Our correspondent Belen de los Santos exclusively interviews Jorge Arreaza, Secretary General of ALBA, about the upcoming summit of the regional organization. teleSUR
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00:00Hello, you're watching Tercer English.
00:11We go to Caracas, Venezuela, in the framework of the celebration of the 20th anniversary
00:15of ALBA TCP.
00:16Secretary General Jorge Arreaza offered an exclusive...
00:25Hello studios.
00:26We continue here in Caracas in the house of ALBA, as we were saying.
00:30And the activity that we have just witnessed was the recreation of a model of a political
00:37council of the ALBA TCP.
00:39This was at the hands of the youngsters, the young men and women that are forming themselves
00:45to become and to possibly integrate the mechanism in the years to come.
00:50And we are joined by Executive Secretary of ALBA TCP, Jorge Arreaza.
00:55Thank you, Jorge, for joining us.
00:57So just to begin with the analysis of today, how did you see the young men and women?
01:02What's the importance of these activities of formation, of education in the ALBA principles
01:08and values?
01:09Yes, this is the first model of ALBA that has taken place here in Venezuela, I believe
01:17in the world.
01:18And it's important because ALBA is a different mechanism.
01:21It's about the union, not only integration, but the unity of our peoples, of our governments.
01:28It's about resistance against the hegemony of the countries that concentrate capital.
01:35And I believe that these youngsters, Venezuelan youngsters of several universities and several
01:40political parties have done a great job because they could interpret perfectly the principles
01:47of ALBA, solidarity, cooperation, complementarity.
01:52And they were able to express it in a very good way.
01:57And I believe that this is the first one of thousands of models that we have to do, not
02:02only in Venezuela, but in all the countries of ALBA TCP.
02:07And this is a way of educating our youngsters.
02:12One of the objectives of this model was to recreate an actual political council from
02:18ALBA TCP.
02:19What were some of the key issues that the young men and women addressed?
02:23Well, they referred and they had their positions really firmly expressed against the coercive
02:34measures, unilateral coercive measures that the United States has imposed against Cuba,
02:41Venezuela, Nicaragua, and against more than 60 countries around the world.
02:48And the effects that these measures have had, for instance, the countries of the Caribbean
02:54that are not impacted directly by the measures, but they are suffering the impacts of the
03:00measures because Venezuela has been attacked with these measures and we have not had enough
03:07oil production as to continue with the PetroCaribe program.
03:11And they are feeling also the effects of and the consequences of this.
03:15It was very clear.
03:16They also manifested their support to the Palestinian cause and people and against the
03:23attacks that the Israeli state and the genocide that the Israeli state has done against the
03:30Palestinian people.
03:32And the principles of ALBA, now that ALBA is reaching its first 20 years of existence,
03:38have also been honored by these youngsters.
03:41Now, of course, this activity is within the week that marks the 20 years from the creation
03:47of ALBA in 2004.
03:49We have the 24th summit on Saturday.
03:52So what can you tell us?
03:54This summit comes in a very important and significant moment for the world and for the
03:58region in particular.
03:59What can we expect from this 24th ALBA summit?
04:04Twenty years ago, not many leaders were talking about a multipolar world.
04:10They were all waiting for the power of the United States to impose everything in the
04:18world.
04:19But Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro did.
04:21They knew this was coming.
04:22So ALBA was one of the first initiatives in the world that belongs to a multipolar world.
04:29And ALBA even had its own currency, its own bank.
04:35We had Petrocaribe for using energy not to dominate but to liberate the peoples.
04:43And this is a very important moment because now the multipolar world exists.
04:47We have BRICS and we have the centers really clarified in the U.S., in Asia, China, Russia,
04:57Latin America, Africa.
04:58So this is the moment.
05:01And we have to resist all the attempts of the Western powers to stop this new world
05:09from being born.
05:11I believe it's born already but from developing itself.
05:15So it's a really important moment.
05:17And I believe that the leadership of the presidents and prime ministers of ALBA is going to be
05:21reinforced next Saturday.
05:23Of course.
05:24And one more question, Mr. Arriaza.
05:26We are in this transition period that you are saying.
05:30Already things are consolidating and being born.
05:34And this is not just a summit that gathers the governments and the heads of state but
05:38also the movement, the social movements of Latin America and the region are coming together.
05:43Why is it important for the people from the social movements, the organizations to come
05:47together and join this unity with the governments as well?
05:53It's really important.
05:54ALBA is, I believe, the only institution in the world, international institution, that
06:00in its structure, in the functioning structure, we have a council of social movements.
06:08And they have a word and a vote in the ALBA decisions.
06:12So they're going to meet here in this house tomorrow more than 150 members of this council
06:20of social movements from all over the world, not only the ALBA countries.
06:24Some of them come from the U.S., from Europe, from Africa, Asia, of course, Latin America
06:29and the Caribbean.
06:31And they are going to analyze the moment that the world is going through.
06:37And they are going to make proposals to the governments of ALBA, maybe to elevate this,
06:45to raise them to the U.N. or to CELAC.
06:47They really have a world.
06:50We are so happy that ALBA is in contact always with the peoples, not only with the elites
06:57that rule, with the elites that are in government, but especially with the peoples, the basis
07:02of the world.
07:03Excellent.
07:04Can we expect some news, some announcement during this week for the region, for the world?
07:10If I was a journalist, I would pay attention to the summit next Saturday.
07:15I would, yes.
07:16We will definitely be paying closely attention to what is happening.
07:20Thank you so much, Jorge, for joining us.
07:22That was, of course, Secretary General of the ALBA-TCP, Jorge Arreaza, from the House
07:27of ALBA.
07:28We have just witnessed a model with the young men and women that have participated, recreating
07:34a political council of ALBA-TCP in the week that marks 20 years from the creation of the
07:40mechanism.
07:41We will continue to pay close attention to everything that is happening this week and
07:47bring you all the information.
07:49Now we go back to you.
07:55Thank you, Belén.
07:56And, of course, we'll stay tuned for everything that is happening during this week in Venezuela's
08:00Caracas in the run-up for this paramount Saturday summit of ALBA-TCP heads of state and government.
08:05For now, stay tuned with Treasurer English.
08:07We'll have more updates in upcoming news briefs.