Photo of the final plenary session of the XXVII FSP Meeting, June 27 -- photo via the FSP
The XXVII Meeting of the leftist and anti-imperialist Sao Paulo Forum was held in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras from June 27 to 29.
Among its many achievements were firm resolutions in solidarity with Cuba and Palestine.
Its Final Declaration has been released and, among many other points, covers such topics as the need for vigilance and unity in support of Left and progressive victories in the region, the ongoing repression after the coup in Peru, the need to end criminal and unilateral sanctions by the US against countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Indigenous rights, the need for a just peace in Europe and the fight against neo-liberalism.
We have translated it and republish it here in full.
The political parties and movements members of the São Paulo Forum (FSP), present at this XXVII Meeting in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, express our deep gratitude to the Libertad y Refoundación party, LIBRE, of Honduras and to the Executive Secretariat of the FSP for the organization of this significant event.
We are also grateful for the presence of friendly organizations from around the world, which have joined the political, social and popular delegations of Latin America and the Caribbean to participate in the sessions held this week with the Honduran people, including the realization of CELAC Social and the anniversary of 15 years of popular resistance to the coup against President Manuel Zelaya.
The XXVII FSP Meeting takes place at a time when the world faces colossal threats that put the well-being of current and future generations at risk. The hegemonic pretensions of the United States government and its NATO allies; the electoral advance in some countries in Europe and America of right-wing and extreme right-wing political forces; the devastating effects of climate change; economic and social inequality; the barbarity of war and its global consequences, forced migration and attacks on human rights. These challenges and many others demand urgent and concrete actions.
Likewise, the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people, which disregards all the norms of international humanitarian law with the complicit support of the United States government, deserves the strongest condemnation. The figures are heartbreaking: 37,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, have died and more than 70,000 have been injured. The Sao Paulo Forum demands in the strongest terms an immediate ceasefire and a just and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. It reiterates its support for the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign and independent State, with its pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital and in which the return of refugees is guaranteed.
On the continental stage, the neoliberal extreme right continues to apply unconventional warfare methods and flagrantly violate International Law. The most embarrassing examples have been the dismissal of President Pedro Castillo and the condemnation of the political leader Vladimir Cerrón in Peru; the violent arrest of former vice president Jorge Glas in Ecuador, after having received political asylum from the Mexican government, as well as the preventive detention of the mayor of Recoleta, Daniel Jadue, in Chile despite the facts in the case being unproven. All these facts demand our condemnation and energetic denunciation and for these and many other reasons that justify our fight for a world of peace, justice and rights for all, the holding of this XXVII Meeting constitutes a transcendent political event.
This meeting takes place just a few weeks after Claudia Sheinbaum obtained a resounding electoral victory with a record number of votes and will be the first woman to be president of Mexico. This result demonstrates the recognition and social support for the government management carried out by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
It is important to highlight that since the XXVI Meeting of the FSP to date, massive popular demonstrations have been recorded against the application of neoliberal policies of right-wing governments and in defense of the social, economic and cultural rights of the people. Among them, it is important to highlight the just protests of the Argentine people against the setback represented by Javier Milei's government program.
This Forum also reiterates its commitment to the fight against colonialism, for the self-determination and independence of Puerto Rico and with a just and peaceful solution to the cause of the Sahrawi people, in which their right to self-determination and to live at peace in their territory is respected.
To face this complex reality we must unite in our diversity. Only the unity of left-wing, revolutionary and democratic political forces, with social and popular movements and progressive intellectuals, will allow us to articulate initiatives to build a just and equitable international order.
In this endeavor, integration is our greatest strength, hence the importance of continuing to strengthen it. In 2024 we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, whose axioms remain in full force and remind us of the unrestricted commitment to banish the use and threat of the use of force from our region. and to foster relationships of friendship and cooperation.
In this context, we celebrate the leadership of CELAC under the pro tempore presidency of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. At the same time, we recognize the current leadership of this important office by President Xiomara Castro. We are sure that her activism will continue in favor of the regional integration to which our heroes aspired. The celebration of CELAC Social will contribute to this precious purpose.
The confrontation with the campaigns of the right-wing, extreme right, neoliberal and imperialist forces is also in digital spaces and social networks, dominated by communication conglomerates whose algorithms reproduce imperial hegemonic interests and distort the truth.
This is why we must promote and strengthen alternative media in our region, which represent the reality of our people without political bias or manipulation. At the same time, it is necessary to work on training and political awareness, as well as learn the lessons of the history of Latin America and the Caribbean, in which so many heroes have given their lives so that our nations can be independent and sovereign.
The increase in migration, motivated essentially by the impact of neoliberal policies on the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, is another of the challenges we face. In this sense, the FSP will contribute and calls on countries of origin, transit and destination to encourage policies aimed at regular, orderly and safe migration and for the protection of the rights of immigrants.
Likewise, we recognize the leadership exercised by the Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in matters of migration in our region, seeing it as an urgent and pressing matter, always adopting a humanitarian and responsible approach and his joint action with the leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The São Paulo Forum reiterates its firm condemnation of the genocidal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government against Cuba for more than six decades. This unilateral policy has intensified in an unprecedented manner in the last five years, through the application of 243 measures by the previous government of Donald Trump, which have been maintained by the current government of President Biden. At the same time, and as part of a policy of maximum pressure, this imperial government keeps Cuba on a spurious and illegal list of states that supposedly sponsor terrorism, which greatly hinders the financial activity of the country. The FSP, consistent with its positions of support and solidarity with the Cuban people, demands the unconditional lifting of the blockade, demands the exclusion of Cuba from the terrorist list and demands the return of the territory illegally occupied by the Guantanamo naval base 121 years ago. At the same time, it condemns the media and subversion campaigns against Cuba, which seek to distort the reality faced by that brother people.
The FSP rejects the application of unilateral coercive measures against Nicaragua, Venezuela and any country in the world, by the United States government and its allies, as a modern mechanism of economic pressure to achieve their political interests and domination. These types of measures are contrary to international law and impede the sustainable development of peoples.
Venezuela and its people, who suffer the cruelest economic coercive measures and unilateral sanctions by the US, continue to resist and strengthen their democracy. The elections called for July 28 of this year are a process of broad popular participation, which reflects the diversity and richness of the Venezuelan political spectrum and the commitment of the Bolivarian revolution to democracy, citizenship and the political rights of the people.
The São Paulo Forum supports the establishment of relations with similar political spaces such as the Forum of Political Parties of the BRICS and Associates and the Conference of Asian Political Parties. The cooperation with these Forums will allow us to strengthen ourselves and design strategies that contribute to the consolidation of the progressive left at a global level.
The fight against colonialism and neocolonialism in Latin America and the Caribbean constitutes one of the fundamental axes of the São Paulo Forum. We express our support for the fight for independence of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba, among others. And we confirm our support for the right of the peoples of the Caribbean to receive fair, special and differential treatment in their demands for reparation for the damages of colonialism and slavery, most especially Haiti, which needs our total and permanent solidarity.
We remember the coup d'état against President Manuel Zelaya, 15 years ago, as a precursor to the fascist counteroffensive that began against the first wave of progressive governments in the region. We must learn the lesson that in the face of the advance of the neoliberal right, it is necessary to build unity in the diversity of our political forces, in order to achieve a free, sovereign, independent and equitable Latin America and Caribbean.
The São Paulo Forum expresses its support for a diplomatic, constructive and realistic solution to the conflict in Europe that guarantees the security and sovereignty of all; as well as regional and international peace and stability. We reject threats to peace in the Pacific and NATO's attempts to advance in that region and on Russian borders. Likewise, we reject the incursions of the United States Southern Command, the promotion of military agreements in Latin America and the Caribbean to try to involve our people in international conflicts, as they constitute serious threats to regional peace.
We express firm and unwavering support for the “one China” principle. We recognize the province of Taiwan as an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. We reiterate that this position is consistent with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, adopted on October 25, 1971; and which has the support of the overwhelming majority of the international community, which officially recognizes the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Government representing all of China.
We highlight the efforts and commitments of President Petro to achieve peace in Colombia, despite the internal obstacles, a sign of his perseverance to achieve harmony in Latin America and the Caribbean, consistent with the responsibility assumed by the peoples and governments of the region to maintain and achieve this noble purpose. At the same time, we reiterate our recognition of the role of Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela as guarantors of the process and the Peace Agreements in Colombia.
From the São Paulo Forum, we recognize the presidents of Brazil and Colombia, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro, for their joint efforts to guarantee the survival of the Amazon, the largest tropical forest on the planet, threatened by deforestation, illegal mining and drug trafficking.
Likewise, we support the incessant fight of the government and the Historical Pact to advance structural social reforms and we warn against the intentions of the ultra-right to destabilize the government and disrespect the popular will.
The São Paulo Forum stands in solidarity with the FMLN and the social and popular organizations in El Salvador, in the fight they are waging in the face of the serious political, social and economic crisis that the country is experiencing. The current right-wing and unconstitutional government has created a new political and social scenario that has increasingly led to a deterioration of people's living conditions while using the emergency regime to imprison, persecute and murder the Salvadoran people.
We value the historical importance of social movements, as part of the class struggle; the Indigenous, peasant, Black and popular resistance in defense of democracy and free and sovereign election processes. The example of the Indigenous peoples, who historically have been decisive actors in social transformations on our continent, was seen recently in Guatemala where they were a determining factor against the neoliberal model and in defense of democracy and the popular vote, so that a progressive government, like that of Bernardo Arévalo, assumed the presidency of the Republic.
We condemn the attempted coup against the Bolivian government that threatens the democracy, peace and security of that country and express our solidarity with President Luís Arce Catacora. We declare our opposition of the attempts to ban the MAS-IPSP and disqualify the candidacy of brother and former president Evo Morales Ayma.
At the XXVII Meeting of the FSP, we reiterate that, in pursuit of the well-being of our people, we have the historic responsibility of not ceasing the fight to see a majority of governments in Latin America and the Caribbean made up of progressive political forces and social movements. Let us overcome differences and build the broadest unity in diversity.
Let us unite in the face of the constant threats imposed on us by American imperialism and to never allow the Monroe Doctrine to be reimposed! Only with participation and unity in the diversity of our peoples will we be able to advance towards true regional integration and preserve Latin American and Caribbean independence and sovereignty!