MANAGUA – NICARAGUA / On Wednesday, February 21, Commander President Daniel Ortega and the Vice President of Nicaragua Rosario Murillo, headed a commemorative event in honor of the 90th anniversary of the passage to immortality of the General of Free Men, Augusto C. Sandino.

The ceremony, held at the Olof Palme Convention Center in Managua, was attended by prominent personalities, including the Commander in Chief of the Nicaraguan Army, Army General Julio César Avilés Castillo; the first Commissioner Francisco Javier Díaz; General Director of the National Police Dr. Gustavo Porras; president of the National Assembly; Commander Lumberto Campbell, magistrate of the Supreme Electoral Council.

In addition, the representative of the National Assembly Loria Raquel Dixon; Major General Bayardo Rodríguez, Chief of the General Staff of the Nicaraguan Army; Major General Marvin Elías Corrales, Inspector general of the Nicaraguan Army; Commissioner General Horacio Rocha, Minister advisor to the president for Security issues; Commissioner General Zhucov Serrano, Deputy Director General of the National Police; and the commissioner general Luis Roberto Cañas Novoa, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Interior.

Rubén Darío’s courage

President Daniel Ortega mentioned that in February two great figures in the history of Nicaragua took the step to immortality, the prince of Spanish letters, and father of Modernism, Rubén Darío and the General of Free Men and Women Augusto C. Sandino.

President Daniel Ortega praised the firmness, courage and love of both towards Nicaragua, highlighting the revolutionary impact of Rubén Darío on literature and the Spanish language.

“Two giants for their firmness, for their courage, for their love for Nicaragua. The first was Rubén. On February 6^th, he transcended to immortality… He was born in a small town in Nicaragua called Metapa. He was raised in a poor, humble family, but Christ made the miracle that Rubén become known to the world and revolutionized the Spanish literature”, he said.

“He also stressed the universal poet’s courage in facing the American empire through his poetry, at that time to say: “you are the United States” and in the end he tells them, you can count on everything, but never on God, and those who count on God no matter how much they suffer, no matter how much peoples or nations (as the Yankees have done), militarily occupy them, those people will ultimately emerge victorious over death”.

Legacy of dignity, loyalty

At the commemorative ceremony, the legacy of dignity, loyalty and patriotism of the national hero Augusto C. Sandino was underlined, whose memory continues to live on in the history of Nicaragua.

Commander Daniel described General Sandino as “the father of the Nicaraguan Revolution, the father of the anti-imperialist struggle in Nicaragua.”

“This statement of our General Sandino is still valid because the fight continues, the battle continues; “The imperialists of the earth have not disappeared, rather they are committing terrible crimes like those they are committing against the Palestinian people day after day, in the sight and patience of the countries that call themselves civilized, the European countries that are complicit in these crimes”, he added.

Finally, he emphasized the pride that General Sandino felt for his roots, for coming from the people and for having indigenous American blood flowing through his veins.

“My greatest honor is to arise from among the oppressed who are the soul and nerve of the race, from those of us who have been left behind to live at the mercy of the shameless assassins who helped to inspire the crime of high treason”, he recalled.

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) invites artists, creators and the general public to participate in the open call for the “Arts and Literature ALBA Contest 2022” centered on the topic:

The bicentennial battle between the Latin American and Caribbean doctrines and the Monroe Doctrine

Such Latin American and Caribbean doctrines to be developed may be the Bolivarian, Marti’s and/or Sandinista doctrines.

The purpose of the call for applications:

1. The purpose of this call is to encourage the creation of artistic and literary works offering a cash prize and support for their dissemination.

Conditions for participation:

2. The call is open to creators over 18 years old and from any country.

3. Participants will have creative freedom for the submission of their work, which should be based on the concepts and contexts related to the general topic set forth in the preamble of this call.

4. Only one (1) work per participant will be allowed to be submitted in one (1) of the following artistic disciplines:

• For the short story, poetry and essay genres: participating works must be completely unknown, i.e., they must not have been published or awarded in other contests and must be based on the topic of this call. Participating works must be submitted as an attached file with a maximum length of up to 15 pages total; in 1.5 spacing, Arial font, size 12, in PDF format. (In the case of essays, it may be up to a maximum of 45 pages total).

• Short film script: Each of the proposals for short films must consist of:
• Tagline: Description of the idea no longer than one (1) sentence,
• Logline: explanation of the idea no longer than two (2) lines,
• Storyline: explanation of the idea no longer than five (5) lines,
• Synopsis: explanation of the idea no longer than one (1) page,
• Description of main characters: Description per character no longer than one (1) paragraph of five (5) lines.
• Script: Development of the script presented in no less than ten (10) pages and no more than twelve (12) pages.
• It should also include a provisional title.

• Song: The song must be submitted in manuscript (melody, lyrics and lead sheet) and/or recorded with the lyrics printed on a separate sheet of paper. A MIDI or MP3 file of the work must also be submitted on CD marked on the outside with the composer’s pseudonym and the name of the work. On the inside, the title with the name of the work if required. No other information may be placed inside the CD, otherwise it will be disqualified. The submission may also be made in digital format.

For the visual art genres, the central topic to be developed will be “Our America”

• Painting: Series of three (3) plastic or graphic works. The works as a whole must not exceed 1.5 meters on their largest side as a final measure (framed or assembled according to the montage layout), nor weigh over 30 kilograms, and must be made of materials suitable for their preservation, transportation and future montage. Plastic or graphic works in NFT format are also eligible.

• Photography: Series of three (3) printed or digital photographs. The works as a whole must not exceed 1.5 meters on its largest side as a final measure (framed or assembled according to the montage layout), nor weigh over 30 kilograms, and must be made of materials suitable for their preservation, transportation and future montage.

• Design: logo for the Fifth ALBA Sports Games 2023 for a poster in high resolution digital format.

5. The submission dossier must be written in Spanish and English, in single-spaced, letter-size pages, in Arial font, size 12.

6. Conditions for submission. The work must be unpublished and original, which means that it should not have participated in previous national or international contests, nor have received partial or total recognition or funding for its production, nor have it been published or filmed at the time it is submitted to the contest. Adaptations of literary, visual or audiovisual works will not be accepted.

7. Content that may be offensive to the public because of race, gender, social, political, religious, sexual preference or other is not allowed.

Selection of works:

8. Selection of works. The jury, made up of six (6) recognized professionals in the area, will select winning artworks, one (1) for each discipline, considering the following aspects: originality and creativity of the idea, feasibility as well as its adequacy to the rules and topic of this Open Call.

Presentation of the works:

9. Proposals should be sent to premiosalba2022@gmail.com in digital format, together with a cover page containing the following information:

a. Call for the ARTS AND LITERATURE ALBA CONTEST 2022

b. Title

c.  Author

d. Identity Card Number or passport

e. E-mail

f.  Telephone Number

g. Curriculum Vitae

h. Discipline competing

10.   In addition, the following documents must be attached:

a.   Written consent signed by the participant, where he/she declares that he/she has not been awarded any previous prizes, has no copyright commitments with third parties, is not participating in any other event and accepts to comply with the rules of this contest.

b.   ID card or passport scanned.

11. Duration of the Call. Open from August to November 14, 2022.

Except for the “Design” category, for which the deadline for receiving posters will be October 15, 2022.

The Executive Secretariat and the results:

12. The Executive Secretariat will be in charge of appointing the Jury, which will be made up of prestigious writers, artists and researchers of recognized experience, whose names will be announced in due course.

13. The Jury’s decision regarding the selection of the winning works shall be final and may be declared void.

14. Results. The results of the call will be published in December 2022 through public media, social networks and the winners will be notified via email.

Awarding:

15.  The prize will be $3000 for the winning work in each of the disciplines and the special distinctions considered by the Jury.

16. Participants agree to transfer to ALBA-TCP the physical and virtual exhibition rights of the works produced within the framework of this open call. Whenever any of the awarded works is presented, broadcast or recorded by any sound or audiovisual media or edited, it must be mentioned as: “Work awarded in the 2022 Arts and Literature ALBA Contest“.

17. Anything not provided for in these rules will be defined by the Jury.

18. Participation in this Open Call means the awareness, understanding and acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Caracas, August 2022

The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP); Sacha Llorenti, met with the diplomatic representatives of the member countries during his visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on the occasion of the swearing-in of new President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi.

At the meeting, the regional integration bloc reaffirmed its solidarity with those countries affected by unilateral coercive measures aimed at breaking their peoples’ will.

The meeting was attended by Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, Ambassador Isaac Bravo Jean, Bolivia’s Ambassador Romina Pérez Ramos, Cuba’s Ambassador Alexis Bandrich Vega, Venezuela’s Vice-minister for Asia, the Middle East and Oceania Capaya Rodríguez and Ambassador Carlos Alcalá Cordones.

In his speech, the Secretary emphasized the need to face the enemy and have a clear political and ideological position in order to successfully move forward.

“When people have ideological doubts, they get lost, but for those of us who have an absolutely clear horizon, it is easy to know where to go. It is much easier to find oneself when one has an absolutely clear horizon,” he said.

He added that each historical moment has its own particularity and currently it is not only a matter of fighting against imperialism’s attempts to hijack the natural resources of each country and turn these nations into a marketplace for its products, but also to destroy the idea and the possibility of the existence of another model of development with social justice.

“Neither hunger nor misery is our fate; rather, there is the possibility of a more just and humane social justice, and that is the example of ALBA-TCP. The further we have been from the United States, the better we have done. The more independent and sovereign we become, this is absolutely related to the means of social justice”, he stressed.

Secretary Llorenti highlighted the work of changing people’ lives through the ideas of Commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, ” you can see the great work that has been done in these years”.

Likewise, he pleaded for the unity of the peoples who are victims of coercive sanctions and the Alliance’s solidarity with them.

Also, Llorenti asserted that the Heads of State and Government have strengthened integration, and in this context, different meetings have been planned in areas such as health, communication, education, economy, women’s rights and gender, culture and tourism.

Secretary Llorenti recalled that, as Commander Chávez used to say, ALBA-TCP has to build a platform going beyond States to strengthen the peoples and exercise the peoples’ diplomacy.

Finally, the ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary thanked for the support the ALBA Secretariat has received from the governments, especially Venezuela’s through President Nicolás Maduro, Vice-president Delcy Rodríguez and Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister affirmed that as long as the U.S. imperialism and European imperialist powers exist and implement offensive, meddling, neocolonial policies of domination, the Alliance will also exist to fight against them and defend the sovereignty and independence of the peoples.

On an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Sacha Llorenti, held a meeting on Tuesday night with Ayatollah Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi following his swearing-in as the new President of the Persian nation.

At the meeting, the Iranian head of State said that the Islamic Republic and the ALBA-TCP member states share the same values, and that deepening political and economic ties with Latin America is one of the priorities of his country’s foreign policy.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to develop its political and economic relations with the ALBA-TCP member states, and deemed it in line with the common values and positions shared by the two parties,” said President Raisi.

In this regard, Raisi stressed the need of “improving the level of cooperation and coordination in the bilateral, regional and international areas with the proper planning and preparation.

The Iranian president highlighted that “there is no doubt that a greater development of relations between Iran and Latin American countries can counter the U.S and other arrogant countries.”

I had the privilege and honor to hold a meeting with H.E. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We extended the @ALBATCP congratulations for its inauguration, talked about our coincidences and common agenda.

pic.twitter.com/atFubJwErM

— Sacha Llorenti (@SachaLlorenti) August 4, 2021

The ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary, Sacha Llorenti, expressed his joy at the presence of the nine ALBA members States in Tehran, and congratulated Ayatollah Raisi for his election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reaffirming that the Latin American regional integration organization’s goal will deepen further relations with the Iranian people and Government.

“Iran and ALBA have a lot in common, and they both aim to defend the nations’ independence and sovereignty to face the extravagance of the United States,” added Llorenti.

Iran’s President-elect Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi took office after receiving the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony held on Tuesday in Tehran.

On Friday, the Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Sacha Llorenti, held a virtual meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Stergomena Tax.

At the meeting, the authorities discussed the coincidences of their organizations and agreed to initiate a joint work plan in different areas.

They also stressed the need of consolidating relations with other subregional organizations that share the same principles of self-determination, solidarity, integration and cooperation.

Executive Secretary Tax highlighted that the SADC’s priorities are focused on the development of infrastructures and human development, specifically on cooperation to preserve peace, security and political stability.

The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Sacha Llorenti, participated in the commemoration of the 42^nd anniversary of the victory of the Sandinista Revolution held on Monday, in Caracas.

In his statement, the ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary praised the lessons of dignity given by the Nicaraguan people to the world for decades.

“It is a timely moment to pay tribute to the Nicaraguan people and congratulate the achievements the Sandinista Revolution has offered to not only Nicaragua, but to the world in general,” said Llorenti.

Also, he asserted that the ALBA-TCP member countries are suffering constant attacks. Being Cuba the most recent case, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have also been victims of an aggression followed by unilateral coercive measures that violate international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

The ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary condemned the fact that those imposing these measures are the ones who want to give lessons on democracy and peace to the peoples through the meddling of Non-Governmental Organizations, “which are not truly non-governmental, because they are an instrument of other States’ meddling foreign policy.”

In this regard, Llorenti rejected campaigns in social media against the countries that decided to be free. “With the robotization, mechanization and instrumentalization of these tools that should be used to get us closer and deepen dialogue among human beings,” he explained.

Finally, Llorenti highlighted that integration “exists to face challenges and defend the interests of our people.”

“One of the great examples of this worthy defense of our people is the defense put up by the Government of Reconciliation and National Unity led by Commander Daniel Ortega and Vice-president Rosario Murillo,” said Llorenti.

In Managua, President Daniel Ortega underscored the courage of the Nicaraguan people to defeat the U.S. intervention at a single stroke when Washington thought they were defeated.

Ortega said the battles faced by the countries include the fight against “the attempts of U.S. rulers to impose their hegemony, to be the rulers and lords of the planet, and even to take over the universe.”

The Nicaraguan president affirmed that “the era of the yankee hegemony expired. Now the peoples are fighting all around the world. The U.S. people are fighting courageously, and so are the European people against those countries that still dream of imposing their neocolonialist policies.”

The People’s Power Ministerfor Eco-socialism, Josué Alejandro Lorca, participated in the Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities on the Environment of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held on Wednesday on virtual format.

The Venezuelan representative highlighted that this meeting will serve to work on a common agenda enabling to face – as States – climate change and the biodiversity loss the world is currently experiencing.

Regarding the warning issued by scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about the upcoming scenario mankind will have to face due to the increase in temperature and the loss of biological diversity, Lorca explained that Venezuela proposed joint cooperation among brother countries. The ALBA-TCP Meeting of Ministers and High-level Authorities on the Environment followed previous meetings and actions such as the “Reencuentro con la Pachamama”: Global Reflection for the Defense of Mother Earth, held in La Paz on April 22^nd and 23^rd,  and the 19^th Summit of Heads of State and Government, held on June 24^th, where the Alliance’s countries reaffirmed the need of working for the preservation of biological diversity to meet the needs of present and future generations.