Declaration of the Meeting of the Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity

The road of destruction of life and the human species is the one followed by the world capitalist system and whose crises have deepened in these ten years. Neo liberal globalization has led to the savage search of natural and strategic resources through war, militarization of societies and economies, growing and systematic violation of international law with its constant consequence of crimes, violations, kidnappings, tortures and massacres that are evident. Today the military budget of the main imperialist powers surpasses the sum of the rest of the countries.

Planetary repression and criminalization of resistances goes hand in hand with media dictatorship that intends to smother consciences and justify plunder. 

However, against this voracious destruction unleashed by capital, the peoples have known how to resist and build alternatives against which it is not acceptable to the system of domination. Today, as in yesterday, a multiplication of offensive strategies continues in defense of humanity as called for by Chávez.

In this decade in Latin America the native peoples and Afro descendents, through their movements and autonomous processes have forged a political protagonism that led to important individuals of social transformation. In spite of the submissive policies of neo liberal governments the peoples of Latin America are resisting the plunder of their territories, their knowledge, culture and biodiversity by transnational corporations of death and environmental devastation.

In several countries of the region, the peoples have advanced in their democratic vocation that is expressed in sustained electoral victories of anti neo liberal governments and in many forms of construction of popular power that have been key factors of identity of a new system of participative democracy.

In Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador constitutive assemblies expressed their will to establish an anti Oligarchic State based on the power and sovereignty of the people and in the recognition of diversity and all forms of social inclusion.

For ten years our Network witnessed large continental victories. An historical milestone, for the region and the world was to send ALCA to hell, as Chávez said colloquially in the tomb of Mar del Plata, Argentina in 2005. Since the emancipation offensive of the peoples arose a concert of Latin American countries, ALBA, UNASUR, CELAC, PETROCARIBE and a diversity of bilateral agreements in full exercise of sovereignty and independent of imperial direction.

During this period we witnessed how the geostrategic vision of Chávez moved to set up: the emergence of a pluripolar world that was the beginning of the bankruptcy of U.S. hegemony. The project South-south is still in formation and will defend and develop the most vulnerable of humanity. 

However, in this decade, for its part, collective imperialism headed by the United States has intensified its warmongering and counter insurgent policy in the world. Obama, who paradoxically is a Nobel Laureate for Peace redoubled the presence and action of Special Forces of his army in many countries, increased extraterritorial kidnapping and torture of thousands of citizens jailed in clandestine prisons without due process. The country that assumes unilaterally the right to certify alleged violations of human rights in Cuba and Venezuela is a confessed participant in torture and extra legal executions with drones and teams of thugs at his service. The alleged defender of freedom of expression and rights of privacy of the citizens is the matrix of an insane program of espionage in the world and sponsor of a media –cultural war that includes the industry of entertainment that inoculates anti-values and anti-humanism.

In this planetary war the United States has no problem to contract social scientists of many disciplines to do research in our countries for military and corporative purposes and who are associated to universities, offering funds, scholarships and academic incentives converting quite a few scientist and researchers into mercenaries. In this intellectuality at the service of the empire, it gathers individuals around Uribe and Aznar to promote neo fascist thought disguised liberal leanings and whose fusion is expressed in “guarimbas”, psychological war and media campaigns. Just like another corporate capitalist, it invades territories, bodies, governments and states. Organized crime has acquired regional and world protagonism while mafia economy is part of an important percentage of the domestic gross product of our countries. The alleged fight against drug trafficking and terrorism is a new strategy of plunder and desolation and re-colonization of countries with a high cost of human lives that are considered by capital as disposable. Ayotzinapa synthesizes the aggression committed by the empire and the local oligarchy against Mexico and is also a model of domination imposed by neo liberalism that we do not want for humanity. The voice of the people rose up in the streets and there were accusing shouts of: It was the State! 

The Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity was born inspired by the ideas of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez with a projection of Marti and Bolivar of Latin American and Caribbean unity with a clear adhesion to anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism and in favor of socialism.

Cuba, with its resistance and socialist project has not bowed its head to the United States not even in the most dramatic and difficult moments it was a source of breath and hope without which the change of epoch in Our America would have been more difficult. That explains, in a great part that it continues submitted to the cruel blockade and the plans of destabilization that the empire now has extended to Venezuela.

From this, the members of the Network consider it is absolutely important to emphatically denounce and, with our repudiation, the interference of the United States when it intends to apply sanctions against the revolutionary and socialist government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We assume the words of Chávez, those of worker President Nicolás Maduro also: “Venezuela is respected! Enough of aggressions and lies! Enough of threats and interventionism!”

It is a historical and strategic priority to defend Venezuela and support president Maduro who is a statesman arisen from the Chavist revolution.

The Networks expresses warm and fraternal solidarity for the victims of guarimbas, for their families and the people that have endured sabotages, insults, lies and humiliations as well as high economic costs by the neo fascists.

The Network expresses solidarity with the people of the United States in their protests against racism, repression and police brutality, jailing of demonstrators, criminalization of the leaders and their struggle against the growing poverty that the people suffer, victims of bank mafias and infamy and insane business of war imposed by their government.

The Network supports the native-campesinos of all the continents of the South against mining and oil corporations. The use of eolic, water, pharmaceuticals, tourists and agro business that they intend to use to de territorialize and dispossess and sentence them to death while they destroy ecosystems. 

We demand concrete measures to save the Amazon Jungle suffering a deep degradation that only the countries of South America can achieve through an effort of integration.

We express our profound solidarity with the peoples of Africa, a continent that through colonialism and imperialism has suffered the most aggression through slavery. We denounce the large powers, particularly France who have established in their territories, mechanisms of structural and symbolic violence.

The Network supports the deep hope for the peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP guerilla in Havana, Cuba and calls for the beginning of a dialogue with the ENL. Peace is a hope felt not only by the people of Colombia but all peoples.

We express our solidarity with the struggle for independence of Puerto Rico and demand the liberation of the patriot Oscar López Rivera. We firmly support Argentina in their historical demand for the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. We reject, also, the speculative financial operations called “vulture funds” and the accomplice legal apparatus. We demand an explanation of the banking operations that plundered the currencies through the Argentine Bank towards accounts abroad.

We support the just demand of the Bolivian people before the International Court of Justice for an open route to the sea. We reiterate the rejection of ill treatment by European States against 

President Evo Morales in his trip to Europe that endangered his life and those who accompanied him.

We demand an end to the blockade against Cuba, a demand that almost all the countries of the world support as well as the freedom of the three Cuban anti terrorist patriots still in jail for 16 years in U.S. prisons. We declare ourselves against any attempt to destabilize the Cuban territory by the United States and its agencies. We demand the close of the Military Base in Guantanamo and the centers of torture in that territory and others in the world.

We take as our own the words of condemnation of President Manuel Zelaya, participating in our meeting against State terrorism and the use of organized crime violence against the people of Honduras and, particularly, against the opposition of the pro-U.S. government that has increased the presence of military bases in its territory. 

We support the popular struggle of Haiti and re-vindication of its sovereignty against military occupation.

We subscribe the words of Chávez about the conflict in the Basque Country expressing that a cessation of armed struggle “opens the roads to peace”. We also subscribe our support for the right of self determination of the peoples of the Spanish State in a framework of a democratic process

We express solidarity for the struggle of the young Chileans demanding a public education, free and secular, a demand that we make extensive to all Our America.

We reiterate our historical demand of recognition of the Palestinian State and repudiate the military attacks and repression of Israel against this people.

In summary, our basic challenge is the search for a new paradigm of collective life of humanity and the planet. Since regulations of the capitalist system are not enough to find solutions to guarantee the Mother Earth (Pachamama) and the human species. 

For this we salute the creation of the Center of High Studies of the Thoughts and Actions of Hugo Chávez that will undoubtedly construct this paradigm. We invent or err.

At the conclusion of our meeting the members of the Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social movements meeting here in the Venezuealan capital had proven that those who thought that with the absence of the physical presence president Chávez the Bolivarian revolution would crumble were wrong and were defeated by the people. They strongly worked to that end. In spite of the difficulties we can affirm that the revolution is more alive than ever!

Viva Chávez, Viva Nicolás Maduro, Viva the Venezuelan people!

Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, December12 2014.


Translation- Cuba- Network in Defense of Humanity

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