Declaration of the XVII Summit of Heads of State and Government of ALBA-TCP

15 years in defense of unity, peace and integration

1. The Heads of State and Government and the Heads of Delegations of the member countries and invited guests of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), meet in Havana on 14 December 2019 to commemorate the XV Anniversary of the Alliance, founded by Commanders Fidel Castro Ruz and Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, with a firm commitment to strengthen it, as an expression of the aspirations for regional independence and a bulwark of genuin Latin American and Caribbean integration in the face of growing threats to regional self-determination, sovereignty, peace and stability.

2. We defend the ideas of Bolívar, Martí, San Martín, Sucre, O' Higgins, Petión, Morazán, Sandino, Maurice Bishop, Garvey, Túpac Katari, Bartolina Sisa, Chatoyer and other heroes of Latin American and Caribbean independence.

3. We emphasize that regional unity and integration are the only way to confront the domination exercised by hegemonic structures of world power, which have left our peoples in a historical condition of political, economic and cultural subordination and vulnerability.

4. We express that ALBA-TCP is the first genuin Latin American and Caribbean integration front, based on principles of solidarity, social justice, defense of independence and sovereignty, self-determination of peoples, economic cooperation and complementarity, a fruit of the deep integrationist vocation of its members and of its political will to advance together towards sustainable development, in order to satisfy the needs of our countries and people.

5. We highlight the social achievements of ALBA-TCP, which have been aimed at human beings, regardless of race, socioeconomic background, creed or political position, allowing millions of Latin American and Caribbean People to benefit from the social policies promoted by the Alliance.

6.  We especially stress the Literacy Program, the Milagro Mission, the Care Program for Persons with Disabilities, the Latin American Children's Cardiology Hospital, the training of comprehensive doctors at the Latin American School of Medicine-ELAM in Cuba and Venezuela and PetroCaribbean, as well as the Casas del ALBA, the ALBA Sports Games, Telesur and Radio del Sur.

7. We point out the progress made by ALBA-TCP in the economic and financial sphere, especially after 11 years since the establishment of the Banco del ALBA, during which time various infrastructure, production and service projects have been developed in the different countries of the region.

8. We ratify our commitment to the construction of an alternative model of economic sovereignty, expressed in a New Financial Architecture, in order to consolidate a system of exchange and reciprocal, supportive, participatory and complementary cooperation that strengthens our economic and commercial freedom.

9. We reaffirm our willingness to continue working and cooperating in confronting climate change, a phenomenon that is a product of the capitalist system, with its irrational patterns of production and consumption, which attack our Mother Earth and increase the frequency and intensity of natural phenomena that cause regrettable human and material losses.

10. We emphasize the participation and full presence of social movements, solidarity movements and popular sectors in our integration process, in order to advance in the construction of inclusive, culturally diverse and environmentally responsible societies that exclude the exploitation of human beings.

11. We condemn the aggressive and interventionist policy of the United States government, which, with the complicity of national oligarchies and the corporate media, combined with the consequences of the harsh application of inhumane neoliberal models, are the fundamental causes of dangerous regional instability.

12.  We reaffirm that the current policy of the United States Government towards Our America poses challenges that generate clear violations of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, as well as the postulates of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

13. We reject the threats of the use of force by the United States Government against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the maintenance and expansion of criminal unilateral coercive measures against its people, which continue to be the main threat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean. We support the Bolivarian Revolution, the Venezuelan People’s Civic-Military Union and the Constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

14. We reject the activation of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that represents a danger to peace, which could facilitate the fabrication of a pretext and establish the bases for a possible military intervention against the Bolivarian people.

15. We condemn the coup d'état against the constitutional government of comrade Evo Morales Ayma in Bolivia, which constitutes a clear expression of the imperialist strategy of the United States in the Western Hemisphere and its permanent intention to violate the self-determination of our peoples according to their hegemonic pretenses. The complicity of the Bolivian oligarchy in the violent interruption of democratic institutions in the country, and the indulgent support of other oligarchies in the region for this flagrant violation of the rule of law and human rights leaves no room for doubt.

16.  We emphasize that for the purpose of recovering the spaces conquered by the peoples with progressive governments, the United States Government, in collusion with the oligarchies of the region, revives methods that seemed to have been overcome in the history of Latin America and applies new formulas of the so-called unconventional warfare.

17.  We denounce that intolerance, racism and brutal repression against social    movements and native peoples have multiplied in Bolivia, with the clear determination to revert the achievements by its people during the presidency of comrade Evo Morales Ayma.

18.  We denounce that the threats and the repeated destabilizing attempts against the legitimate government of the sisterly Republic of Nicaragua are a profound violation of the International Law. The Sandinista Government of Nicaragua and its President, Daniel Ortega Saavedra, rely on our solidarity and support.

19.  We express our solidarity with the people of the sisterly Commonwealth of Dominica, and congratulate Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on his re-election last December 6, with broad popular support.

20.  We reject interfering actions against the political process in Suriname and attempts   to destabilize that country. The Constitutional Government of Suriname and its President, Desire Bouterse, rely on our solidarity and support.

21.  We firmly reject the application of the Monroe Doctrine. We demand respect for the self-determination of our peoples, sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the domestic affairs of each State, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, the rejection of the threat or use of force in international relations, while denouncing the use of unconventional methods of warfare to overthrow legitimate governments and the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against Latin American and Caribbean countries.

22.  We state that the rise of neoliberal governments to political power in the region has led to a clear reversing of social benefit policies in several countries, increasing poverty rates, deep social inequalities and the marginalization of broad sectors of the population.

23.  We declare that the growing corruption of neoliberal governments, their exercise of power to maximize the profits of transnational corporations and of exiguous privileged elites, violence and police brutality, have caused the outbreak of numerous demonstrations in Our America.

24. We denounce the US false statements of attributing to members of this Alliance the responsibility in the organization of the massive popular protests that have spread throughout the region, which aim to conceal the failure of the efforts of neoliberal governments are servile to the requirements imposed by Washington.

25.  We reject the shameful distortion of Latin American reality by the United States and the oligarchic elites of the region that seek to conceal the true origin of popular demonstrations.

26.  We reject the self-proclaimed champions of human rights and democracy, who increasingly resort to militarization and repression to sustain the neoliberal model in crisis. The numbers of dead, wounded and mutilated speak for themselves of the disproportionate use of force by repressive bodies. The support of several governments for the brutal repression in several countries and the complicit silence of others is unacceptable.

27.  We condemn the systematic actions of the United States government to discredit and sabotage the international cooperation provided by Cuba in the area of healthcare in dozens of countries, which has benefited millions of people, as well as the blatant pressure exerted against several governments to interrupt the acceptance of Cuban supportive cooperation, to the detriment of the right to life and access to medical services for their citizens.

28.  We emphasize the recent adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations of the resolution entitled "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba" by 187 votes in favor, which once again demonstrated the overwhelming isolation of the U.S. government, within the context of an international community committed to truth, justice and respect for International Law. The regrettable decision of the Brazilian government to vote against and the Colombian government to abstain confirm the kidnapping of its policies by sectors that are openly servile to the interests of the White House.

29.  We express our solidarity with the brotherly Caribbean countries, which suffered genocide against their native population, the horrors of slavery, the transatlantic slave trade and colonial and neocolonial plundering; today they face the challenges resulting from climate change, natural disasters and the unjust financial system that endangers their small economies. We reaffirm the right of Caribbean countries to receive fair, special and differential treatment. The Caribbean will always find in ALBA-TCP a platform for articulation, cooperation and complementarity to defend its just causes and reparations.

30.  We express our desire for unity and integration that confirms the importance of preserving the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a genuine mechanism to promote the common interests of our nations through political agreement with respect for diversity. In this regard, we commit ourselves to support Mexico in its exercise of the Presidency Pro Tempore of the Community.

31.  We welcome the incorporation of Antigua and Barbuda as a full member of the Banco del ALBA on 4 November 2019.

32.  The challenges we face reaffirm the need to close ranks in the face of external threats, interference and aggression, with full confidence in victory. United we will confront interventionism and putschist’s trend. We are protected by the deep conviction that the construction of the better future that we desire, and for which we work for Our America, is and will increasingly be in the strong and firm hands of the free peoples.

33.  Let us ensure the realization of the rights to life, peace, self-determination and development to which our peoples are entitled. Let us unite! The victory of the just causes we defend depends on unity.

We seek solidarity not as an end but as a means to fulfill Our America's universal mission.

                                                                                                           José Martí, Our America.

Havana, 14 December 2019