By María Josefina Arce

Brussels is the scene of a transcendental meeting, the Peoples' Summit, which over the years has been a space of struggle and resistance of the entire civil society in favor of a better world, distinguished by respect between States, cooperation and multilateralism.
    
The meeting runs parallel to the Summit between CELAC, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the EU, European Union, which also began in the last hours in the capital of Belgium, with many doubts and questions, in the face of manipulative actions.
  
But in the face of these maneuvers, the Peoples' Summit rises in defense of sovereignty and self-determination, which does not accept relations that subject Latin America and the Caribbean to a neocolonial past.
  
For, as its participants emphasize, the centers of power have promoted policies and treaties, with interference biases, that have not brought benefits to the peoples of the region.
  
Historically, the region has been seen as a source of natural resources and cheap labor. Throughout the centuries Latin America and the Caribbean has been plundered, first by colonialist powers and then by transnational corporations.
  
Therefore, this will be a new opportunity to insist on a frank and respectful dialogue, with fair and beneficial results for both parties.
   
The event will allow the promotion of unity and integration, for the benefit of all, without exclusions or impositions of interference.
   
Its debates will include coercive measures against peoples which, like the U.S. blockade against Cuba, threaten life and the right to build their own country project.
    
The organizers of the Forum urged the CELAC-EU Summit to condemn media campaigns aimed at destabilizing governments democratically elected by their citizens in Latin America and the Caribbean.
   
The People's Summit unites voices, wills and in this new edition seeks to promote a transparent and responsible dialogue between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, to coordinate actions against poverty and inequalities.
   
And to work to make access to health, education, drinking water and housing, among other essential human rights, a reality for all.
   
The People's Summit is undoubtedly an invaluable opportunity for civil society organizations on both sides of the Atlantic to join forces in the face of the current challenges facing humanity, without any subordination to the United States.