Declaration of Caracas
President Maduro addresses International gathering “We Are All Venezuela,” in Caracas,
March 6, 2018.
From March 5-7, an international gathering in solidarity with the Venezuelan people’s right to self-determination and sovereignty was held in Caracas under the banner “We Are All Venezuela.” It brought together some 300 activists from 65 countries with several hundred members of social movements, parliamentarians and others from Venezuela. The event was held concurrently with the 15th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America — Peoples’ Trade Agreement, also held in Caracas, and activities commemorating the fifth anniversary of the March 5, 2013 passing of the historic leader of the Bolivarian revolution, Hugo Chávez.[1]
At the closing session of the gathering, a joint declaration adopted by participants and reprinted below, was read out.
Caracas Declaration
We, citizens of different countries, movements and social organizations, political parties, women, youth, workers, creators and intellectuals, peasants and religious people, gathered in Caracas on March 5, 6 and 7, 2018, reaffirm our solidarity and militant support to the Venezuelan people, the Bolivarian Revolution and its peoples’ government, headed by compañero Nicolás Maduro Moros.
We strongly repudiate the very serious escalation of aggression against Venezuela’s democracy and sovereignty by the warmongering government of Donald Trump, global corporate powers and the military industrial apparatus of U.S. imperialism, which seek to overthrow the legitimate Government of Venezuela, destroy the project of Bolivarian democracy and seize the resources of the Venezuelan homeland.
We denounce this operation against Venezuela, which is part of a global neocolonization strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, that seeks to impose a new era of vassalage and looting on our peoples, through the resurrection of the shameful Monroe Doctrine, a plan already underway in several countries of the continent.
We repudiate Donald Trump’s threat of a potential military intervention in Venezuela and warn that such statements are not mere charlatanism. The military option against the Bolivarian Revolution is part of the U.S. geopolitical strategy and doctrine for the 21st century. The world must be aware of the fact that a military aggression against Venezuela could cause a crisis of historical dimensions and innumerable and unpredictable human, economic and ecological effects in the region.
We warn imperialism and the lackey elites who follow its lead: the peoples of Latin America, the Caribbean and the world are never going to allow Venezuela to be touched by the ambition of the U.S. military boot! If based on their insane obsession, Washington’s hawks dare to attack Simón Bolívar’s homeland, it will be, once more as it was 200 years ago, the grave of an empire.
We denounce the blatant pressure by the U.S. empire on governments of the region in order to involve them in political, diplomatic, and even military operations against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Such action seeks to destroy regional integration, and de facto abolish the principle of the founding charter of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that declares the region a zone of peace.
We reject the shameful and anti-historical attitude of governments of the region that have prostrated themselves to Washington’s policy, through the creation of illegal and spurious bodies such as the so-called Lima Group. The pitiful regional elites that today lead the looting of their peoples — handing over sovereignty to the transnationals, increasing poverty and inequality and violating human rights — lack any kind of moral and political authority to question Venezuelan democracy.
We reject the unilateral and illegal sanctions of the U.S. Government and the European Union against the Venezuelan people aimed at destroying their economy and subduing their democratic will. Blockades and sanctions are crimes against humanity committed by the international capitalist system that are seriously impacting the Venezuelan people by sabotaging the productive, financial and commercial processes and preventing access to food, medicines and staple goods.
We repudiate the perverse U.S. sabotage of the dialogue held in the Dominican Republic and reiterate that the only way to determine the path to recover the political coexistence between Venezuelans is through full respect for the sovereignty of Venezuela, non-interference in its internal affairs, sincere dialogue and electoral processes based in Venezuelan legislation.
In this regard, we welcome the call for presidential, state legislature and council elections next May 20, the result of a political agreement with a sector of the Venezuelan opposition. Through these absolutely legitimate and constitutional elections the Venezuelan people will decide the course of the homeland in a transparent and sovereign manner.
We alert the peoples of the world to the malicious intention of governments and international bodies directly involved in the war on Venezuela not to recognize the results of the May 20 election and to increase attacks against what will undoubtedly be an authentic democratic expression of the Venezuelan people.
We welcome and endorse the Declaration of the Presidential Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) that categorically rejects the exclusion of Venezuela from the next Summit of the Americas, to be held in Lima, Peru. Likewise, we support all the diplomatic and political actions undertaken by governments, countries and peoples to defend political pluralism and diversity on the continent, and safeguard the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples.
We recognize the heroic resistance of the Venezuelan people against the onslaught of economic aggression, the financial blockade and all forms of sabotage that Venezuela is suffering and we support the economic, financial, political and diplomatic strategy implemented by the Bolivarian Government and President Nicolás Maduro, to overcome the problems and for the building of the humanist model of Bolivarian Socialism.
We commit ourselves to continue fighting for the truth, peace and the sovereignty of Venezuela, expanding the bonds of friendship, solidarity and revolutionary commitment with the Venezuelan people. The peoples of the world, the conscience of all those who fight for the just causes of humanity, accompany the Bolivarian Revolution, its leadership and its people at this time, and will always do so.
We are convinced that Venezuela will know how to overcome through dialogue, respect for the Constitution, and the unwavering democratic will of its people, the problems that afflict it. We are also convinced that the Bolivarian Revolution will continue to be a beacon of hope for the peoples of the world in search of a dignified and just destiny for humanity.
In commemoration of the five years since the passing of Commander Hugo Chávez, historical leader of the Venezuelan people, from Caracas we say to the world: Venezuela is not alone, we are all with her! We are all Venezuela! Venceremos!
Note
1. “Events in Venezuela Highlight Significance of Bolivarian Revolution,” TML Weekly, March 17, 2018.
(Edited slightly for publication by TML.)
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