Below, we share the final Declaration of the “World Anti-Imperialist Meeting” held in Caracas, Venezuela, between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24, 2020, in which 403 international delegates and 2,096 national delegates of the Great Patriotic Pole and the People’s Congress participated, along with organizations and social movements that accompany the Bolivarian Revolution.
The delegations of the political parties and social movements gathered in the city of Caracas, capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the occasion of the “World Anti-Imperialist Meeting,” after deliberations have reached the following conclusions:
The future of humanity is in grave danger. Peace on the planet is seriously threatened as a result of the military aggressive policy of the U.S. and its allies, as well as the deadly arms race that only brings dividends to large corporations in the military industry. War is the favorite mechanism of imperial expansionism, especially that of the United States, and that we observe dramatically in the most recent regional conflicts that have seriously affected the people of Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and the entire region.
Likewise, the human race suffers the ravages caused by the voracity of an economic model that in its suicidal deployment destroys nature by the insatiable obsession to maximize profits. That is precisely the logic of the capitalist system, which no longer only compromises its own functioning but also endangers humanity itself.
The neoliberal model that implements the globalization of large corporations under the domination of imperialist states has marked the world economy with great fragility. Crises are recurring more and large financial speculators dominate the planet. In the distribution of wealth generated, a parameter of inequalities, injustices and exclusion has been imposed, affecting an increasing part of the world’s population. The scourges of poverty and misery affect billions of people like never before in the history of mankind. Undoubtedly, the development of capitalism engenders unsustainable phenomena, from the social, political and ethical point of view.
In addition is an ethical crisis derived from the prevailing way of life of market economies, where national cultures and human values are buried, in favor of imposing a consumer society. The cult of the anti-values of capitalism contributes to the potential for the crisis of the human condition generated by the current model of coexistence.
Imperialism is in crisis and this makes it much more aggressive, dangerous and destructive. Before the twilight of the unipolar world, U.S. imperialism implements a strategy of global domination. The White House’s geopolitical bet of resisting the peoples and the emergence of new powers has translated into a defense of its hegemony, through a neocolonial policy aimed at appropriating natural resources, especially energy resources, controlling markets and politically dominating nations.
To preserve the current unjust world order, imperialism violates public international law, confronts the world with a great theater of military operations, develops unilateral coercive measures, imposes extraterritorial laws, attacks multilateralism, violates the sovereignty of nations and suppresses the self-determination of peoples. In its arrogant conception, its borders reach as far as its expansionist interests extend.
In line with this policy, imperialism resorts to military intervention, political destabilization of governments, wars and economic blockade. Its strategic planning conceives NATO as the global military arm of neoliberalism. Additionally, within the framework of its Doctrine of Unconventional War, terrorist actions, the use of paramilitaries, the prosecution of anti-imperialist leaderships and selective murder, are some of the most emblematic actions of a genocidal policy which endangers humanity.
Such practices have been “legitimized” through the cultural industry of capitalism, the great media transnationals and the use of social media. Likewise, the use of “Big Data” has become a formidable weapon to modify the behavior of the population and influence their political decisions.
In the attempt to impose the “single thought,” the powerful of the world manipulate religious beliefs, try to justify the current power relations to the detriment of democracy, the imposition of the free market, the racism of Eurocentric race, the segregation of minorities, gender oppression, the eugenic character of the global educational model, among many other factors, that perfectly fit the requirements of the capitalist dictatorship.
Neoliberal capitalism strengthens the exploitation of the working class, further oppresses women in terms of maximizing the profits of large transnationals, snatches the future from youth and blurs the identity of the Indigenous peoples. This shows that the solution to the great problems of today’s world demand a new model of human coexistence.
In that context, the multicentric and pluripolar world emerges with greater force. The political and economic strengthening of powers such as Russia and China, along with that of other nations, make an increasingly serious counterweight to the power of U.S. imperialism. Obviously, the heroic resistance in the Middle East, the struggles of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, have contained and pushed back the plans of imperialism.
Moreover, the experiences of progressive governments in the world are already emerging as an alternative to neoliberalism. An example of this is the Bolivarian Revolution, which is projected as an anti-imperialist referent with enormous popular strength within the framework of the powerful civic-military union and on the basis of the ideology of Liberator Simón Bolívar and Commander Hugo Chávez.
This has provoked the brutal attack of U.S. imperialism against the Venezuelan people, who have lavished dignity and love on the country, ratifying its course towards socialism in numerous electoral processes that endorse the vigorous participatory democracy existing in this country. Hard days of popular struggle have defeated threats of U.S. military intervention, attempted coups d’etat and foci of terrorist violence.
This example of struggle–alongside that of Nicaragua and Cuba, as well as recent advances in Argentina and Mexico–has allowed the strengthening of anti-imperialist forces and will lead to the strengthening of new regional integration mechanisms (CELAC, ALBA-TPC, Petrocaribe, etc.). Although in Honduras, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and Bolivia, neocolonialism has been re-established within the framework of the new edition of the Monroe Doctrine, popular struggles continue.
In the rest of the world, people also resist and revolt, and popular governments exercise their sovereignty. Anti-imperialist unity is a strategic objective that cannot be postponed.
In this context, the “World Anti-Imperialist Meeting” states:
-
We urge the peoples of the world to fight for life, the preservation of nature and against structural conditions that generate climate change. Likewise, we demand developed nations to work decisively to avoid the destruction of the planet and especially the U.S. to overcome its primitive position that seeks to ignore the terrible damage that is caused to nature by the current productive model based on the accumulation of capital.
-
We join the demand to build a more just international order, which puts peoples’ interests in the foreground and allows the development of social inclusion and justice policies to overcome the gigantic social and economic inequalities that prevail among the nations of the world.
-
We call on the citizens of the world to defend peace, the sovereignty of the people and join the legitimate struggles for socioeconomic progress on the basis of a broad platform of unitary struggle against the common enemy, U.S. imperialism.
-
We repudiate the implementation of illegal, unilateral coercive measures by the imperialist powers, since they are criminal policies that affect the peoples. Especially, we condemn the genocidal policy of economic blockade that it applies against the nations of the world who exercise their sovereignty.
-
We reject the militarization of Our America and especially the presence of United States military bases in Latin America and the Caribbean.
-
We strongly condemn the military invasion and other aggressions committed by imperialism against the peoples of the Middle East. Especially, we repudiate the violation of the sovereignty of Syria and Iraq, the aggressions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the vile murder of Commander Qassem Soleimani, martyr of the peoples of the world fighting for freedom.
-
We demand respect for the sovereignty of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and we support the efforts of Nicolás Maduro Moros, Constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to maintain peace.
-
We denounce the attempt orchestrated by the White House to censor the multistate media outlets TeleSUR and HispanTV. This constitutes an affront to the freedom of expression of the peoples.
-
We condemn the coup d’etat, orchestrated from Washington, against President Evo Morales Ayma. We repudiate the bloody repression and racism against the people of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
Likewise, the “World Anti-Imperialist Meeting” agrees to:
-
Build a World Unitary Platform organized by continents, regions, sub-regions and countries in order to face imperialism. Said organizational structure will be shaped according to the peculiarities of each territory.
-
Carry out during the year “Continental Encounters Against Imperialism” in order to form the continental, regional and sub-regional unitary platforms articulated around a common plan of struggle against imperialism.
-
Convene the “2nd World Meeting Against Imperialism” to be held in Caracas, capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to define the name of the World Unitary Platform, as well as the articulation of the different continental and regional platforms in a common world plan that unites people’s struggles.
Finally, the “World Anti-Imperialist Meeting” agrees to endorse the Struggle Agenda adopted at the “1st International Meeting of Workers in Solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution,” endorsed by the “1st International Women’s Congress,” the “International Congress of Communes, Social Movements and Popular Power,” the “1st International Meeting of Indigenous Peoples,” the “International Congress of People of African Descent” and the “International Communication Congress,” held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during the year 2019, an agenda that includes the following:
-
Hold an international mobilization day in support of the Bolivarian Revolution and against neoliberalism on February 27, 2020. (Commemoration of 31 years since the first insurrection in Caracas against neoliberalism.)
-
Convene a worldwide mobilization for peace in Venezuela, in Our America and against the war plans of the United States government for the month of April 2020.
-
Develop an international day of repudiation of the Monroe Doctrine, against the Blockade and other Unilateral Coercive Measures by June 28, 2020.
-
Create for the next Meeting a Coordinating Commission of the delegations present at the “1st World Anti-Imperialist Meeting” in order to fulfill this plan.
Approved in the City of Caracas, Cradle of the Liberator Simón Bolívar and Capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on Jan. 24, 2020.
Source: Orinoco Tribune
