Special interview with Laura Capote on the elections in Venezuela

teleSUR English

Now, let's welcome our next guest to review this Sunday's historic elections. Joining us is Laura Capote, a member of the Operational Secretariat of the ALBA Movement.

Transcript

00:00Let's now retake our contact with our previous guest, with Laura Capote, member of the Operational

00:06Secretariat of Atma Movement.

00:08Welcome Laura to From the South.

00:14Hi, thank you so much for the invitation.

00:18It's our pleasure.

00:19Laura, we were talking about this election process that is being held in Caracas this

00:23Sunday.

00:24What can you tell about the importance of these regional local elections for mayors

00:28and local councilors, but also about the first public consultation held for the youngs

00:32as this deepens the democracy, the direct protagonist democracy in the country?

00:44We think that's very important, this experience of democracy.

00:47Venezuela, in Latin America, is like an example for the build of another way of democracy.

00:56Here in Latin America, you know, we have the neoliberal project that built one idea of

01:01democracy that just you go and vote even four years and that's all the contact that you have

01:07with the political participation that you have in your community or that you have with your

01:12people.

01:13And Venezuela has teach us that the democracy is necessary to build with the communities,

01:19asking the communities, asking the communities what's the needs that the communities have.

01:23And all the, another idea of popular and

01:26protagonist democracy that Venezuela has created to our continent.

01:32For that reason, it's very important for Latin America and the Caribbean to see this

01:36experience because it built another way of democracy and strengthen the role of the

01:41youth nest, for example, in this case.

01:44That's very important for us.

01:46And in this context that we were talking about the region as a whole, Alba Movimientos, Alba

01:52Movement held a meeting in Venezuela where the debate centered on the political and strategic

01:56horizon for Latin America and the region.

01:58What is the role of social movements in their struggle against regional challenges that our

02:03peoples across the region are facing?

02:05Yes.

02:06As you said, we just ended our meeting in this past, those past days, the continental space

02:19that coordinate all the organization that participate in Alba movements, that's a continental articulation

02:26of social movements, political organizations, peasants organizations, feminists, educators.

02:33And our meeting was especially because we are building now our fourth assembly, continental

02:39assembly that will be held in Cuba, in La Habana in May of the next year.

02:45And we are building especially a big question about this context in Latin America and the

02:50Caribbean.

02:51It is not anything casual that we made that meeting here in Caracas, Venezuela, with this

02:57experience of a democratic and popular participation of the people.

03:03We made this meeting here because we want to take all the Bolivarian and Chavista spirits

03:09for our articulation.

03:11And especially because we are very worried because our continent now, in this moment,

03:15is a crossing, a very hard moment with all the emergency of right wing projects that are

03:22really of a fascist nature against all the rights, all the people and that right that even

03:29it's with the genocide against the Palestinian people.

03:33So for us, it's very important to meet, talk about what's happening in the continent, but

03:38in the world too, and how we construct and build a strategy for a face against this project,

03:46face against the fascism in our continent, and how we build a socialist project for our

03:52people.

03:53Venezuela is one of those examples.

03:54Of course, Cuba is the most big example that in the history of our continent has created

04:01and construct a different society, a socialist society, and we want to tell to the world

04:06in the next year in our fourth assembly that Alba Movimientos is with the Cuban revolution,

04:12that the Alba Movement is with the people of Cuba against the imperialism and against all

04:18the hunger that imperialism have in this moment against all the process that have dignity

04:23as a flag.

04:26In this context, as you were saying, from Venezuela, a call has been made to left sectors of

04:30Latin America to unite and exchange experiences, as you were saying, to better face regional

04:34challenges.

04:35Do you see this taking root and consolidate in the coming years?

04:40Yes, we think that that's not going to happen alone, just by the way.

04:50That have to be constructed for the people, with the people, to the people.

04:55All this strategy that we want to build against the fascism, against all these experiences of

05:01a return to the worst of our history as humanity.

05:06It's our responsibility as people, but as organization, as articulation in our case, to face against that.

05:13We have to construct a strategy to construct political programs, political education, community

05:20and communication processes to face against this.

05:24This is not going to fall down because of we are very intelligent or we are so creative with

05:31our political project.

05:33I think we think in ALBA that this call of Venezuela is very important, always the revolutionary

05:41processes in our continent have been the first creative ideas for making peace, for defending

05:49peace.

05:50And that always happened in our continent.

05:52Twenty years ago, with the defeat of ALCA, for example, in Argentina, that was created with

05:57the governments of Commander Chavez, Lula in Brazil, Kirchner in Argentina, and in all that

06:08process, for example, and of course, the idea of face the ALCA project that was made with

06:15Fidel and Chavez.

06:16So we think that we have to retake that spirit.

06:19We take that spirit that we have to call all the progressive movements, revolutionary movements

06:24here in Latin America, and the world to face against this moment, and the role of Venezuela

06:30in this call, international call, it's very, very protagonic, because we understand that

06:35Venezuela now have the strength, have the experience, have the legitimacy for made this

06:41a call in the world, and always Venezuela has been with the peace in the world, but it's

06:47not the peace of the silence of the dead people, it's the peace that with social justice,

06:53the peace of socialism.

06:55So we think that's very important.

06:57And if we made a very responsible, if we take that task, it's possible that we can defeat

07:05the fascism that is trying to return to our times.

07:10Thank you, Lara, for your time.

07:11We are going to be expected to see what happens next year in that meeting, that summit here in

07:17Havana.

07:18We are planning in opening it up here in Havana but there, as well.

07:20I think we are still there as well.

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