|
WITH ITS HARD HOPE, THE SOUTH ALSO
EXISTS
Hugo
Chávez Frías addressed the plenary session on behalf
of the Latin America and Caribbean Group, from where
he sent greetings with to Fidel with a Latin
American, Martí and Bolívar heart and for whom he
requested a round of applause as evidence of the
fraternal appreciation of everyone.
He
called to the attention of those present that the
14th Summit was taking place in revolutionary Cuba
and under the leadership of Fidel, “an example of
dignity and resistance against imperialism” while
equally acknowledging the leadership and history of
Raúl Castro, acting president of the Movement and
first vice president of the Cuban Councils of State
and Ministers. Chávez also expressed his gratitude
and congratulations for the welcoming and warm
hospitality of the Cuban people and government, and
his conviction that Cuba would be successful in the
difficult task of heading the NAM presidency. After
congratulating Malaysia and its Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the success of its mandate
at the head of the political grouping in the last
three years, he emphasized that Venezuela is at Cuba
’s orders in terms of support for this new
presidency.
Evoking the terrible world situation, he greeted the
brothers and sisters of Asia, Africa and Europe .
“You who are visiting this ‘Our Caribbean,’ this
Latin America , like your nations colonized,
overwhelmed and massacred over centuries.
“In
Our America,” he explained, “the independence
processes began centuries ago, and we must always
recall – in order not to lose our roots – those
first indigenous rebellions and, precisely, one of
their representatives, Evo Morales is here as a
president, because he has resuscitated the
indigenous people.” Chávez emphasized: “In the name
of civilization and discovery the colonizers
committed genocide against our peoples, masking it
with that thesis of civilization.
“Tupac Katari, one of the
massacred indigenous peoples, stated then: ‘I will
die today, but I will come back made into millions.
I will die today, but some day I will come back made
into millions,’ and that is what is happening today
in Latin America .”
Chavez affirmed that we are right at the bicentenary
of our independence when that occurred; the
independent republics were born in Our America,
bound together then with blood and even with the
love of their original peoples for mother Africa,
for Europe, but when that occurred in 1810,1811,
1825, there was no kind of relationship with Asia or
Africa. The years went by, he recalled, and the 20th
century arrived and the phenomenon was inverted;
Africa rose up, Asia rose up and from that
independence movement emerged leaders like Nasser,
Sukarno, Tito, like those of ours at the time, and
later founded the Non-Aligned Movement. Fidel was
already here and saw this movement born.
The Bolivarian leader noted that
Latin America was almost entirely under the
imperialist yoke and the Cuban government was the
only one able to survive and project itself toward
this future of today in the 21st century. He went on
to ask what would have become of our region if the
U.S. government had not severed the liberation
movement, nationalist and revolutionary governments
in Guatemala , the Dominican Republic , Brazil and
Chile .
“That is our reality,” he said, “Raúl and Fidel have
already exposed it and I am exposing it, the U.S.
government is still making plans against the
governments of Cuba , Venezuela and others.”
Lamentably, he added, with the exception of Cuba ,
Latin America was unable to accompany the emergence
of the NAM . “Today, 200 years after our
independence, 50 after Bandung , the Movement is in
a new stage and, for that reason, we are here with
so much passion at his meeting.”
Finally, he called for “the construction of new
world among all of us, which is really possible.
“Let
us join forces to push the sun in this new dawn…
because I believe that it is possible for us now to
create a world where no one country rules, nor one
world gendarme, nor war nor cannons nor bayonets,
but in which a world of love, peace and solidarity
reigns.
“Either we succeed in turning the world around and
humanizing it, or humanity will be in danger.
“In
this Summit that begins under the presidency of
Cuba, rebellious as always, dignified as always, who
represents all of us under the leadership of Fidel
Castro, we can attain this because, as the poet
Mario Benedetti said: ‘With its hard hope, the South
also exists.”
|
