January 24, 2017
Photo: Resumen Latinoamericano
Strong support for the Fifth Summit of Presidents and Governments of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), took place at a meeting of social movements and political forces in the capital of the Dominican Republic capital coinciding with the CELAC event.
Social, agricultural, youth, student, labor, popular and humanitarian organizations totally filled the conference hall of the Economics department of Santo Domingo´s Autonomous College (UASD), where the event was being held.
Along with a large group from Venezuela, energized delegations from Cuba, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, North America, Haiti, Guyana, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama and Trinidad were there in strong numbers representing their countries.
UASD rector, Iván Grullón, welcomed all the delegates, and reminded them that they were in a public university, a university of the people, and thanked everyone that the college was chosen as the academic setting for support of the different positions government representatives will pose in the Fifth CELAC Summit on January 25 in Punta Cana.
Grullón went on to point out that “You have the responsibility of taking to the CELAC Summit the vision of the organizations that you represent about the main themes of the regional encounter, like Latin American migration, the United States blockade against Cuba and the dissolution of the Guantanamo occupation.
He also said that subjects like poverty, food safety, the world problem of drugs, nuclear disarmament, women’s rights and development, The Falklands conflict and the scourge of corruption will be dealt with in their discussions.
Following that, the Dominican farm worker leader, Juana Ferrer, recognized and greeted the presence of the Republic of Cuba Hero, Fernando González, who was given a standing ovation with chants of, “Fidel, Fidel, What does Fidel have so the imperialist can’t get him!” (“Fidel, Fidel, que tiene Fidel, que los imperialistas no pueden con él’).
Ferrer reminded the assembled audience that Latin America and the Caribbean is still the most unequal region of the world, with high levels of social exclusion, gender inequality and racial discrimination.
She argued that violations to social, economic, cultural, political, sexual and reproductive rights are generators of violence, marginalization, poverty and are a permanent threat to people´s national sovereignty and food sovereignty.
She also reminded everyone that CELAC is a project launched by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez so that the region could develop unity, peace, integration and sovereignty which will boost the integral development of the people on a basis of mutual cooperation and solidarity.
Ferrer also assured the crowd that social movements and political forces have the commitment to keep fighting so that the CELAC could be a genuine representation of the common struggle for the defense of natural resources and for symmetrical commercial relationships, in opposition to the mechanisms used by imperialism for the unequal exchange and the looting of our people.
Later on work was started by commissions with exhibitors and debates about two central themes: Latin American and Caribbean sovereignty, peace, unity and integration and the reality of Human Rights in the subcontinent. By the end of the afternoon the final document was approved.
Source: The Dawn