(Shorthand Versions - Presidency of the Republic)
Dear friends and brothers in struggle: Today we are gathered to commemorate a defeat: the defeat of the imperial plan to swallow up, in one bite, the peoples from the Rio Grande to Patagonia.
Today we celebrate a feat of unity, a triumph of Our America, which twenty years ago said No to the neoliberal integration project; No to the plundering of resources; No to the privatization of essential services; No to the increase in poverty and inequality on the continent.
November 4, 2005, went down in the history of the continent with a cry of independence and rebellion. That day, Latin America shouted with one voice: No to the FTAA!
Twenty years have passed since then, since that burial in Mar del Plata, where the peoples of America buried an imperialist plan disguised as integration that sought to subject our economies, our cultures, and our lives to big transnational capital.
It was not about free trade, but free exploitation. It was not about integration, but about absolute subordination.
This is confirmed by the course of the small FTAs that were signed, the arrogant, contemptuous treatment, like that of master to servant, that the empire has dispensed to the nations whose governments at the time signed agreements that are dead letters when the emperor of the moment decides to impose coercive measures and high tariffs.
Looking back on these events twenty years later, it is impossible not to recall the actions of two great figures in Latin American and world history who opposed this initiative from the outset. Two leaders whose dignified and unified legacy accompanies us and will accompany us forever: Commanders Fidel Castro Ruz and Hugo Chávez Frías.
Fidel, with his profound revolutionary and anti-imperialist vision, publicly criticized globalized transnational capitalism, challenging what seemed to be the "common sense of the time."
The events of Globalization and Development Problems and the Hemispheric Meetings to Fight the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), created by him; the Continental Campaign to Fight the FTAA, and his speeches and interventions during those years, were solid pillars for dismantling the imperialist project.
And alongside him, Chávez, who presented the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) as a counterpoint to the FTAA. An integration based on cooperation, not competition; on brotherhood, not profit. These giants showed us the way. They taught us that integration is not a pipe dream, but a historical necessity that cannot be built on the ruins of our sovereignty.
Principles are non-negotiable, and the dignity and courage of peoples are stronger than all the weapons of the most powerful empire in history.
Along this path, there have been advances and also setbacks that at times seem painfully definitive, but the struggle continues. The historic victory we celebrate today is a fundamental incentive in the face of the enormous challenges we face today, with unity as our shield and bulwark.
The persistent threat of military intervention in Venezuela is increasingly alarming. Genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and attempts to annex the West Bank persist, despite agreements. And the United States blockade against Cuba is intensifying in words and deeds, even amid the devastation we are currently facing in the east of the country as a result of a major hurricane.
Today is still the time for unity, and that moment is essential and cannot be postponed. And the wake-up call to the continental conscience by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution remains relevant, and I quote: "How long are we going to remain in lethargy? How long are we going to be defenseless pieces of a continent that its liberator conceived as more dignified, greater? [...] How long are we going to remain divided? How long are we going to be victims of powerful interests that prey on each of our peoples? When are we going to launch the great slogan of unity? The slogan of unity within nations is launched, so why not also launch the slogan of unity among nations?"
Let us fight for a Latin America and Caribbean that is truly and definitively free from the imperialist yoke. Let us fight for equitable and dignified societies where fundamental rights are not privileges for the few, but benefits for all. Let us fight tirelessly for the Bolivarian Patria Grande, free and sovereign, which was the dream and commitment of our forefathers.
Let us say it again: No to the FTAA! Yes to Latin American and Caribbean integration! Long live Fidel and Chávez! A better world is possible, necessary, and urgent!
Always onward to victory, comrades!
