The 4th Continental Assembly of ALBA Movements began on Thursday, August 6, in Havana, Cuba, with the participation of more than 150 delegates from 25 countries. The aim of the assembly is to reaffirm popular unity as a key tool to confront the neoliberal offensive, analyze the global situation in the face of the crisis of capitalism, and create a continental work plan to form a unified struggle agenda.
At the opening of the meeting, held at the University of Havana, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and other authorities attended, including the secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Roberto Morales Ojeda, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
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The assembly, which will last until Sunday, August 9, was convened under the slogan “For socialism, a hundred years walking with Fidel” and is dedicated to the centenary of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz. This is the first time that the Continental Assembly is taking place in a Caribbean country.
The agenda of the summit also addresses thematic issues such as Monroe Doctrine 2.0 and international conflicts, and the discussion on socialism as a horizon and the updating of the popular political program.
This coalition of popular forces, born in 2007 after a meeting with Commander Hugo Chávez during the 5th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), currently brings together around 400 peasant, indigenous, urban, student, and feminist organizations aligned with the principles of sovereignty and regional integration of José Martí and Simón Bolívar.
The choice of the Cuban capital as the venue constitutes an act of political solidarity against the intensification of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba.
ALBA Movements defines itself as an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, anti-patriarchal, and anti-racist political and ideological platform, aimed at promoting regional integration from the grassroots and a project of social emancipation and independence for Our America.
Solidarity with Cuba, a fundamental pillar of ALBA Movements
During August 3-4, the political coordination meeting of ALBA Movements was held at the Martin Luther King Memorial Center in Havana, prior to the 4th Continental Assembly.
Joel Suárez, a member of Martin Luther King (a Cuban ecumenical organization that promotes emancipatory values), said to the Brazilian media Brasil de Fato that “for ALBA Movements, solidarity with the Cuban people and the Cuban revolutionary process is a fundamental pillar. Therefore, it was a unanimous decision to hold the assembly here in Cuba, despite the adverse conditions that we, Cubans, are experiencing.”
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He added that in the process of preparing for the 4th Continental Assembly, “one of the discussions we had among popular and social movements in Latin America was the need to stop limiting solidarity to the communication plan and digital networks and to make a leap toward a solidarity where we put our body on the line.”
As part of the call, movements participating in the Continental Assembly brought donations of medicines to Cuba, intended for orphanages and the pediatric department of an oncology hospital.
“In this world where our fuel supplies are blockaded, where there are attempts to isolate us, building this trench of love and solidarity here in Cuba has enormous significance,” asserted Suárez. “From here, we will be able to tell the world about the anxieties of the Cuban people, the despair that sometimes overwhelms us, but also our conviction that we will overcome this situation through our own efforts.”
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/CD
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