| In Ottawa, flowers were put at the statue of Simón Bolívar on February 2 to mark the 12th anniversary of the Bolivarian Revolution. So, too, people in 42 countries celebrated the new anniversary of the process of political-social transformations underway in Venezuela, among them Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. In Cuba, Venezuelans and representatives of other Latin American countries marched down Havana's central Avenida de los Presidentes to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Bolivarian government of Venezuela and give their support to President Hugo Chávez. Hundreds of people of different nationalities joined the march, headed by Deputy Carlos Escarrá of the Venezuelan National Assembly and Kenia Serrano, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), which ended at the monument to Simón Bolívar, where tribute was paid to the man known as the liberator of Venezuela. "We strongly affirm our support for the Venezuelan people, who decided to change the course of their history and break from the long neoliberal night of decades of manipulation. Paying tribute from Cuba to those people so dear to us, who are fighting, resisting and advancing, is an act in keeping with that unique brotherhood between Chávez and Fidel," Serrano stated. For his part, Escarrá noted that, whatever the empire might want, "Cuba and Venezuela will always remain united for the freedom of Latin America." President Chávez expressed his thanks for these demonstrations of support for his government and emphasized that he felt "deeply moved that Venezuela is now more accompanied than ever," Telesur reported. The Revolution Is Here to Stay - Radio Havana Cuba - On Wednesday hundreds of countries commemorated the 12th anniversary of the deed that transformed the political and social reality on the continent: the beginning of the Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution under the leadership of Hugo Chávez Frías. From the 2nd of February 1999, life began to change for the great majority of the population of this sister country that were impoverished and marginalized in the midst of enormous wealth from which, however, they were excluded during decades of neoliberal regimes. On that same day, the gestation of a new model of relations for our nations began based on solidarity and cooperation, outside of the schemes planted by the Washington consensus and its disturbing project of continental domination. For our countries, Twelve years is not much time but the results are enormous inside and outside of Venezuela. Here are some facts: When Chavez took over the presidency many public hospitals were closed, there was no budget to pay the doctors or for medicines. Health was a big private business where the patient was not a patient, he was a client. If they couldn't pay they would not be cured, quite the opposite, they were ignored. In that early period 533 Integrated Diagnostic centres were opened, plus more than 13,000 health centres, 570 Rehabilitation Centres, 459 eye treatment clinics and 12 dental centres. More than a hundred thousand Cuban doctors have worked there thanks to the health cooperation program that, has up until now, given more than 55 million free consultations to people with no financial resources. In the education field, illiteracy has been eradicated in the country. 557 basic education centers have been constructed and the number students graduating from school rose by 24% after the elimination of enrolment fees and the free distribution of uniforms and school supplies. Young people were brought into the social work programs, focussing on the prevention of drug consumption among adolescents and support for young mothers so they can continue their studies. Venezuela resolves to guarantee food sovereignty, the mother of all sovereignties in whatever country in the world. This year the state will become in the principal distributor of food for popular consumption and will provide help to all those that can and want to become food producers to eliminate and decrease imports in this area. The point is that as well as an interior transformation, the Venezuelan revolution has been the catalyst for new movements and links in the region. Thanks to it, initiatives have arisen that evolved as models of integration such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of our America, characterised already as a continental geopolitical space. The ALBA and its principle instruments, like the People´s Trade Agreement, the Bank of the South and the SUCRE, the regional monetary unit, have given impulse to that which during more than 2 centuries was only a dream: the integration of the people, between them and for them without foreign interference. With forward steps and some stumbles, in a hostile atmosphere fed by the United Status and their allies from the local oligarchies, the Bolivarian Revolution has taken root, has woven itself into our historical and cultural roots and inevitable is here to stay. |