------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Aug. 12, 2004 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN SOLIDARITY WITH VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ
By Adrian Garcia
As reactionary forces in Venezuela threaten to topple the popularly elected and progressive Hugo Chavez government under the guise of the Aug. 15 referendum, Indigenous groups have declared support for President Chavez--and for socialist Cuba.
On July 24, during the Second Contin ental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities, in Quito, Ecuador, a resolution was passed proclaiming solidarity with the embattled governments of Venezuela and Cuba.
The Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities is part of the Social Forum of the Americas, which is a regional version of the World Social Forum. Representatives of Indigenous communities from 20 countries took part in this historic event.
The resolution praised Venezuela for taking concrete actions in the promotion and protection of Indigenous people's rights. Nicia Maldonado, President of the Confederation of Indigenous People of Venezuela, expressed appreciation for the resolution. Maldonado said, "For the first time Indigenous peoples [of Venezuela] are playing an active role in decision-making in the country," adding that "President Chavez is our guarantee" for the continued participation of Indigenous people. (venezuelaanalysis.com)
Within Venezuela's 1999 constitution there is an entire section that Venezuelan Indigenous representatives drafted themselves. One of the progressive provisions permits Indigenous communities to propose their own models of governance they believe is most beneficial.
"I learned to identify myself with my people rather than just as a Venezuelan," commented Izeanobia Mercano of the Cumangato People of Sucre, Venezuela, one of the Indigenous delegations present at the Quito summit.
The declaration of support for Vene zuela and Cuba was accompanied with a repudiation of neoliberal policies that hurt working and Indigenous people of the Americas and the world. Condem nations were leveled at capitalist organs of oppression such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization.
Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro have both vehemently challenged the way these institutions move against the poorest sectors of the developing countries they profess to assist, with severe austerity programs that serve corporations and banks.
As the Indigenous communities throughout the Americas stand in solidarity with Venezuela's Chavez as that country faces U.S.- backed imperialist threats, so too all working and oppressed peoples worldwide should assist in defending the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution.
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