The XXIV Summit of Heads of State and Government of this integrationist platform began this Saturday in the Venezuelan capital. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP)
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00:00Thank you very much, Brother Nicolás Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
00:08I would like to always thank you for the warm welcome in this heroic land,
00:14the cradle of the champion of American freedom, liberator Simon Bolivar and Commander Chávez.
00:24Also greetings to Brother President of the Republic of Cuba, Brother Miguel DĂaz Canel BermĂşdez.
00:31A special greeting to the island of dignity and courage, which is a moral stronghold of resistance,
00:42which does not allow itself to bow to any adversity, and of course the land of Commander Fidel Castro.
00:50I would also like to greet Brother Daniel Ortega, President of the Republic of Nicaragua,
00:57Land of the General of Freeman Augusto CĂ©sar Sandino.
01:02A special greeting to my colleagues from the Caribbean,
01:06with whom we promote this dawn of justice and solidarity for all of our peoples.
01:14Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerritt.
01:19Brother Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
01:24Brother Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Brown.
01:29Brother Prime Minister of Granada, Deacon Mitchell.
01:33Brother Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Terence Drew.
01:39All the representatives from St. Lucia, Haiti, Honduras and Palestine.
01:46Brother Mr. Malki, distinguished heads of the state of government, observers and associate members of Congress,
01:55honorable delegates, social leaders and representatives of the peoples of ALBA-TCP.
02:03Brothers and sisters, today our Bolivarian Alliance celebrates two decades of struggle, dreams, achievements and hope.
02:18On this occasion we are gathered here in Caracas to celebrate together the 20 years of a pact
02:27that was born from the embrace between two giants, Commander Fidel Castro Ruz and Hugo Rafael Chavez FrĂas.
02:36An embrace that marked the curse of our history and began to waive the future of the threats,
02:42with the threats of dignity, solidarity and justice, and social justice.
02:48But at the same time witnessed the celebration of our peoples because of the decay and the failure of the FNAA.
03:0220 years ago, while the world seemed to succumb to the dictates of capital and the threats of unilateralism,
03:11ALBA was born as a beacon.
03:14We continued facing the threats of unilateralism and we continued facing the threats of unipolarity.
03:26That's when ALBA was born as a beacon amidst the darkness.
03:35It was not only about trade but humanity.
03:39It was not only about figures but about faces.
03:44From its genesis, ALBA placed human beings at the center, defending the right to dream,
03:54to the irrenunciable idea that a better world is possible.
03:59Today, the plurinational state of Bolivia, a country that carries the memory of Tupac Katari and Bartolina Sisa,
04:09Simon Bolivar, Antonio José de Sucre, Juana Zuldoy de Padilla and other heroes and heroines of the first independence,
04:20reaffirms its conviction and commitment to this alliance, which is ALBA-TCP.
04:27Because it is more than a political project.
04:32It is a symbol of living resistance when faced to injustices and domination.
04:41It raises its voice against the unjust and criminal blockade against Cuba
04:46and a front that seeks to break the dignity of a people that has been an example of resistance for the whole world.
04:55In Bolivia, last November, we've had four years of a sieged government that has been attacked
05:05from different fronts of the right and the new internal right,
05:12and both internal and external attacks.
05:16This concept of hybrid warfare becomes more alive every day in Bolivia
05:24because in two decades we have not seen such a political, economic and legislative warfare
05:32that's so intense as the one we are experiencing today.
05:36But we are here alive, firm and decided to resist in all trenches every day.
05:50ALBA-TCP is also a firm voice and permanent voice against coercive, unilateral coercive measures imposed arbitrarily against Venezuela and Nicaragua.
06:06Which is an action that represents not only a violation of international law,
06:11but a direct attack on the sovereignty and welfare of our peoples.
06:17This unwavering commitment with life, ALBA-TCP condemns without hesitation the genocidal actions in Palestine
06:28where every day a humanitarian tragedy is perpetrated before the complicit eyes of those who claim to defend human rights.
06:37Our alliance calls for the respect for democracy, which cannot flourish under the boots of imposition or the dictates of a hegemonic interest.
06:50We strongly demand non-interference in the internal affairs of our nations
06:55because each people has the sovereign right to build its own destiny without external pressures or imposed agendas.
07:08Similarly, we advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people with dignity that was forged in struggle for their self-determination and the right to exist.
07:22They are not a far partner, but a people that's demanding justice.
07:30But that cry cannot be ignored or relegated to the indifference of those that watch from the distance.
07:37The international community has a pending debt and that is to stop the genocide that stops the people who day after day see their existence erased.
07:49ALBA-TCP is much more than an organization, it is the flag of the free peoples that defend the complementarity, justice and freedom principles.
08:04We reiterate our commitment with the values and the struggle for a multipolar world.
08:13So, the dignity of our peoples are respected without threats.
08:20In this 20th anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment with the certainty that our resistance is the only possible response to global injustices.
08:36It is the promise that we will continue to fight from our mountains and our plains for a future where freedom, sovereignty and peace are a reality for all of the peoples of our America and the world.
08:53We cannot allow the world to continue tolerating blockades that suffocate nations, sanctions that punish the most vulnerable and take away their right to life.
09:12We cannot accept that those who speak of democracy are outraged with agendas of domination and plunder. We have the urgency, the need and the duty to make the world a zone of peace.
09:26Brothers and sisters, on this anniversary we celebrate the past and look to the future.
09:35Faced with the challenges of a world threatened by fascism and neo-fascism, ALBA is not an option, it is a necessity which must continue with a firm pace, reaffirming the founding principles of solidarity, complementarity, justice and cooperation that have guided it since its creation.
10:00In this scenario where the clouds of the US hegemony rise like a specter threatening our homelands, from ALBA-TCP we celebrate the arrival of a multipolar dawn in which the BRICS emerge as a symbol of hope and equity.
10:22Today, more than ever, we must understand the phrase that if we don't fight and work together, we will be condemned to be erased separately. There is no doubt of that fact.
10:41Bolivia, with its indigenous roots and its vocation for integration, is committed to continue building bridges. We will continue fostering the participation of the Alliance with projects that involve and benefit our native indigenous peoples, peasants and Afro-descendants.
11:03We will promote all necessary actions to eliminate hunger and poverty that hurt the souls of our peoples.
11:11Let's raise the flags of Bolivar, MartĂ, San MartĂn, Garvey and Sucre. Let's remember that the struggle for freedom knows no borders or time.
11:23We dream of a horizon where our foreign policies shed their old chains and embrace depatriarchalization and decolonization as compasses to change our societies.
11:38A new multipolar world, just, prosperous, sustainable, where men and women build together and enjoy equity.
11:54Two hundred years ago, the Amphitrionic Congress of Panama, Bolivar, dreamed of a united, independent and sovereign America.
12:17Today, on this 20th anniversary, we renew that oath. Let's be the voice of those who cannot speak and the refugee of those who seek justice.
12:35May this embrace that marked our history continue to spread because Alba is not only an alliance, it is a promise for the future, a living resistance, a tool for the most vulnerable and a reminder that together, as peoples, we are invincible.
13:06I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to invite everyone here from all of the countries that next August the 6th in our capital city, Sucre, we are going to celebrate the Bicentenary of Bolivia.
13:28Similarly, tomorrow in our country we will have judicial elections, so we must go there to comply with the presidential mandate.
13:53And that's why we would like to ask for permission to everyone here because we will have to leave early to comply with our duties.
14:02However, the Bolivian heart is with Alba. Long live our free countries. Long live Alba. Thank you very much.