Meeting of the working group of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum, in Caracas, on November 18, 2022. Photo: PSUV
On Friday, November 18, the meeting of the expanded Working Group of the São Paulo Forum started in Caracas, Venezuela, to work on consolidating the strategic plan to advance towards regional integrity and the sovereignty of Latin America and the Caribbean. Adán Chávez, vice-president of International Affairs of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), inaugurated the event, which is being held at the headquarters of the International University of Communication (IUCOM), in Caracas, during November 18-19.
During these two days, representatives of leftist parties from various countries of the world, will discuss issues of sovereignty and multilateralism, and how to advance towards a fairer world.
#EnFotosđź“·| IniciĂł la instalaciĂłn del Grupo de Trabajo del @ForodeSaoPaulo, que se llevará a cabo entre los dĂas #18Nov hasta el #19Nov en la ciudad de Caracas, Venezuela.#PueblosUnidosYVictoriosos pic.twitter.com/pETmDhHLNh
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) November 18, 2022
In his opening remarks, Adán Chávez recalled the words of Commander Hugo Chávez: fight, battle and victory. “That is the idea that drives us,” said the deputy.
“Thank you for once again choosing Venezuela, Caracas, for a meeting like this, the SĂŁo Paulo Forum. Here are the symbols of struggles and achievements,” he said.
“In the last five years, the SĂŁo Paulo Forum has shown how to work on a strategic plan, to unite and advance in this path that is trying to achieve sovereignty in our America,” he added. “Here we continue to strengthen the bonds of friendship and teamwork. This meeting shows part of these advances.”
The PSUV leader stressed that “there are political advances that are products of the SĂŁo Paolo Forum in one way or another, and the enemy knows it. That is why we are attacked so much.”
“They have not been able stop us nor will they be able to stop us,” he emphasized. “We will keep moving forward and winning. Welcome, we will have two days of hard work and debate, to reach fruitful agreements for the strategic plan that we continue strengthening.”
Venezuela listens to the people
The first vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, thanked the representatives present at the forum, on behalf of President Nicolás Maduro.
“We are grateful that you have chosen Caracas to hold this meeting, so that we can all listen to the peoples,” he said.
“I wish some governments understood the importance of listen to the people,” Cabello remarked.
He spoke about the history of the forum, when the United States had tried to impose the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) to enslave the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, “and our leaders at the Mar del Plata Summit did not allow it. The people prevailed, and the FTAA could never be applied.”
Cabello emphasized that the meeting being held in Caracas, after Venezuela and the region have gone through difficult years due to the pandemic, is of great importance.
He also pointed out that the venue of the meeting, the IUCOM, “used to be the headquarters of not just any media, but that of the hegemonic media that blackmailed the people and censored presidents.”
“Today this is filled with people, with freedom,” he stressed.
“This meeting shows us how important it is to remain united in a single block,” Cabello continued. “Venezuela is the home of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum, we are always here to welcome you, with affection and respect.”
“This forum meets for progress, while they [the extreme right] meet to attack and destroy,” Cabello said. “Everyone knows how much campaigning they have done against each country. The terrible blockade against Cuba, against China, Russia, Nicaragua, every day, but for them and the big corporations we are the bad guys.”
“Our sovereignty is not for sale, nor is it for rent,” he emphasized.
“We are going to repeat it: the right wing has not been able to defeat us by hook or by crook,” he concluded. “We must have the commitment to remain united, comrades.”
The struggle continues
MĂłnica Valente, executive secretary of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum, remarked that “the map of America is almost totally red, and that is the struggle of our countries, and of the people of Venezuela who are building a socialist model.”
She explained that the progressive movements of America have “been able to alter the correlation of forces in many of our countries and win important elections.”
However, in spite of victories, “it has not been easy for our social and popular movements,” Valente said. “We have not yet been able to emerge from the pandemic, from hunger, from poverty, but as a result of this struggle and resistance we have gained spaces, which shows us that the struggle must continue. It is hard; now we are better than we were years ago, but let us not deceive ourselves, we have to continue fighting and confronting this imperialist and capitalist model.”
She added that parallel to the meeting of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum in Caracas, a meeting of the extreme right is taking place in Mexico.
“Today the extreme right is meeting in Mexico and it is the second time that during a meeting of the Working Group of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum they are holding a meeting,” she said.
“They know the importance of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum, that is why they are meeting simultaneously, and it is a sign for us to continue fighting and moving forward,” Valente added.
She also pointed out the significance of the venue of the meeting in Caracas. “There would be no other place more appropriate than Venezuela, Caracas, and the International University of Communication,” she said.
SĂŁo Paulo Forum in Caracas
The main objective of the SĂŁo Paulo Forum meeting in Caracas is to develop a roadmap of concrete actions for strengthening the rights and demands of the peoples of the world and to confront US imperialism.
The signing of the Cooperation Protocol between the International University of Communications and the SĂŁo Paulo Forum is planned as part of the work agenda. This information was announced in September, at the 26th Seminar of Political Parties and a New Society, held in Mexico by the Workers’ Party (PT) of that country.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) by Janna Corredor
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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