternative makes concrete proposals on democracy and world order, finance, housing, welfare and social protection, work, health, the digital world, the environment, culture, food, education, women and people with sexual diversities.

If we are not capable, my dear colleagues, of agreeing on a minimum common agenda in these areas, we will not achieve our goals. Enough of pettiness and polarization! Enough is enough. Here in Venezuela they used to say before Chávez that the leftist leaders were generals of division. Why? Well, because four parties come to a meeting and seven leave, they were divided. Then, they do not talk to each other “because you said”, “because you did”, “because you summoned”.
There is no time for that anymore. Unity is the only possible path. Quoting Gandhi, unity is not the destination, unity is the way. So, we have to move forward and to take concrete action together. We have to reach agreements. Haiti is there. What are we going to do for Haiti? We are concerned about Palestine, Palestine hurts us. Last night there was a sort of fake campaign, a fake war that Israel was attacking. That could happen at any moment, but it was a trial balloon. And we have to fight for Palestine, comrades, but how many miles is it from Venezuela, from Nicaragua or Cuba?

And also, we know that if there is an opinion that respects the Haitian people, it is the opinion of the ALBA countries. If there is one opinion that respects the Haitian people, it is the opinion of Venezuela and Cuba due to what Venezuela and Cuba have done for Haiti. But then, gringos build their strategy. Well, CARICOM is part of it. Haiti is part of CARICOM, it was necessary to take part so that gringos would not impose their agenda, but we have to enter as ALBA. Now, I don’t know about the Summit of Presidents, surely the presidents can make proposals, but we will only get that from the Council of Social Movements.

The movements are the only ones that can really make a counter-proposal to the proposal being made by imperialism through the United States. Because that proposal, when they implement it, it will include small U.S. troops from wherever, but it will be include troops. And what is going to happen in Haiti? We really have to develop a proposal.

I would say that one of the first duties of the Council of the Social Movements of ALBA should be a plan to free Haiti, because, besides, Haiti is our debt. How much do we owe Haiti? Yesterday it was said: it was the first great example, the first independent and Afro-descendant Republic. And the French did not forgive them for that.

Haiti is the only country that had to pay a huge debt to France because it was freed. A huge debt which was paid until the end of the twentieth century, please imagine. But Pétion had no problem whatsoever in giving ships, weapons, army, ammunition, gunpowder to Bolivar so that he would come to liberate our countries.

And finally, in the World Social Alliance paper, we used this phrase from Simón Rodríguez, the Liberator’s teacher. A man… Well, I think that Simón Bolívar and Simón Rodríguez were at least 150 years ahead of their time. And he wrote it that way. That is called logograms and he says there: “The greatest fatality of man” – today we would say of man and woman – in the social state is the lack of a common feeling with his or her fellow people, a common feeling of what is convenient for us, a common feeling”.Here is the World Social Agenda. That must be our common agreement; that must be our common feeling, ALBA must be our common tool, but we must feel it.

Consider yourselves members of ALBA, all of you, take the flags of ALBA; spread its spirit throughout the world. The common feeling: I am sure that we can achieve it. We have no more time, comrades, to continue with the discussion. Today, the contributions of the presentations have already been made, but we must now move on to concrete action agendas. This solidarity is no longer just a declaration, but an action. It is no longer just a statement, but action. And we must do it, but we must have this common feeling, this common agreement, clearly established.

Let us invite everyone, as President Maduro says, to unite everything and everyone who can do it united against the main enemy. Quoting Ho Chi Minh, there will be some with whom we can agree 80% of the actions, with some 50%, with others they will demand more from us. Those people are too weak, they are too conservative, they must go deeper. But let us agree on a minimum and move forward. And then, it is ALBA as a tool.

Capitalism dehumanizes us, distances us, and isolates us. Capitalism is on the move. Yesterday Juan Carlos Monedero said: why don’t the peoples come out today as they did in 2003 to protest the war in Iraq? Because we were not seeing it so directly, we were not seeing the dead children; we were not seeing their dead bodies or the children with the white phosphorus in their faces, or the mothers with their dead children in their arms. We are not seeing it like that and, nevertheless, we went out by millions and millions in the world to try to stop the war in Iraq, only comparable to what happened at the end of the Vietnam War. Why are we not going out today? What is going on? These are the networks, these are the mechanisms. People are lost. We need to convince those lost people. We are going to convince everyone, because this is the people’s project, not another one. This is the project of the peoples. So, thank you very much, my comrades. I am sure that we are going to be victorious. Long live the Homeland! Homeland is humanity!