Venezuela, activities underway ahead of 20th anniversary of ALBA-TCP

teleSUR English

*ALBA Social Movement Council relaunched in Caracas *Work meeting held in Foreign Ministry ahead of ALBA-TCP Summit *Palestine to be represented at 24th ALBA-TCP Summit *ABA-TCP leaders prepare for crucial talks on Saturday

Transcript

00:00Venezuela is preparing to host the 24th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the 10-member

00:05ALBA-TCP.

00:06This will be a landmark summit as the grouping of Latin American and Caribbean states mark

00:11its 20th anniversary.

00:12As anticipation builds, officials participate in two important meetings on Friday ahead

00:18of Saturday's summit.

00:19Belen De Los Santos and Garfield Buford covered those events for TELESUR.

00:24Let's see.

00:26On the eve of the 24th ALBA Summit to take place in Caracas, Venezuela embraces the spirit

00:32of the Bolivarian mechanism created by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez 20 years ago.

00:45The challenge was to build a structure unlike any other that allowed not only foreign exchange

00:50among member states, but also fostered the cooperation of social movements in the region

00:56in their common path toward a post-capitalist society.

01:02ALBA is a structure that is tied directly to the peoples.

01:06So in order for that to be fulfilled and for that to take place, you have to have a space

01:11where social movements could interact with the governments, could counsel, could raise

01:17ideas, raise problems, have an exchange.

01:21And that's the way you guarantee that you actually have the participation of social

01:25movements in the whole structure and decision-making process.

01:31In this context, the ALBA Social Movement Council was relaunched on Friday as social

01:36leaders from around the globe met to take steps towards concrete actions of cooperation

01:42among the organizations that identify with the ALBA principles.

01:47Change brigades centered around agroecology, popular feminisms, and literacy.

01:52These were some of the proposals brought to the table during the discussions.

01:59Well it means a lot for me, given my background, and it's important for us as a region, as

02:03the south, to stick together, especially given the global climate right now.

02:08In terms of, from an economical standpoint, it's good to share our cultures and to make

02:13sure that we're going in the right direction.

02:15These types of movements create energy to us, movements encourage us to fight against

02:22imperialism and capitalism, so it is very much important.

02:28I feel energized coming here.

02:33On the same day, officials converged on Yellow House for a work meeting ahead of Saturday's

02:38landmark summit of heads of state and government of ALBA-TCP.

02:43Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil said the grouping must position itself as a powerful

02:48geopolitical actor in a world of growing uncertainties.

02:53Foreign Minister Gil pointed to the need for ALBA-TCP to be a champion for the Palestinian

02:58cause as Gaza faces an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

03:06Every time a bomb falls on a building in Gaza, it's not only killing the girls, boys, women

03:12who live in that building, it's killing the whole of humanity, the United Nations system,

03:18the system of all countries.

03:21It's a threat against everyone, and that's how we have to see it.

03:28The state of Palestine will be represented at the 24th ALBA-TCP summit on Saturday, as

03:33will the community of Latin American and Caribbean states, CELAC.

03:38ALBA-TCP's Executive Secretary Jorge Ariaza sees the summit as an opportunity to re-launch

03:44the 10-member grouping.

03:50We consider that this commemoration and celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ALBA-TCP must

03:57signify a re-impulse, a re-launch.

04:00In addition, geopolitical conditions require it, demand it.

04:05The multipolar world that Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro spoke about 20 years ago was

04:11something that would one day happen, happened.

04:19For leaders of the Bolivarian alliance, it will be both a celebration of the 20th anniversary

04:24of the bloc and a time to examine crucial issues in a world of geopolitical flux.

04:30Reporting from Caracas, Garfield Burford, alongside Belen De Los Santos for TELUSIR.

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