It has been a grand Summit!
• Affirms President Raúl Castro at the closure of
the 11th ALBA Summit

Yaima Puig Meneses

CARACAS, Venezuela.— Solidarity, cooperation, complementarity, reciprocity, sustainability, technological sovereignty and economic union, are the fundamental principles behind the work of ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) for more than seven years.

And with precisely the clear proposition of consolidating Latin America and Caribbean sisterhood the final session of the 11th ALBA Summit took place February 5. Army General Raúl Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, and the other heads of state and government or their representatives, arrived at Miraflores Palace on Sunday morning where they were received by the Venezuela leader, Hugo Chávez Frías.

One of the agenda items was the entry of new countries into ALBA with the aim of consolidating the organization’s integrationist objectives. For now, Surinam and St. Lucia were incorporated as special invitees, as set out in the approved resolution which allows them to initiate the process of their full membership of ALBA. The presence of the Republic of Haiti as a permanent special invitee was also ratified.

President Chávez then asked for priority to be given to the Caribbean economies, given that they are more fragile, as he stated, while acknowledging their productive, tourist, fishing and agricultural potential.

In one of his speeches, the host President emphasized the work of the multi-state Telesur network to bring the truth to the world, recalling the titanic task of portraying what really took place recently in Libya, where network news reporters even received death threats.

He also noted that while the international media was reporting that Muammar al Gaddafi, leader of the Green Revolution, was bombing the civilian population in Tripoli Plaza, Telesur transmitted images from the plaza demonstrating the falsity of that information.

In the context of media attacks on governments not to the liking of the big powers, Chávez compared the case of Libya with the current situation in Syria, commenting that the international right-wing media had reported that same morning a government-supported massacre in Syria, when in fact it was a terrorist attack on a city. This was in order to have the Syrian government condemned at the UN Security Council.

He called for those present to pay attention to these types of action organized by empires, describing them as one of the greatest current risks in the world, given that they are strategies to justify invasion.

At another point, Chávez stated that the Orinoco Oil Belt is currently the principal generator of Venezuela’s integral development, and also in terms of the economic independence of ALBA and Latin America. "There is oil for 200 years in the Belt," he noted, stating that Venezuela has plans this year to increase its oil production from three million to 3.5 million barrels a day, which will facilitate greater flexibility in meeting commitments to ALBA and other programs.

He added that Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) is exporting 1.5 million barrels a day to the United States and recalled that during the 4th Republic, the Venezuelan state company reached the point of buying eight refineries in the United States, from which the country obtained no profit whatsoever.

In a brief digression from Summit issues, the Venezuelan leader asked for a meeting of the PETROCARIBE countries in the next few months to discuss the entry into the group of St. Lucia and Surinam, as their governments have requested.

"PETROCARIBE and ALBA are two distinct mechanisms although they are connected," Chávez commented, while highlighting that the former has become an advanced and unprecedented mechanism on the planet. "We are at a stage which could lead to new advances within PETROCARIBE and ALBA," he assured.

President Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica congratulated the countries entering the ALBA membership process, and paid tribute to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro for his vision in creating the organization.

He also noted that the blockade of Cuba is not only against the country itself, but against humanity, for which reason the ALBA countries should express their solidarity and condemn this unjust and criminal policy to which the Cuban people are being subjected.

"This is an organization where we can discuss publicly and openly before our peoples, because there are no secrets, or hidden agendas," he noted, alluding to the fact that the Summit sessions were being broadcast live by the Venezuelan state channel. He added that ALBA constitutes the most transparent body currently in existence, where nobody has veto powers and all points of view are respected. "We are like one sole nation seeking to address the historical problems which we inherited and which we are trying to resolve together," he stated.

President Evo Morales of the Plurinational State of Bolivia urged leaders to unify their political positions of defense against imperialist media attacks.

"Today, we are members of more regional bodies. As presidents, we should always have a position so that we know what to do in the face of media attacks from capitalism and can plan how to act and express our position to these authorities."

He emphasized the conjoint solidarity work of ALBA to the benefit of the peoples, which is already bearing its first fruits with the reduction of poverty and illiteracy. He added that the presidents of this alliance are putting politicians to shame. Being a politician today does not mean obtaining personal benefit, but sacrifice, making every effort and being committed to the people. Politics is the science of serving the people, and not serving oneself through them, he noted.

In the case of Bolivia, Morales continued, citizens described whichever politicians were in office as fraudsters set to take advantage of the population. Finally, he called on the presidents to continue working together and in solidarity, "as that is the great advantage in the hands of the ALBA countries."

Also discussed in the 11th Summit were the working documents of meetings held by representatives of social movements, political parties and the media in the ALBA member countries.

In this context, President Chávez affirmed, "Social movements, peoples, political parties… we must place them all in the vanguard, because they are the soul of ALBA."

There are many ways of cooperation within ALBA, Chávez emphasized, as his Haitian counterpart, Michael Martelly, signed a cooperation agreement which will allow the two countries to promote trade and complementation, as well as the search for the resources, funding and technology needed to confront and combat extreme poverty in Haiti.

Visibly moved, Martelly, who showed the courtesy of making his speech in Spanish, acknowledged that before being President he was never a politician, but that he had promised his people to change things in Haiti. "And with this effort, support and collaboration, I am sure that this can be achieved."

Simple words, listened to attentively, and then the Haitian President moved to the seat occupied by Chávez to embrace him warmly in the name of his people.

The Summit also issued a Special Declaration in honor of the five Cuban heroes, unjustly incarcerated for 13 years in the United States for combating terrorism. The document calls for the release of Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González, as an act of social and humanitarian justice. It similarly condemns the fact that their sentences were the result of serious legal irregularities motivated by political revenge.

There was also a Special Declaration on the inalienable right of the Puerto Rican people to self-determination and their full independence. The document recalls that Puerto Rico is a Latin American and Caribbean nation with its own unmistakable history, whose rights to sovereignty have been violated by the colonial domination of the United States for more than a century.

It was emphasized that Puerto Rican independence is a matter of concern to Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as for all its forums of coordination and political cooperation, particularly that of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Shortly before the conclusion of the Summit, President Chávez read an official communiqué in which the ALBA member countries reiterated their condemnation of the policy of intervention and destabilization against the Arab Republic of Syria.

"For us, ALBA is the homeland," said Chávez, paraphrasing Simón Bolívar minutes before closing this Summit, which took new steps forward in terms of integration and complementarity.

Once again the ALBA countries are promoting ways of increasing the development of this alliance, which did not happen by chance and whose antecedents come from the depths of insurgent America, with roots that are transforming it into a historical project for the construction of the Patria Grande (Grand Homeland). And simply, "It has been a grand Summit!" as Raúl stated at the close of the session.