Zoe Alexandra
XXIII ALBA-TCP Summit in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Presidencia de Bolivia
2024 marks 20 years since the regional integration platform was founded by Commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
The XXIII Summit of Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Trade Agreement for the People (ALBA-TCP) was held in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday April 24. The summit was the first since Venezuelan revolutionary leader Jorge Arreaza took over as executive secretary of the platform in February 2024.
The gathering in Caracas saw participation from heads of state and ministers from the 10 member states of the body as well as a representative from Honduras who attended as a special invitee.
The closing declaration from the summit states, “We reaffirm our firm commitment to strengthening the ALBA-TCP, as a mechanism for unity, dialogue and political coordination, based on the principles of solidarity, social justice, cooperation, and economic complementarity, which allows us to face in better conditions the dangers and challenges that arise from the complex world scenario, characterized by the deepening of disrespect and the constant threat to peace, security, sovereignty, and self-determination of nations.”
ALBA-TCP was founded in 2004 by Commanders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez as a cornerstone of their vision to revive and strengthen strategic unity and integration in Latin America and the Caribbean and serve as a counter proposal to US imperialism’s efforts to dominate the region. The platform works towards social, political and economic integration of the region and for “the consolidation and strengthening of development, peace, social justice, complementarity, equality, inclusion, solidarity and integration of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples.” The current member states of the platform include: Venezuela, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bolivia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The summit was held on the heels of a series of gatherings organized with social movements from across the world in the Bolivarian Republic, including the Political Coordination Meeting of ALBA Movimientos, a platform of movements from across Latin America and the Caribbean, and the World Gathering for a Social Alternative, wherein 500 delegates from across the world gathered to discuss the tasks of the left and progressive movements to organize the masses and strengthen their struggle and solutions to address the crises facing humanity and provoked by imperialism.
In Wednesday’s heads of state summit, chaired by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the representatives of the member states shared their perspectives on the current situation in the region and the world, and emphasized the importance of spaces like ALBA-TCP for dialogue and creation of joint solutions.
No more sanctions!
In the XXIII Summit, leaders of the bloc issued sharp condemnations of the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against countries in the region such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and called for an end to US interference in the region. Special attention was paid to the upcoming electoral process in Venezuela and the attempt by the US to interfere and put pressure on Venezuela through sanctions.
Philip J. Pierre, the prime minister of Saint Lucia, remarked that his country has called for an immediate lifting of the sanctions against countries in the region: “We have done it consistently in every single session of the United Nations and we will continue to do so until all the sanctions are lifted, and we want them to be eliminated against all countries.”
Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit stated, “We cannot leave out the blockade against Cuba, which has affected millions of lives, and we as a world cannot sit back and allow a single country to impose this terrible act on a sister nation, and I told the president that there is nothing that can prevent us from strengthening and deepening our solidarity, our love for the people of Cuba and the Cuban Revolution.”
Leaders such as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne also added that Cuba must be taken off the state sponsors of terrorism list, as the designation has no basis in reality and has caused great harm to the Cuban people.
In the closing declaration, the member states affirmed: “We demand the immediate and unconditional lifting of the criminal -as they are illegal and unjust- unilateral coercive measures imposed against the people and Governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela, for being irreconcilable with International Law, violating Human Rights and the Charter of the United Nations…We demand that the countries responsible for imposing such measures provide due reparation and compensation to the affected countries and peoples.”
With regards to Cuba, the bloc declared, “We ratify our strong condemnation of the genocidal and illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States of America against Cuba…We demand the exclusion of Cuba from the spurious and arbitrary unilateral list of countries supposedly sponsoring terrorism prepared by the United States Department of State, which has a negative impact on all spheres of Cuban society and the well-being of its people.”
Free Palestine!
While not geographically part of the region, Palestine and the struggle of the Palestinian people was at the heart of the interventions during the ALBA-TCP Summit. The body issued a special communique on the situation in Palestine to condemn the actions of Israel and all of the Western powers that have militarily, economically, and politically backed Israel and its genocidal assault on Gaza and called for the international community to take urgent measures to enforce a ceasefire.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated in his intervention, “We cannot be indifferent to the daily crime that has been committed against the brother Palestinian people for 75 years. No one can justify the brutal Zionist escalation of the last six months, the serious violations of International Humanitarian Law, the war crimes and crimes against humanity that have turned a small strip of inhabited land into a training ground for a bloodthirsty army.”
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro affirmed in his opening remarks that what is happening in Palestine “is not a war, it is a genocide. And the humanist, Christian position is solidarity, accompaniment, and love to the brave people of Palestine. Palestine lives, Palestine fights, Palestine will be victorious towards the future!”
Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda stated that “As a hemisphere we must protest tirelessly against the genocide in Palestine.”
Bolivian President Luis Arce, whose country broke diplomatic relations with Israel in early November 2023, highlighted that ALBA-TCP was one of the first organizations to express its solidarity with Palestine and condemnation of Israel, and called for concrete actions of solidarity and support to be carried out by the bloc.
ALBA 2030
One of the key achievements of the summit was the approval of the ALBA 2030 Strategic Agenda drafted by the executive secretary to serve as a “guide and document to address the coming years and consolidate the Alliance in a comprehensive way, in a joint effort to strengthen the most important areas for development and well being of our people.”
The document, which reflects discussions and consultations with members of the bloc, outlines concrete plans in the economic, social, political, cultural, and communication realms to achieve the above goal.
Among the plans to strengthen economic cooperation and development, ALBA-TCP has called for an increase in trade between member states and identified the steps needed to achieve that such as reviewing trade barriers, developing the necessary logistics chain to allow this trade such as expansion of air and maritime routes, drafting of a map of economic complementarity highlighting the productive and logistic capacities of each country, and reactivating and strengthening credit mechanisms within the bloc. The expansion of the ALBA Bank is also a central point of promoting this economic agenda and the president of the bank, Raúl LiCausi, was present at the meeting.
Finally, the revitalization of PetroCaribe was included as a key part of the economic agenda of ALBA 2030. PetroCaribe was an energy agreement launched in 2005 under the leadership of Hugo Chávez to provide fuel to countries in the Caribbean at a subsidized price, with a part of the price paid consisting of services rendered or agricultural exports to Venezuela from the countries. The agreement signed by over a dozen Caribbean countries also helped fund social programs in countries to address socioeconomic equality such as expanding access to education, sanitation, public services, housing, healthcare and others.
PetroCaribe was suspended in 2019 due to the heavy sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s oil sector which caused a dramatic decrease in production. With Venezuela achieving important economic growth in recent years and a reactivation of oil production, it is now ready to relaunch the program.
ALBA 2030’s social agenda in anchored in the promotion of food sovereignty by financing agricultural production in each country, strengthening natural disaster response and risk mitigation of each country given the particular challenges faced by the island region, the creation of a gender observatory to evaluate and build policies to promote gender equality and guarantee rights of all women and children in the member states, and continue the ALBA Games.
The activation of a Social Council of ALBA was also mandated in order to expand social programs across the region. This council would work on literacy programs, strengthen health and education policies, relaunch joint health programs and missions such as the renowned Operation Miracle which provided free eye treatment to millions of people, reinforce education cooperation agreements, and develop programs that guarantee a dignified life for disabled people such as economic support programs and integration into the workforce. The Social Council also seeks to create cooperation mechanisms to protect labor rights in the region.
The political agenda of ALBA-TCP is focused on positioning it as a consolidated bloc with a common agenda and as an important political voice in regional and international forums such as different UN bodies and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Another key priority in the political realm is expanding the scope of the bloc beyond just the member states and their leaders to foster dialogue and cooperation with different sectors such as: the social movements in the region with the Social Movements Council, with left and progressive parliamentarians in the region with the creation of the Parliamentarian Network of ALBA, and with left and progressive local governments and authorities. The bloc also seeks to establish joint, multi-state initiatives to address organized crime, arms trafficking, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and even terrorism.
The tremendous achievements in economic, social, and political cooperation in ALBA-TCP over the past 20 years, and those to come in the next period, are all dependent on the bloc’s emphasis on the promotion of shared culture, history, and values based on anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, and regional integration. This is a crucial element in combating US hegemony in all realms in the region. In the 2030 agenda, ALBA calls for a communicational, cultural, and educational campaign to promote common values and symbols of the region, a new geopolitics of knowledge which promotes the educational institutes and think tanks of the south and the production of scientific and technological production, and publications about regional integration and ALBA-TCP. ALBA Culture will continue to organize activities and exchanges of music, theater, art, film, and prioritize perspectives with gender, youth, and Indigenous and Black peoples.
ALBA recognizes the need for a network of communication which is able to share the reality of what is happening in the region and respond to media campaigns and fake news wielded by imperialism and the far-right to attack the projects in the region. For this it calls for the creation and strengthening of networks of media outlets of all sizes and digital influencers in order to share content and information, as well as the strengthening of TeleSur.
The ALBA 2030 Strategic Agenda was approved at the conclusion of the XXIII Summit with great enthusiasm from the delegations present and marking a new stage in the process of integration. The bloc will have another summit in December to mark the 20th anniversary of its founding.
Nicolás Maduro ended the session thanking the delegates for their presence and declaring, “From Venezuela, we are engaged in the anti-imperialist counter offensive for the peoples of Our America!”
ALBA is the Alliance that Made Seemingly Impossible Projects a Reality
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
Speech by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the XXIII ALBA-TCP Summit, in Caracas, on April 24, 2024, “Year 66 of the Revolution”.
Dear brother Nicolás Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and host of this timely ALBA-TCP Summit;
Dear Brothers Commander Daniel Ortega and President Luis Alberto Arce;
Dear Brother Prime Ministers Skerrit, Gaston, Ralph and Philip;
Representatives of the family of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty;
Dear Arreaza, Executive Secretary of ALBA-TCP:
First of all I would like to thank you for convening us in “the hour of the ovens”. Martí defined “the hour of the ovens” as that revolutionary time of being together and I quote his words: “in the work of foresight and order, of broad judgment and cordial action, all those who have a chest to attack, and a mind to see from afar, and hands to execute. And without misgivings and without exclusions. And without forgetfulness of the true and the just. And without tenacious antipathies. It is the hour of the ovens, in which nothing but light must be seen”, and ALBA is precisely giving light.
I invoke Marti in this land of liberators, because no one brought us closer and better to Bolivar and his integrationist ideal, which finally transcended from the dream to the reality of Our America, when two profoundly Bolivarian and Marti leaders such as Commanders Chavez and Fidel Castro founded this alternative to the neoliberals’ trade, this alliance of dreams that did so much in such a short time in favor of our nations.
Fidel, so precise and fair in his words, defined Chávez as “the best friend the Cuban people had throughout its history”. Both of them, with their efforts and actions for the emancipation and development of Our America, proved to be close friends and brothers of all Latin American and Caribbean peoples by planting the seed of ALBA, the first realization of a brotherhood that still has a promising road ahead.
This is the Alliance of solidarity and cooperation, victorious over the selfish pragmatism that only bets on profits and the market.
It is the Alliance of the Miracle that made seemingly impossible projects and feats that, in the social order, have benefited millions of citizens in the region.
It is the Alliance where many found for the first time an answer to demands that, for centuries, were not offered by development models where the human being is secondary.
It is the Alliance of unity, which allows us to face challenges and threats together.
Cuba will always be present in ALBA-TCP because, over and above the blockades and difficulties decreed by empires and mercilessly imposed by the current international order, deeply unjust and excluding, our Alliance has proven how and how much can be done from the South, if this solidary integration prevails.
Dear brothers and sisters:
This meeting could not be postponed. The international and regional situation arouses concern and summons us to action.
In some way and on more than one occasion, we have all pointed out the dangers of the impunity with which Israel acts, thanks to the complicity and support of the government of the United States and in spite of the serious risks of regionalization of the conflict in the Middle East, a serious threat to peace and international security.
Only an imperial mentality, an interventionist purpose, can deny that peace and stability in that region depend, in the first place, on a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which contemplates the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State, on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and guaranteeing the right of return of all refugees to their land.
From this tribune of free, independent and sovereign peoples, we demand the immediate entry of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations (Applause).
We cannot be indifferent to the daily crime that for 75 years has been committed against the brotherly Palestinian people.
No one can justify the brutal Zionist escalation of the last six months, the grave violations of International Humanitarian Law, the war crimes and crimes against humanity that have turned a tiny strip of inhabited land into a training camp for a bloodthirsty army.
The United Nations Security Council must fulfill its mandate and put an end to the impunity of Israel, the occupying power, before the questionable credibility of its resolutions, besieged by the imperial veto, ends up disappearing in the rubble of Gaza.
In 2014, in the face of facts as serious as those that outrage us today, the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, left the following written: “The genocide of the Nazis against the Jews reaped the hatred of all the peoples of the Earth. Why does the government of that country believe that the world will be insensitive to this macabre genocide that today is being committed against the Palestinian people? Is it expected to ignore how much complicity there is on the part of the North American empire in this shameless massacre?”
These seem like words written for today. That is why I insist that all the peoples of the world should make the Palestinian cause their own.
Brothers of ALBA-TCP:
The Monroe Doctrine, two centuries after it was enunciated, continues to threaten the destiny of Our America. Imperialism persists in its project of domination over our lands. It finances and promotes violence, destabilization and hate speeches. It attacks leftist and progressive forces and seeks to erase the history of struggle and resistance of the peoples.
In the face of imperialist pretensions, we reaffirm our absolute commitment to unity, the defense of our sovereignty and peace.
We reaffirm the unwavering will to continue strengthening CELAC.
We reiterate our strongest condemnation of the violent raid by the Ecuadorian police on the diplomatic headquarters of Mexico in Quito on April 5. This violation of International Law, of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, of the right to asylum and of the sovereignty of our beloved Mexico, is absolutely unjustifiable.
We urge to restore former Vice President Jorge Glas to his condition prior to the assault of the Mexican Embassy, and to redirect his case in accordance with international law.
Ten years after the adoption in Havana of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, we call for the respect and strict compliance with its postulates. That the region continues to be internationally recognized for its commitment to peace and regional stability is a matter of the utmost importance for the present and the future of the peoples.
Dear friends, dear brothers and sisters of Our America:
On behalf of the Cuban people, Party and Government, I congratulate the Venezuelan people for the development of the new electoral process in a climate of peace and in adherence to its Constitution. They have achieved this in spite of the attempts of some sectors to resort to violence and to retake the failed methods that caused so much pain and mourning more than once to the noble Venezuelan families.
We are not talking about old plans. They are as recent as the assassination attempt against brother Maduro just a month ago. We strongly support the timely denunciation of our Venezuelan brothers and sisters of these plans, which seek to prevent the electoral process from developing in a climate of peace and security.
We reject, once again, external interference and impositions that seek to influence the functioning of Venezuelan institutions.
We denounce the application of unilateral coercive measures by the United States, in violation of International Law, and demand that they be lifted in their entirety, immediately, permanently and unconditionally (Applause).
We express our recognition and full solidarity support to our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, who are resisting the media siege and the interference attempts of imperialism and its allies to break their constitutional order.
To the Plurinational State of Bolivia we extend our support and solidarity in the defense of its sovereignty over its natural resources and in the face of destabilizing attempts.
The sister Republic of Haiti is facing a new and very serious crisis. The international community owes a great debt to its people, who were subjected to repudiatory punishments by imperial powers and have been forced to unjustly pay a high price for leading the first social revolution of the continent.
Haiti needs real, sufficient and effective development assistance and cooperation. There is an illegal traffic of arms and ammunition into Haiti from the United States that must be stopped.
The Haitian people have the right to find a peaceful, sustainable and lasting solution to the challenges they face, based on full respect for their self-determination, sovereignty and independence.
Cuba has offered fraternal and selfless cooperation to Haiti in areas of great impact for its people. Even in the current circumstances, we maintain a medical brigade there that provides services to Haitians in need (Applause).
We have proposed, through CELAC, the creation of a Single International Solidarity Fund for the Recovery of Haiti, which would draw on contributions from the international community and address the priorities of the Haitian people. International banking institutions should channel contributions to this fund. Haiti’s debt must be cancelled.
We also endorse the just demands for reparations and compensation for the damages of slavery and colonialism of our Caribbean brothers, who need and deserve fair, special and differentiated treatment.
We support the right to independence of the Puerto Rican people, and express our solidarity with the Argentine people.
The Caribbean will always find in ALBA-TCP an ally in the defense of its interests and claims.
We appreciate the firm support of the Alliance to the struggle for the end of the genocidal and illegal blockade of the United States Government against the Cuban people, which has been intensified to extreme levels in recent years. We also appreciate the valuable support for the legitimate demand to exclude Cuba from the arbitrary unilateral list of alleged State sponsors of terrorism.
Our struggle will continue, year after year, until the U.S. Government lifts this cruel, immoral and unjustifiable policy. The Cuban people deserve to live in peace and, on equal terms, to demonstrate all that we would be capable of advancing and building in socialism.
Dear brothers and sisters:
As the year 2024 advances, the threats and challenges to the Cuban Revolution remain and even grow, but 65 years of resistance and heroic creation do not pass in vain. We face each day with the impetus of struggle and work that characterizes revolutionaries and with the experience gained in more than 150 years of struggle, together with the exemplary Historic Generation headed by the leader of the Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, who on commemorating another anniversary of the triumph of 1959 has exalted, above so many virtues of the brave Cuban people, the sacred unity that is the basis of every triumph over the neighboring empire that also despises us.
At the end of his emotional words that day, Raul conveyed a synthesis of the lessons learned from the years of revolutionary combat with Fidel and expressed the decisive importance of unity, of not losing serenity and confidence in the triumph no matter how insurmountable the powerful obstacles of the enemies or how great the dangers may seem, and of learning and drawing strength from every setback until transforming it into victory.
Today I say before you, brothers and sisters of the Bolivarian Alliance, that 2024 will also be a year of triumphs and results, of unity and progress. We will not renounce our dreams nor will we betray the legacy of the heroes, living or dead, of Our America.
We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the founding of this emancipating and unitary alliance, successfully promoted by two great, unforgettable, eternal leaders of Our America: Commander Hugo Chávez Frías and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.
We do so with the renewed commitment to continue working for its consolidation and the preservation of its humanist and social essence. We do so inspired by the example set every day by Army General Raúl Castro.
Our commitment to integration and unity is invariable, and from now on also with the 2030 Agenda.
We will continue working tirelessly for an ALBA of victories, for an ALBA of peace and unity, for an ALBA of solidarity and cooperation.
You can always count on Cuba’s modest but determined contribution.
Let us make the dreams of the founders of this Alliance come true!
In this union is and will be our strength.
To Victory Forever!
Together we are invincible!
Thank you very much (Applause).
Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez at the XXIII ALBA-TCP Summit, in Caracas, on April 24, 2024, Photo: Alejandro Azcuy
El ALBA es la alianza del Milagro que hizo realidad proyectos aparentemente imposibles
Source: Cubadebate, unofficial translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 