"ALBA is about the unity of our peoples and governments"

teleSUR English

Our correspondent Belen de los Santos exclusively interviews Jorge Arreaza, Secretary General of ALBA, about the upcoming summit of the regional organization. teleSUR

Transcript

00:00Hello, you're watching Tercer English.

00:11We go to Caracas, Venezuela, in the framework of the celebration of the 20th anniversary

00:15of ALBA TCP.

00:16Secretary General Jorge Arreaza offered an exclusive...

00:25Hello studios.

00:26We continue here in Caracas in the house of ALBA, as we were saying.

00:30And the activity that we have just witnessed was the recreation of a model of a political

00:37council of the ALBA TCP.

00:39This was at the hands of the youngsters, the young men and women that are forming themselves

00:45to become and to possibly integrate the mechanism in the years to come.

00:50And we are joined by Executive Secretary of ALBA TCP, Jorge Arreaza.

00:55Thank you, Jorge, for joining us.

00:57So just to begin with the analysis of today, how did you see the young men and women?

01:02What's the importance of these activities of formation, of education in the ALBA principles

01:08and values?

01:09Yes, this is the first model of ALBA that has taken place here in Venezuela, I believe

01:17in the world.

01:18And it's important because ALBA is a different mechanism.

01:21It's about the union, not only integration, but the unity of our peoples, of our governments.

01:28It's about resistance against the hegemony of the countries that concentrate capital.

01:35And I believe that these youngsters, Venezuelan youngsters of several universities and several

01:40political parties have done a great job because they could interpret perfectly the principles

01:47of ALBA, solidarity, cooperation, complementarity.

01:52And they were able to express it in a very good way.

01:57And I believe that this is the first one of thousands of models that we have to do, not

02:02only in Venezuela, but in all the countries of ALBA TCP.

02:07And this is a way of educating our youngsters.

02:12One of the objectives of this model was to recreate an actual political council from

02:18ALBA TCP.

02:19What were some of the key issues that the young men and women addressed?

02:23Well, they referred and they had their positions really firmly expressed against the coercive

02:34measures, unilateral coercive measures that the United States has imposed against Cuba,

02:41Venezuela, Nicaragua, and against more than 60 countries around the world.

02:48And the effects that these measures have had, for instance, the countries of the Caribbean

02:54that are not impacted directly by the measures, but they are suffering the impacts of the

03:00measures because Venezuela has been attacked with these measures and we have not had enough

03:07oil production as to continue with the PetroCaribe program.

03:11And they are feeling also the effects of and the consequences of this.

03:15It was very clear.

03:16They also manifested their support to the Palestinian cause and people and against the

03:23attacks that the Israeli state and the genocide that the Israeli state has done against the

03:30Palestinian people.

03:32And the principles of ALBA, now that ALBA is reaching its first 20 years of existence,

03:38have also been honored by these youngsters.

03:41Now, of course, this activity is within the week that marks the 20 years from the creation

03:47of ALBA in 2004.

03:49We have the 24th summit on Saturday.

03:52So what can you tell us?

03:54This summit comes in a very important and significant moment for the world and for the

03:58region in particular.

03:59What can we expect from this 24th ALBA summit?

04:04Twenty years ago, not many leaders were talking about a multipolar world.

04:10They were all waiting for the power of the United States to impose everything in the

04:18world.

04:19But Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro did.

04:21They knew this was coming.

04:22So ALBA was one of the first initiatives in the world that belongs to a multipolar world.

04:29And ALBA even had its own currency, its own bank.

04:35We had Petrocaribe for using energy not to dominate but to liberate the peoples.

04:43And this is a very important moment because now the multipolar world exists.

04:47We have BRICS and we have the centers really clarified in the U.S., in Asia, China, Russia,

04:57Latin America, Africa.

04:58So this is the moment.

05:01And we have to resist all the attempts of the Western powers to stop this new world

05:09from being born.

05:11I believe it's born already but from developing itself.

05:15So it's a really important moment.

05:17And I believe that the leadership of the presidents and prime ministers of ALBA is going to be

05:21reinforced next Saturday.

05:23Of course.

05:24And one more question, Mr. Arriaza.

05:26We are in this transition period that you are saying.

05:30Already things are consolidating and being born.

05:34And this is not just a summit that gathers the governments and the heads of state but

05:38also the movement, the social movements of Latin America and the region are coming together.

05:43Why is it important for the people from the social movements, the organizations to come

05:47together and join this unity with the governments as well?

05:53It's really important.

05:54ALBA is, I believe, the only institution in the world, international institution, that

06:00in its structure, in the functioning structure, we have a council of social movements.

06:08And they have a word and a vote in the ALBA decisions.

06:12So they're going to meet here in this house tomorrow more than 150 members of this council

06:20of social movements from all over the world, not only the ALBA countries.

06:24Some of them come from the U.S., from Europe, from Africa, Asia, of course, Latin America

06:29and the Caribbean.

06:31And they are going to analyze the moment that the world is going through.

06:37And they are going to make proposals to the governments of ALBA, maybe to elevate this,

06:45to raise them to the U.N. or to CELAC.

06:47They really have a world.

06:50We are so happy that ALBA is in contact always with the peoples, not only with the elites

06:57that rule, with the elites that are in government, but especially with the peoples, the basis

07:02of the world.

07:03Excellent.

07:04Can we expect some news, some announcement during this week for the region, for the world?

07:10If I was a journalist, I would pay attention to the summit next Saturday.

07:15I would, yes.

07:16We will definitely be paying closely attention to what is happening.

07:20Thank you so much, Jorge, for joining us.

07:22That was, of course, Secretary General of the ALBA-TCP, Jorge Arreaza, from the House

07:27of ALBA.

07:28We have just witnessed a model with the young men and women that have participated, recreating

07:34a political council of ALBA-TCP in the week that marks 20 years from the creation of the

07:40mechanism.

07:41We will continue to pay close attention to everything that is happening this week and

07:47bring you all the information.

07:49Now we go back to you.

07:55Thank you, Belén.

07:56And, of course, we'll stay tuned for everything that is happening during this week in Venezuela's

08:00Caracas in the run-up for this paramount Saturday summit of ALBA-TCP heads of state and government.

08:05For now, stay tuned with Treasurer English.

08:07We'll have more updates in upcoming news briefs.

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