Many delegates also got a glimpse of the class struggle in this country, where working people have defeated repeated attempts by sections of the capitalist class, with U.S. backing, to overthrow the government headed by President Hugo Chávez.

“Cuba, Venezuela, one single flag!” was the main slogan the 1,800-strong Cuban delegation chanted at the opening parade. Cuban and Venezuelan delegates promoted this theme throughout the eight-day event. In two speeches, on the opening night and at a conference on “Socialism in the 21st Century,” and in testimony at the anti-imperialist tribunal, Chávez denounced threats against Venezuela and Cuba by U.S. imperialism. He also made it clear his government will expand collaboration with Cuba and other Caribbean countries, such as by selling oil below world market prices, while welcoming to Venezuela an increasing number of volunteers from Cuba.

Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, spoke along similar lines at the anti-imperialist tribunal—the festival’s largest event.

Youth had many chances to discuss national liberation struggles. Two delegates from Puerto Rico testified at the anti-imperialist tribunal making the case for that nation’s independence from U.S. colonial rule. (For more on the tribunal see “Caracas: youth at world festival pledge to defend Venezuela” in August 29 Militant.)

In a seminar titled “The Apartheid Wall,” delegates from Israel, Nepal, Palestine, South Africa, and the United States condemned the occupation of Palestinian territories by Tel Aviv with the backing of Washington and its allies.

A workshop on Canadian imperialism featured Pierre George, a leader of the struggle for the rights of Natives in that country; Jessica Lyons of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, who spoke on the fight for immigrant rights; and Natalie Doucet of the Young Socialists. Doucet described the struggle for Quebec’s independence as part of the line of march of the working class in that country to defeat Canadian imperialism, overthrow capitalism, and establish a workers and farmers government that would open the road to socialism. A young Quebecois and others from the audience also backed the fight for Quebec’s independence.

Forces opposed to struggles for self-determination, however, made their voices heard too and disrupted one event.

Western Saharan delegates spoke several times about the fight to end the occupation of their country by the Moroccan regime—which Madrid, Paris, Washington, and other imperialist powers back. A forum featuring Haj Ahmed, the Saharawi ambassador to Venezuela, however, was disrupted by delegates from Morocco who provoked a fistfight. The Communist and Socialist parties of Morocco and their youth groups, which sent delegates to Caracas, side with that country’s monarchy in opposing independence for Western Sahara.

At the festival’s closing ceremony, a couple of delegates from Spain’s Basque region waved signs demanding self-determination for the Basque people. They were opposed by members of the Spanish Communist Party who waved a large flag of that Spanish province, attempting to prevent the signs advocating Basque independence from being photographed by reporters.

An event on World War II titled “1945-2005: 60 years after the Anti-fascist Victory of the peoples, we continue the struggle against imperialism and war,” was one of the most poorly attended major conferences of the festival. Scheduled to coincide with the closing of the anti-imperialist tribunal on August 14, while Chávez was testifying there, it was attended by a few hundred people.

Several delegations held bilateral meetings. About 200 delegates from the United States and Cuba, for example, held a “U.S.-Cuba youth exchange.” The event featured a discussion on the campaign to demand freedom for the Cuban Five (see box on page 3).

A few thousand delegates visited several of Venezuela’s provinces. Some 120 youth from Africa, the Americas, and Europe, for example, met peasants fighting for land in San Carlos, Cojedes state. They visited Paraima, an area where 832 peasant families occupied land seven years ago and have been fighting to win titles and low-interest credits. During the three-day program they also met with Venezuelans organizing literacy classes.

In Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui state, delegates got a feel for the expanding alliance between Cuba and Venezuela. They met Cuban doctors offering quality health care for free in working-class districts that have had no access to medical services before. Some 18,000 Cuban doctors and other medical personnel, along with another 10,000 Cuban volunteers—including sports trainers and agricultural specialists—now work in Venezuela. Delegates also met elderly Venezuelans who had returned from Cuba, where they underwent cataract and other operations to restore their eyesight. This program, called Mission Miracle, aims to offer such services to more than 100,000 Venezuelans. Many Venezuelan delegates who were part of that exchange are members of the Francisco de Miranda Front. The group encompasses tens of thousands of Venezuelan youth who have graduated from courses on social work in Cuba and have returned to practice what they’ve learned.

One of the most effective avenues for informal exchange was the Friendship Fair. Held at the Teresa Carreño theater in central Caracas, where some of the largest seminars took place, it included cultural performances and literature booths. It was also open to the public, while most festival events were open only to delegates.

Willie Cotton, Maura DeLuca, Natalie Doucet, and Olympia Newton contributed to this article.
 
 
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