A summary look at the news that marked the last 12 months
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00:00Hi, welcome to our 2024 review program, a space where we'll review the most significant
00:14summits that were held in this year, such as the BRICS, ASEAN, ALBA-TCP, and the Great
00:21Historical Block.
00:22I am Gladys Casada, I am pleased to present this summary.
00:27Let's initiate our tour with the BRICS group.
00:29Let's see with Viviana Razo how this organization is setting new directions for the world political
00:34scenario.
00:35This group of countries make up 40% of the world's population.
00:40They are practically the geopolitical rival of the G7, which up to now are the strongest
00:46economies in the world.
00:48The BRICS are trying to create a new economic order in which the dollar is no longer the
00:53global reserve currency.
00:55So what they are trying to do is to de-dollarize the transactions performed by the member countries.
01:03In this way, oil can be traded with other currencies, such as the yuan or the ruble,
01:09which would be a serious blow to the petrodollar.
01:12This is paramount considering that at the beginning of 2024, the multilateral group
01:17approved the joining of five more countries, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran,
01:23Ethiopia, and Egypt, key countries at the time of fixing the international price of
01:28oil and gas.
01:30So even though the group of seven is fighting off this new economic order proposed by the
01:36BRICS, it is a fact that more and more countries are willing to join as they question whether
01:41to maintain their reserves in dollars, because if the dollar loses its value, reserves would
01:45also go down.
01:46Likewise, the BRICS group is determined to strengthen institutions.
01:51In addition, it aims at developing emerging economies, such as its own international bank
01:56headquarter in Shanghai, and it has further approved a common reserve fund with a foundation
02:01of over $100 billion.
02:03By harnessing these two instruments, BRICS members are trying to provide alternatives
02:07to global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World
02:12Bank, and it is questioned for imposing neoliberal measures in exchange for their economic disbursements
02:18leading to the externation of these nations, which further may burst out doses of social
02:24uprisings in Latin America.
02:26On the 16th BRICS summit held in Kazan, the leaders stressed the need to strengthen multilateralism
02:33and reinforce global institutions to boost global development.
02:38A BRICS summit with pivotal issues addressed, the President of China, Xi Jinping, attached
02:46importance to the group, and he identified the difficulties in bolstering world development.
02:53The world is still facing serious challenges to peaceful development.
02:59The road to the rehabilitation of the global South is not destined to be easy.
03:07One of the Western myths was debunked on the meeting, Russia is not isolated, over 20 countries
03:13applied for membership of the BRICS and the summit was attended by over 30 participating
03:18nations.
03:22Our path is especially tracked down the present circumstances when the world is undergoing
03:28truly cardinal changes, the process of forming a multipolar world order is underway.
03:37India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, reaffirmed his country's commitment and confidence with
03:41the BRICS group in building multipolarity.
03:47India is fully committed to enhancing cooperation within the framework of the BRICS.
03:52Our steadfast belief in multipolarity and diversity is our strength.
04:00The Middle East conflict was not overlooked during the meeting, Iran urged efforts to
04:05put an end to Israeli violence.
04:08I call on the influential BRICS to use all their collective and individual capabilities
04:14to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
04:20The President of Palestine, Azm Masmoud Abbas, denounced the ethnic cleansing in the Gaza
04:24Strip by the Zionist forces.
04:28A whole year passed by, Palestinians have been suffering the greatest catastrophe ever
04:33since the 1948 Nakba, that is, the Israeli war in which crimes of genocide and ethnic
04:41cleansing are being committed in the Gaza Strip.
04:44This is part of the Israeli plan to wipe the people off their territory.
04:51Leaders of the emerging powers assured that they seek the construction of a multipolar
04:56world which promotes a new sustainable global order where injustice, violence and false
05:01flags of freedom will have no room but equity and global cooperation.
05:08This year's BRICS summit was held in the Russian city of Kazan, as one of the main issues of
05:13the meeting was the acceptance of new countries interested in joining the group.
05:18The entry of new nations was approved during the meeting, but under a new concept as associate
05:24members, the nations that were integrated are Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
05:30Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda and Vietnam, as well as Cuba and Bolivia as nations from
05:38South America and the Caribbean.
05:39According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the addition of these countries to
05:43the bloc as associate members represents a breakthrough, and it has generated a surge
05:49in the will of new powers to join the emerging group, which is surpassing the G7's share
05:54of the world's gross domestic product.
05:57Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov confirmed that Cuba and Bolivia will be able
06:02to join as members of the BRICS group as of January 1st, 2025.
06:07Let's see the details.
06:09Let's all pay attention.
06:10The BRICS is celebrating, and no, it is not just the same countries, because from January
06:142025, Cuba and Bolivia will join as partners.
06:18Yes, you heard it right.
06:20Cuba, the island that has never stopped resisting, and Bolivia, with its revolution woven in
06:26its veins, finally they joined the party.
06:29Let's recall that BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt,
06:34Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
06:38But what do these countries have in common?
06:40Well, they are all committed to a pluripolar world, and not to the unilateral impositions
06:46of those who call themselves the great ones of the West.
06:50In other words, a future without sanctions or impositions.
06:54This is not just a club of rich people like others, this is a club of fighters.
06:58Can you imagine what the usual powerful would think of it when they see that Cuba and Bolivia
07:03join this mega-block?
07:04I am sure they are already inventing new sanctions, because they do not tolerate that this group
07:10continues to expand and that it has stood steadfastly enough to the great rulings of
07:15the empires.
07:16More and more countries are joining the BRICS, and with Cuba and Bolivia on the horizon,
07:21the block continues to grow.
07:23How long will these ployers continue to disregard the fact that power is no longer in their
07:28hands alone?
07:29The world is changing, and more and more people are daring to challenge the established order.
07:35And are you ready to be part of this change?
07:39Venezuela marks history after participating for the first time in a BRICS summit.
07:43The Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros highlighted that this was the first time that
07:48the President of the country personally attended as a guest at a summit of heads of state of
07:53the BRICS.
07:54In this regard, he noted that the participation of Venezuela in the BRICS summit can be described
07:59as outstanding and beautiful, because it reaffirmed that Venezuela is on the right track of the
08:07history and the leading of a new world.
08:10Likewise, he added that this government is articulating integration plans with various
08:15countries of the BRICS related to economy, energy, trade, science, technology, education,
08:20culture, among others.
08:29Despite Venezuela's historical participation in the summit, it was unable to join the BRICS
08:34due to the veto imposed by Brazil.
08:36What have been the reactions in both South American countries?
08:39Let's see.
08:42Both countries opposed to the entry of Venezuela as an associate member of the BRICS?
08:47Brazil?
08:49Yes, I do.
08:51I mean, we are against it.
08:54Let me call Madeleine Garcia in Caracas.
08:56Jesus Christ, Andres, I know why you are calling me.
09:00From the National Assembly, the President of the Foreign Policy Commission compared him
09:04to Bolsonaro.
09:05He is not exactly a chavista.
09:08He is from the opposition.
09:10What Lula has done is very simple.
09:12He has entered into the same discourse as Bolsonaro.
09:16He shares the policy of imperialism, of isolationism, and of course chavismo has also reacted.
09:23It is shameful the stance that has been handled by the remnants of Bolsonaroism that we find
09:31in the Itamaraty Palace and our sister nation of Brazil.
09:36Venezuela has always been generous.
09:37Brazil has always been supportive and will continue to be so.
09:40When do the experts in Brazil say, hello, Andres?
09:43Really, it is true, truthful, the biggest diplomatic mistake that Brazil has already
09:49made in the leftist governments that we have had, and besides that, it just hampered the
09:55entry of Cuba, which would be a great diplomatic right for Brazil, to put there in BRICS a
10:01sanctioned country hit by the US imperialism.
10:07But this is not isolated from this process, from the way that Brazil has behaved in relation
10:12to Venezuela in this last term, not recognizing the electoral process there, questioning the
10:19tally sheets.
10:20I think it hurts the foreign policy that the Brazilian state has pursued throughout its
10:28history of no intervention, while Brazil is distancing itself from the constitutional
10:33government of President Maduro in Venezuela, as if it were a continental arbiter of elections.
10:39It's not the best policy, either for Brazil, nor for Venezuela, nor for the Latin American
10:47homeland, the great homeland.
10:49In 2025, Brazil will hold the presidency of the BRICS.
10:54We have to take care of our integration.
10:56Brazil will be the president.
10:59Let's go to a break, but before we tell you that the Minister of Communication and Information
11:06of Venezuela, Freddy Náñez, alongside the President of TV BRICS, Yana Toktikova, signed
11:11a memorandum of understanding for the addition of VTV to the TV BRICS.
11:17Let's see.
11:18We received with this signature the affection, the love, solidarity of all the countries
11:24that are part of the BRICS, but also of the international press that is very aware of
11:29what is happening in Venezuela and what Venezuela is doing.
11:33It thrills me because belonging to the TV BRICS gives us the possibility to show the
11:38true face of Venezuela, the beauty of our landscapes, the richness of our culture, the
11:45strength of our history, the fights that we are staging, and the truth of our revolution
11:52can be seen, could be heard, and could be understood by a number of countries that the
11:59only thing they know about Venezuela is what the agencies, EFE, APIE, or international
12:08agencies are interested in showing.
12:11That's why everything that would be good for the BRICS would be good for Venezuela, for
12:15the free countries, and for humanity in general.
12:19For me, the BRICS will represent the crystallization, the incarnation of that world that we said
12:27was possible.
12:28Well, it is already born.
12:29It is already here.
12:30I am in that possible world.
12:32I am integrating that possible world as a representative of a country that is an expression
12:40precisely of anti-colonialism, of counter-hegemonic assistance, of elitist-proletarian assistance.
12:57Let's keep up with the 2024 review program, drawing attention to the Association of Southeast
13:03Asian Nations, ASEAN.
13:05This is a governmental organization made up of 10 countries of Southeast Asia.
13:09Let's see more details of this group.
13:16The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was created in 1967 by the Philippines, Indonesia,
13:24Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
13:27Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia joined the organization as well.
13:38The ASEAN multilateral organization's goals include boosting economic, social, and cultural
13:44cooperation, fostering peace and regional stability, expanding trade, and collaborating
13:53in the breakthrough of agricultural and industrial resources.
13:58ASEAN has three organizational entities, the political and security community, the economic
14:06community, and the social-cultural community, all led by a general secretary at headquartered
14:13in Jakarta, Indonesia.
14:17The member countries of this integration mechanism participate in the Free Trade Area Agreement,
14:23which seeks to increase competitiveness and attract foreign investment.
14:28They further partake in the European Union-ASEAN Global Air Transport Agreement, which aims
14:34at encouraging the modernization of air services between Europe and Asia.
14:41The member countries of the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations, ASEAN, met in
14:46October this year with their external allies with the aim of boosting economic integration.
14:51In this context, the representative of the Chinese government confirmed the signing of
14:56an agreement that establishes the extension of the Beijing Free Trade Agreement with the
15:00multilateral organization over the next few years.
15:04The encounter was propitious for bilateral meetings, such as that of Russian Foreign
15:08Minister Sergei Lavrov, with the Laotian authorities to assess cooperation ties in view of expanding
15:15trade relations between the members of the regional bloc and other allied countries.
15:30The 44th and 45th summits are great opportunities for ASEAN to pursue its 2025 strategy and
15:38wide vision, and set a direction for 2045, including expanding cooperation and strengthening
15:44collaboration within and outside ASEAN for the joint mission of promoting sustainability
15:51of peace and stability in the region and the world.
15:54Meanwhile, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang stressed the common identity of Asian countries,
15:59while advocating respect for the self-determination of the peoples.
16:07Asian countries have a common home.
16:09We have common interests, common opportunities, and common values.
16:13We all value independence.
16:15Asian affairs must be discussed and managed by the Asian people.
16:20The fate of Asia shall be in our hands.
16:24Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced Western intentions to destroy
16:30the economic architecture built up over the past few years.
16:36The debate showed that our Western colleagues, who along with us Chinese and Indians, are
16:41ASEAN partners.
16:42Notwithstanding they are working on undermining the multilateral architecture both in the
16:47economic and security areas, the architecture that has been built over the last 10 years
16:52around ASEAN, and which in general has proven its relevance.
16:58In Venezuela, the 24th Summit of Heads of States and Government of ALBA-TCP was held
17:04within the framework of its 20th anniversary, so let us review some of the goals reached
17:09in this meeting.
17:11During the 24th ALBA-TCP Summit in Caracas City, the heads of state and representatives
17:18of the member countries highlighted their interest in strengthening the foundations
17:22for the creation of a new multipolar world.
17:26The Bolivarian Alliance for the People's Worldwide was born 20 years ago to push the historical
17:32times in the construction of a multipolar world, multi-targeted, without hegemons of
17:39equality of respect, the global balance, to build it.
17:48Today we are once again at the ALBA-TCP Summit, a milestone in the battle for the unity of
17:54our Americas and in defense of social justice for a better world that we all yearn for.
18:03Likewise, all member countries agreed on reaffirming their support for Palestine, condemning the
18:09genocidal actions of Israel.
18:11Thus, the Arab nation was accepted to join the ALBA-TCP as a permanent guest nation.
18:18Likewise, members reiterated their support for the people of Cuba and rejected the illegal
18:23blockade imposed by the United States against the island.
18:26The Palestinian struggle is not a conflict between equals, but a struggle for justice,
18:37freedom, and the restoration of the rights enshrined in international law.
18:46We believe that every people has the sovereign right to build its own destiny without external
18:53pressures or imposed agendas.
18:56Therefore, we advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people with a dignity forged in
19:03the struggle.
19:04Hence, we reaffirm our permanent solidarity with the people of Cuba, a nation that has
19:16played an enormous role in global solidarity and has assisted so many nations in their
19:27efforts for their liberation and independence.
19:34The participants further praised the Venezuelan government for the creation of our ALBA.
19:39They pointed out that it promotes food security and the elimination of poverty, skyrocketing
19:45social justice.
19:46This ALBA initiative is a prime example of a legitimate project with the potential of
19:53transforming the agricultural landscape among the ALBA members.
19:56So once again, we commend President Maduro.
20:00In this way, with a great integration project aimed at the happiness and peace of the peoples,
20:07the heads of state and representatives of the ALBA-TCP member countries reaffirmed their
20:12commitment to the creation of a new world of social justice, peace and world security.
20:20By this year, 2024, several popular assemblies were held in Venezuela, which initiated the
20:26encounter of the Great Congress of the Historical Bloc.
20:29Let us review the accounts of this event.
20:33The Great Congress of the Historical Bloc is the biggest debate that Venezuelans have
20:37as a country, where popular movements belonging to different political, social and cultural
20:43forces of the five generations put on the table proposals made to reach the country
20:48they dream of.
20:50Here we are configuring, drawing the new state that we want, but with the participation of
20:57all, with the inclusion of all sectors, especially what has to do with social movements, the
21:03organized popular power.
21:07We present proposals to the President, so that in 20 years from now, he can apply them.
21:15We are building up, according to the reality of the fishermen's zone, of the producers'
21:18zone, of the indigenous communities' zone, since we have this diversity of policies that
21:25have to be adjusted to the national territory, and how the national government should respond.
21:32Over 500,000 proposals were collected in over 100,000 popular assemblies, where over 3.7
21:40million Venezuelans participated.
21:42Now what is left is to finalize the details for the design of public policies.
21:48Over 500,000 proposals were systematized, and these 500,000 proposals will build up
21:55the development plan of the nation.
21:56That is to say, the development plan of Venezuela is to generate a response to the concrete
22:01problems of our population.
22:03The transformation of the traditional state to the communal state, that is the great agenda
22:07collectively designed.
22:09President Nicolás Maduro closed the event, pointing to the consensus to include everyone
22:13in a vision of the country to 30 years transforming everything that has to be transformed, a proposal
22:19far from the practices of the ultra-right wing.
22:26The vision that the extreme right has of the cult of personality, of surnames, that egomaniacal
22:36individualistic vision, which is incredible, and how the Venezuelan right ends up trapped
22:47in the madness of hyper-individualism, hyper-ego, and violent hyper-extremism.
22:56It is about the interest of an elite that delves into the oligarchies of the surnames,
23:05and here it is about the interest of the maturity of the people, the collective.
23:12And I, Nicolás Maduro Moros, I am and I will continue to be the president of a collective
23:17of force, of a strength movement, a historical movement, and of a country.
23:22The great congress of the historical bloc brought together all the social movements
23:26of the country with the purpose of building up a better future, to reconcile the peace
23:31of Venezuela, and to take the path of a new socialist modernity.
23:37And it's time to say goodbye to this special issue of 2024 Review.
23:43We leave you with audiovisual material that summarizes the high-level meetings that took
23:48place during this year.
23:49I am Gladys Casade until a new meeting.