SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA HUGO CHÀVEZ AT THE XIV NAM SUMMIT Conference Center, La Habana, Cuba Friday, September 15th, 2006
Mr. President, Secretary General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Heads of State, Heads of Government and other high representatives of the peoples of the Group, of the Non-Aligned Movement, please, accept a warm greeting of affection and commitment. And with this warm greeting, I say that, for me it is a great honor to address you on this historical day, at this historical Summit on behalf of the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean, and beyond our governments. I wish my words could somehow represent the peoples of our America, which is the way it was called from this place by the Apostle José Martí many years ago. From this place I greet, with all my Latin American, Martian, Bolivarian and revolutionary heart, the distinguished comrade Fidel Castro, and I request we give him applause from here, from this conference room. With all our fraternal fervor, we have heard his greetings, his messages in the voice of the President and friend Raúl, the report from the chancellor Felipe Pérez Roque. Yesterday I visited him in the morning and Fidel was remembering that his father, put Raúl at his care, he was the youngest, to bring him to Havana to study, and it turned out that Fidel took him to shoot the Moncada, that was part of his education, right? And when I say this and remember the Moncada Garrison, I say it, so that maybe with that, to request all of you, to be aware of the place we are at and the moment we are living after so many years we are meeting again here in revolutionary Cuba, an example…this Cuban people and its leader, Fidel, its leader examples of resistance, of dignity before the permanent attacks from the North American imperialism. Here is a living and present example, before our very eyes that we need to recognize. Excellencies, indeed, on behalf of our Latin American and Caribbean group I convey this gratitude, this greeting for the welcoming, for the warmth hospitality you offer us, here in Cuba and greetings to all the participants in the Summit. We wish you success and we are certain that Cuba will be very successful in this difficult task during the next three years as President of the Non-Aligned Movement. On the other hand, Venezuela, Fidel knows, Raúl knows, all revolutionary Cuba knows that Venezuela is here for Cuba, for the Presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to modestly help to foster what we could call a new stage, a new necessary stage, because there is a new era in the world and it is necessary we catch up with the new era that is rising in the horizon.
We recognize and congratulate the government of Malaysia. The Prime Minister of Malaysia and its people for the excellent work during the last three years; Prime Minister and friend, Mr. Abdullah Badawi. Congratulations to Malaysia, an example, Malaysia is another example of a country and could withstand the savage ram of neoliberalism; and there is Malaysia, with its own national model. A while ago I had the honor to go back to Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, a model of their own, their endogenous model, not one imposed from abroad, like Cuba which was able to build its own model. Many people said that Cuba would fall when the Soviet Union collapsed, that Cuba would not last a minute, here we are, Cuba today. Last year the economy grew almost 20% in Cuba. And there is no unemployment in Cuba. The infant mortality in Cuba is one of the lowest in the world, less than 6 every one thousand born alive; education, excellent an extraordinary, now Venezuela and our people, our revolution, it is so favored by the Cuban cooperation and the integration between our two revolutions, between our two peoples. Here spoke Ahmadinejad. I do not know if Lukashenko will talk next, of course he has to talk, Raúl. At the same time, from her, we greet the government and the people of Egypt, so that we get ready for the next Summit there, in Cairo. For sure, they will also have the responsibility from the year 2009, profiling that new stage that will have to be thought, not for three year, not for a decade, but this century, the XXI century, the century that has just begun, so 45 year’s time our Movement has. I just want to make a reflection, but believe me, I have been thinking about it, because they prepare a lot of documents for us, and all of them are good, and refractions, but Raúl, besides, I do not know if I copied from him or he copied from me, but all you said, I had it here to say it, so I will not repeat the same, and the interesting reflections of Raúl, and the interesting reflections of Ahmadinejad and of all who preceded me, well, Prime Minister Badawi. I only want to make a reflection, just one reflection, the idea I have been thinking about. Surely we will have more time at the working table. But notice, brothers from Asia, brothers from Africa and Europe. You, who are visiting us in this Caribbean, this Caribbean “nostrum”, in this Latin America, which just like you, was colonized, devastated, massacred for centuries. Yesterday I was remembering that book by that illustrious Dominican Don Juan Bosch, a good book I always recommend: “From Cristobal Colón to Fidel Castro. The Caribbean an Imperial Frontier” all the empires came here, to the Caribbean and to America and through the Caribbean to our America. Here, in our America the revolutionary processes of independence began centuries ago. Now, they were conforming into revolutionary movements, independence movements after the rebellions of the indigenous people, memorable rebellions that should be never
forgotten so as not to lose our roots. It was precisely José Martí who said that “We must be radicals…” because we should go to our roots. Being radical is not to be mad as some want to interpret it. Being radical is going to our roots; let us go to our roots, let us be truly radicals, the Martian way, the Bolivarian way; after those aboriginal rebellions of the Aztecs, the Mayas, the Aymaras, the Caribes, the Incas, the Mapuches, the Guaranies, the original inhabitants of these lands. One of them is here, the descendant of one of them from a direct line, is a President, Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, because the Bolivian people has resurrected. Since the first rebellions of the indigenous people, well gathered in Túpak Katari, the Aymara leader of what is Bolivia today, whom the colonists dismembered, they used to chop them into pieces, you know, they tied a horse here, a horse opposite to it, another two to each leg and pull, and pull until the leaders were dismembered, a genocide some pretend to disclaim and pretend to cover it with the thesis of civilization and evangelism and all those theses about the discovery of America… Discovery? Massacre of our America! Genocidal. Túpac Katari was dying, he was dying when he said those words that like a prophesy became true today, he said: “Today, I die, but some day I will come back turned into millions” Today, Túpac Katari, if you want to see him visit Latin America, come to these lands, he has returned into millions. Well, afterwards, independence movements began to settle - I was saying – with ideological projects, national projects, projects like Bolívar’s, San Martín’s, the same project. Precisely this year, we are commemorating in Venezuela, and in some parts of our Caribbean and our America, exactly 200 years of Miranda’s arrival, the universal Caraquian on board a precursory expedition, revolutionary, to this Caribbean and to that South America; 200 years ago. And we are approaching the 200 years of our independence, 2010 – 2011, bicentennial of the independence of Venezuela and many other peoples of our America; we are in the deed of the bicentennial era. Now, when all that was happening in this America by then already a mixture of the aboriginal Indians with mother Africa, with which we mixed in pain, in passion in love and in hope, with the Africa, with the Europe, the Indo America. We all mixed, the independent republics were born then, but as this was happening in 1811, 1815, 1821, 1825; those first decades of the XIX, there was not any relation with the independence movements in Africa. Probably there were some, but here they had no impact. In Asia, for sure there were some, but here they did not have any impact either, nor did ours have any influence there. Well, years went by, years went by and there came the XX century, and the situation turned the other way, Africa rebelled, Asia rebelled in the form of independence movements; and just like here emerged leaders like Simón Bolívar, San Martín, Martí, Miranda, Sucre, Santa Cruz, O’Higgins, Artigas, there
appeared in those worlds of Africa, Arabia, Asia, those leaders, many of which founded the Non-Aligned Movement after having summoned that summit 50 years ago in Bandung. Nasser, Sukarno, they were times of heroic deeds. Tito, Fidel was already here from Havana. Fidel saw that Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries born, Ché was already here and afterwards in the Congo, Viet Nam, the whole Africa, rebel movements. Meanwhile, as the Non-Aligned Movement was coming to light, afterwards the G- 77, almost all Latin America was under the yoke of the North American imperialism. The Cuban Government was the only one that could survive and project towards this future, the XXI’s today. But I have always wondered, what would have happened in Latin America if the US imperialism had not overthrown Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 by invading Guatemala? And afterwards Juan Bosch in 1965 in Santo Domingo? If the US empire had nor overthrown Joao Goulart in the Brazil of those years? And invaded Haiti and Central America, and Allende short after. In Latin America the US government has severed almost all the nationalistic, patriotic and revolutionary governments that have emerged. Simón Bolívar was truly right when in 1826 said “The United States seem predestined by providence to pester our America of misery in the name of liberty.” Bolívar was right when he said “Be careful! Because up there, we have a very big and hostile nation capable of anything”. That Mexican was also right when he said “Poor Mexico! So far from God and yet so near the United States.” That in our reality, Raúl, President Castro, already denounced it. I also denounce it. US imperialism continues elaborating plans and appealing to conspiracy against the government of Cuba and Venezuela, and I suspect against other governments, too regarding as evil any attempt of justice or validation of our values. So, those among our forefathers began the independence in the XIX century. Bolívar took it farther and summoned a unitary congress in Panamá, in 1826. A short time ago we were in Panamá commemorating with president Torrijos commemorating the 180 anniversary of that date, a unitary congress. It would be wonderful if we could regard like that the Bandung Summit, a call made on the back of the back of the independence movements and the rebirth of Africa and Asia. Unfortunately Latin America could barely accompany, with, the exception of Cuba and one here and there the Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries in its full dimension, I think that Latin America rather tried from some governments to divert the original character of the Non-Aligned Movement. We lived that in Venezuela, and in other countries for sure it was the same. Today, 200 years after the independence of Our America, today, 50 years after Bandung, here is the Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries. I believe it is entering a new stage,
that is my firmest conviction, and that is why I am; we are here with such fervor, with such an encouragement, with such passion, in the world meeting. Now it is necessary to join the movements, the ideologies, the governments and the peoples who struggle for a truly fair international world order, for another necessary world which is indispensable and absolutely possible. Yes, after the crisis of the 80’s and the 90’s, the world is rising again before our eyes. I believe there is a new dawn in the world; let us unite or forces to help the sun rise, in this new dawn. I believe it is possible, now it is, that, after all these centuries, we manage to create a world ruled not by one country, not a world policeman, nor wars, nor cannons and bayonets, but the deepest feelings of fraternity, of brotherhood, and as Christ, the Redeemer, said, of love among us. That world is possible, the other world is not. Either we manage to turn around the world and humanize it or life on this planet could end, the very human species would be endangered. As Fidel already said in some Summit, a message: ‘‘Tomorrow it could be too late, let us save the humankind.” I believe this Summit of the Non-Aligned Countries, in this new era that begins now, after the excellent presidency of Malaysia, now with the presidency of Cuba, always rebellious, always honorable, which always represents us all, with the transparency, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, the Non-Aligned Movement is entering a new phase, catching up with this new world era when we have to proof that the South also exists, as Mario Benedetti says in his poem that with your permission I am going to read, just a verse, because it is part of the conscience of the South: “We are the South, we exist, too, and we want to exist with the North as equals, not as subordinate to the North. We deserve respect and we have dignity; only with a South and a North as equals could this world be possible; otherwise, this is an impossible world” Maybe, as some scientist, speculating on a hypothesis, which I do not share, but maybe, he says we that maybe, we, the human species was but a flaw of nature, because sometimes leeches or roaches have a better sense of survival than us human beings. I do not believe that. I rather believe in Christ when he said that men are the hope of men, that men, the human being, is the Alpha and the Omega. Mario Benedetti said, a very deep thought, this great South American poet: “With its ritual of steel, its tall chimneys, its clandestine wise men, its mermaid singing, its neon skies, its Christmas windows, its worship of God the Father and the epaulets, with its keys to the Kingdom, the North commands; but down here, way down, the available hunger, cruises the bitter fruit of what others decide, while times goes by and parades march on, and other things are done that the North do not forbid, with its hard hope, the South exists, too” Until Victory Forever!
Our country or death! We shall overcome! Thank you Mr. President