Translated "Avante!" article by Pedro Guerreiro, Member of the Secretariat of the CC and Responsible of the International Department
The VII Summit of the Americas, which took place on the 10-11th April last, in Panama, ended , not having achieved an agreement on a final outcome. Not a surprising fact.
Since 1994, the year these Summits begun, under the USA’s initiative, important changes occurred within Latin America and the Caribbean – the VII Summit of the Americas is in itself a testimony. Gone are the days when the USA decreed all the game rules and outcomes, “from the backyard”.
The USA, being isolated, had no conditions to carry on demanding Cuba’s exclusion, which presence in this Summit was demanded by the whole Latin – American sub-continent. Cuba, faithful to its history, its principles, sovereignty and internationalist solidarity, coherent with its Revolution values, participated in the Summit, denouncing the USA’s actions of aggression – and the further economic , commercial and financial blockade, imposed on Cuba, for over 50 years – and stating the deepening of the economic up-dating model process, with the purpose of improving socialism, advancing in development and strengthening the Cuban Revolution achievements.
But this was not the only USA political defeat, during this Summit. On the eve of the Summit’s taking place, its attempts to provoke a division round the Venezuela Bolivarian Republic, by ostracizing it, also failed. Contrarily to its aim, the North-American unacceptable decision of declaring Venezuela as a “ rare and extraordinary threat to security” concerning the USA, was wide and openly criticized and condemned, having ultimately isolated the USA and not Venezuela. Alias, as demonstrated by the important positions of the countries that integrate the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of our America (ALBA), the South-American Nations Union (UNASUR) and the Latin-American States Community and the Caribbean (CELAC) – among others, that throughout the world, demanded to be listen to.
During the Summit, Venezuela clearly demanded the end of the USA’s interference policy, respecting its sovereignty and independence both of Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution, annulling the decision of declaring Venezuela as a “threat” and ending the conspiracy plans the USA develop against Venezuela and its people – a reaffirmed demand with more than 11 million Venezuelan signatures.
In Panama, the USA did not achieve to break up the Latin-American and Caribbean unity, concerning major issues. However, the Summit of the Americas ( in the path of the American States Organization) is a serious challenge of North-American imperialism concerning cooperation, integration and Latin-American and Caribbean unity. Reminding these Summits’ origin, associated to the economic and political domain project reflected in the Americas Free Trade Area (ALCA), strived by the USA and defeated during the Summit of the Americas, in 2005, in the Mar de la Plata, Argentina, under the important action of the then presidents Chávez, from Venezuela, Kirchner, from Argentina and Lula, from Brazil.
In some of the released statements during the VII Summit of the Americas, many of a clear anti-imperialist nature, peoples voices were to be heard – and not only by the countries that integrate the ALBA representatives.
Before the great presented challenges, solidarity with the Latin-American and Caribbean peoples’ struggle towards sovereignty and independence, democratic and progressive advances, revolutionary changes, building of socialism, is more necessary than ever.
