Bolivarian principles promoted by Chavez present at the 7th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States

HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 1 (acn) The Bolivarian principles of cooperation, solidarity and economic complementation pushed forward by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez will be strengthened during the 7th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States to begin on Thursday in Havana.

In an exclusive interview with the Cuban News Agency, Venezuelan Ambassador to Cuba, Ali Rodriguez, pointed out that all of Latin America and the Caribbean are in favor of integration but with what objectives, "integrate a free trade market like the European Union?, not really free; or an integration based in principles of cooperation, solidarity and economic complementation".

We are not competing, but complementing ourselves, said the Venezuelan diplomat who believes that this type of mechanism will serve to give to those that do not have and vice a versa in order to establish a compensation, look for mutual advantages, "earn-earn", not in the capitalist way, but cooperation.

He highlighted that under these principles and it was no other but to solidify a Bolivarian teaching, to alleviate what poverty represents to a country in the Caribbean like paying oil prices with the same terms and conditions of the international financial market.

Petrocaribe not only supplied oil in its first ten years, but also developed initiatives to improve the quality of life of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam and Venezuela.

Ali Rodriguez recalled the common historic origin of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, "we share the same culture and features that characterizes us as one nation: we are one nation, although imperialist interests and the native bourgeoisie divided the continent".

One of the axis of the unity of the peoples of the continent lies in the natural richness of its nations: the largest lungs in the world called the Amazon, three main river currents on Earth, all existing minerals; what is it that we do not have, questioned the Venezuelan ambassador.

What we don't have is the political commitment that has been manifested, but still with a lot of external and internal resistance in our countries in order to materialize true unity, he said, regarding the challenges ahead for mechanisms like the Association of Caribbean States, South American Union, UNASUR or the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC.

He called all of the region's nations to unite before the cultural fragmentation imposed by capitalism who has looked upon the problems of other countries as its own.

The Venezuelan political leader denounced the giant contra offensive of the imperial oligarchy in the continent whose objective is isolation and internal destabilization and mentioned cases like Argentina, Brazil, attacks against Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela.

"We must present a common front to look for ways to continue the continental unity to what Jose Marti called, the great nation that is Our America, when referring to the 7th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States that begins on Thursday and will run until Saturday in the Cuban capital.

He asked himself, who can disagree for our lands to continue reigning in peace; who wants wars, violence, instability in the region, "the peoples. Progressive forces?, No, when referring to the validity of the declaration made by the regional Heads of States at the 2nd Summit of CELAC, when they proclaimed Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.

"They want instability and US made wars and the great monopolies in those countries that dominate the government policies and favor the War industry whose market is arms production", he said.

The Venezuelan diplomat said he is convinced that someday humanity will advance to the point that weapons will disappear.

"But this day still seems far ahead because imperialism and capitalism are still there; meanwhile, the peoples must defense themselves against these realities and protect peace", he said.

In a conversation that lasted a little over half an hour, the Venezuelan ambassador looked over some of the crucial issues that will be debated in Havana, among them the economic complementation in essential areas for the region like tourism and food production.

Both issues will have an important chapter in the Havana Summit because all of the region's nations demand food; "we must look for economic complementation and minimize the payments of hard currency that will later turn into debt and our nations are still poor", said Ali Rodriguez.

"An exclusive currency for the economic exchange in the Caribbean can and must be viable, but depends on the speed in materializing a group of agreements and which only a part is moving forward", said Ali after asking him regarding other experiences like the Sucre.

He highlighted the imperative need of the Caribbean nations to have efficient tools in order for the regional earnings to serve to finance their own needs and those of others. He referred to the Bank of the South as one of the existing mechanisms and of which must be strengthened to serve to face natural disasters and urgent needs.

What is most disastrous in our part of the region is poverty and these nations are the ones that suffer the major natural disasters because the people live in precarious homes, marginalized zones or in low lying areas.

Rodriguez called in designing mechanisms to assist those that suffer natural disasters.

Concluding his conversation with the Cuban News Agency, the Venezuelan ambassador reiterated that unity is the most important issue at this moment. We asked Ali Rodriguez, veteran Bolivarian fighter to transmit a message for the Heads of States and head of delegations that will assist in the Havana Summit. He burst out and concluded: We must never rest in proclaiming that we are One Nation.