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Evo Inaugurates ALBA Summit with Greetings to Fidel Castro

CUBA, October 16, 2009. Bolivian President Evo Morales sent greetings to Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro during the inauguration on Friday of the 7th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA).

Best wishes to comrade Fidel, who has devoted his life to his country’s Revolution, said the Bolivian head of state, after which he described Cuba as “the seedbed of revolution in all of Latin America”.

The present edition of the ALBA Summit, number four so far this year, has its venue in the city of Cochabamba, located in a rich Bolivian agricultural area.

Presidents Hugo Chavez and Rafael Correa from Venezuela and Ecuador, respectively, and Cuba’s First Vice-president José Ramón Machado Ventura, are participating in the Summit. Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega will join the event on Saturday, announced Evo, Venezolana de Televisión reports.

Also present in the Summit, aimed at deepening into the bloc’s economic, political and social integration, are the prime ministers from the Caribbean islands of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves; and Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer.

Likewise, representatives from Uruguay, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Haiti Grenada and the Russian Federation, have been invited.

The Trade Agreement of the Peoples (TCP) is one of the issues on the meeting’s agenda.

Promoted by Evo Morales, the TCP’s are an excellent framework for fair exchanges between poor nations, as opposed to the Free Trade Agreements boosted by the United States.

Also tackled during the Summit will be the grand national enterprises, as well as the different projects they carry out, and the establishment of the Economic Complementary Zone agreed at the 6th Summit held in Maracay in June.

Likewise, the creation of the ALBA Bank and the probable signing of the Constituent Agreement of the Single System of Regional Compensation (SUCRE), among other aspects, will also take up part of the time of delegates in their sessions.

Also on Friday, Evo warned about the steps taken by the United States to stop democratic progress in Latin America.

While addressing the over 700 participants in the 1st Social Summit in Cochabamba, attended by representatives from 40 nations and taking place parallel to the Summit, the head of state pointed out that the coup d’etat against constitutional president Jose Manuel Zelaya in Honduras “is a clear sign that they (the United States) want to stop our development with ALBA”.

The Bolivian president also made reference to the presence of US military bases in the region, particularly in Colombia, where they already add up to seven, “because they don’t want us to be united”, the Telesur network reports.

On Saturday, the heads of state or governmental representatives will converse with delegates to this meeting, in an exchange slated for the Felix Carriles Stadium, also in Cochabamba, which will mark the end of the two-day Summit, and that will include artistic and musical expressions, Bolivian media outlets report. (Cubaminrex- ACN)

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