​     On December 8, 1972, the leaders of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and Guyana, which had attained their independence a few years earlier, announced their decision to establish diplomatic relations with the Cuban revolutionary government.  The decision was received with alarm in Washington, inasmuch as the United States had been attempting to destroy the Cuban Revolution through a policy of economic and political isolation.  Indeed, the decision can be seen as the first step in a forty-five year process of breaking the U.S. imposed Cuban isolation from Latin America and the Caribbean, culminating instead in the political isolation of the United Sates (Gómez 2017).

     On the thirtieth anniversary of the historic decision, Fidel Castro proclaimed:

     The Caribbean Community (Caricom), established for the purpose of promoting integration and cooperation, was initiated by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973.  Caricom today has fourteen member nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago.

     In 2002, December 8 was declared the day of Caricom-Cuba, and the first Caricom-Cuba Summit was held in Havana.  Subsequent summits have been held every three years, always on the date of the historic 1972 decision.  During these last fifteen years, Cuba and Caricom have been seeking to develop cooperation and commerce between Cuba and Caricom and between Cuba and each of the nations.  Cooperation has especially occurred in areas in which Cuba has much to offer, such as health, education, sport, culture, and construction.  Today, 1,762 Cuban “internationalists” are working in the countries of Caricom, 83% in the health sector.  In addition, 5,542 Caribbean youths have been educated in Cuba, and 732 are presently studying in Cuban universities.    

     The Sixth Caricom-Cuba Summit was held in Saint Mary, Antigua and Barbuda, on December 8, 2017.  In the opening ceremony, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, observed that Cuba has contributed to the elevation of its neighbors through the donation of health services, the training of professionals, and the provision of consulting services with respect to disaster preparation, agriculture, and sport.  He described these contributions as a consequence of the lasting legacy of Fidel, whose ideals of equality and social justice “will endure to the extent that we strive to advance in the socio-economic development of our countries.”  The Prime Minister further observed that the Caribbean finds itself in uncertain times, characterized by “the dangers of terrorism, protectionist and mercantilist policies, and the construction of walls,” and facing threats resulting from the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

     Raúl Castro, in his address to the Summit, recalled the historic decision taken forty-five years ago by four prime ministers of the English-speaking Caribbean.  “We will never forget that decision, which constituted a fundamental step for the breaking of the diplomatic and commercial barrier around Cuba.  And it permitted the deepening of relations among the peoples of Our America, united by centuries of history and culture.”  He further declared, “We Cubans profoundly thank our Caribbean brothers and sisters for their unalterable position of respect toward our country.”   

     Raúl described Fidel as the initiator and foremost proponent of the idea of political ties and cooperation among the countries of the Caribbean.  He cited Fidel’s speech of December 8, 2002: “The only way out for our countries is integration and cooperation.”

      Like Prime Minister Browne, Raúl Castro referred to the dangerous international situation, which he described as “the profound economic, social, political, and environmental crisis that the hemisphere and the world is undergoing.”  He maintained, “The dangers for the survival of the human species are increasing.”  He observed that the powerful states of the world utilize concepts that are not universally accepted, like “humanitarian intervention” and “responsibility to protect,” “in order to hide interventionist and aggressive actions that threaten international security and peace.”  The centers of transnational financial capital seek to impose further obstacles to social and economic development, singling out nations as supposed threats, including them in unilateral and spurious lists.  In the context of this international situation, the countries of the Caribbean, Raúl sustained, ought to confront the challenge of social and economic development through a unity that respects diversity and through integration and cooperation.  

     The Sixth Caricom-Cuba Summit issued the Declaration of Saint Mary.  Reaffirming the historic commitment of the Third World to the true independence of nations in the face of the interventions of the global powers (see “The Third World Project, 1948-79” 7/20/2016), the Declaration proclaims:  “We commit ourselves to lend our unrestricted support to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination of each nation, and to the principle of non-intervention in their internal affairs.”  In addition, the Declaration asserts that attention to the negative consequences of climate change is an urgent priority for the region, and it declares the commitment of the nations to work together to strengthen capacity to reduce risk from disasters.  The Declaration reaffirms the commitment of the nations to develop further the regional infrastructure for air and sea transportation, in order to strengthen economic and commercial relations.  The Summit also signed an agreement of cooperation with respect to tourism, including the development of multiple-destiny tourism in the Caribbean. 

     South-South cooperation is a historic goal of the Third World.  South-South cooperation confronts enormous obstacles, because colonial economic, commercial, and transportation structures were designed to ensure unequal North-South trade, and not mutually beneficial trade among the newly independent nations of the Third World; and because, in the neocolonial world-system, nations that seek to exercise the sovereignty necessary for the transformation of these structures are attacked.  Caricom and the Carcom-Cuba relation represent one of many efforts on the part of Third World peoples and nations to transform neocolonial structures and to establish the basis for cooperation and mutually beneficial relations among nations, so that a more just, democratic, and sustainable world-system can be developed.  

     Cuba and Caricom have taken modest but important steps toward this end.  In the addition to the benefits to the region that derive from the advanced level of Cuban education and knowledge and from the internationalist spirit of Cuba, commerce within the region is growing, as are sea and air connections.  At the present time, tariff preferences are in place for more than 300 Cuban products sold in the Caribbean, and for dozens of Caribbean products sold in Cuba.  The Cuban government reports that commerce among the Caribbean nations has grown significantly in the last three years.

     The Cuba-Caricom relation is part of a Third World project to construct, in theory and in practice, step-by-step, a more just world, in recognition of the fundamental fact that cooperation and solidarity among nations is the only possible road for ensuring the survival of the human species and for the establishment of a sustainable political-economic-cultural world-system.

Sources
 
Castro, Raúl.  2017. “Un Caribe cada vez más próspero, equitativo, seguro, sostenible y unido es posible: Discurso pronunciado en la Sexta Cumbre Caricom-Cuba,” Granma (December 9):3-4.
 
Gómez, Sergio Alejandro.  2017. “El Caribe, los desafíos de la integración en la frontera imperial,” Granma (December 7):5.
 
Menéndez Quintero, Marina.  2017. “Caricom-Cuba: una relación ejemplar y única,” Juventud Rebelde (December 7):4.
 

​

Posted September 22, 2016

     South-South cooperation was a central aspect of the radical Third World project of national and social liberation.  It was envisioned that by trading among themselves, the nations of the Third World would be able to break the neocolonial relation with the United States and the European ex-colonial powers.  With the intention of promoting South-South cooperation, seventy-seven nations created the Group of 77 in 1964.

     But the vision encountered many obstacles:  inadequate capital to develop industry, necessary for providing manufactured goods to the nations of the South; a distorted transportation infrastructure, which had been developed by colonial powers to serve North-South commerce; and the hostility of the global powers, which used all necessary means to preserve their structured advantages in the world-system.  The modest gains that were made with respect to South-South cooperation were eliminated with the imposition of the neoliberal project on the Third World by the global powers (see “The fall & rise of South-South cooperation” 7/24/2014).

     In conjunction with the emergence and leadership of five self-proclaimed socialist nations in Latin America, and with the emergence of the project of Latin American and Caribbean union and integration, the concept of South-South cooperation has been retaken.

     South-South cooperation has been given impetus by Chinese foreign policy in recent years.  Recognizing that economic ascent through domination in the form of the classical empires or in the style of modern European colonial domination is no longer a viable option for humanity; and recognizing that a Chinese quest for ascent within the structures of the world-system would create military and ideological confrontation with the United States and the European powers; China has turned to a policy of seeking mutually beneficial commercial relations with the nations of the Third World, on a foundation of cooperation rather than domination and exploitation, thus sidestepping global structures by creating alternative norms and institutions.  The significant increase of Chinese commerce with Latin America is an indication of the new direction in Chinese policy (see “China-CELAC cooperation” 7/25/2014; “China treats Latin America with respect” 7/29/2014).

     The formation of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in 2009 also has given impetus to the renewal of South-South cooperation.  The five nations of BRICS have never been in the core of the world-system, nor have they ever been among its most impoverished nations.  In different ways, they are at the upper levels of the semi-peripheral region of the world-economy.  Brazil, the largest Latin American nation, combines the dimensions of European settlement, African slavery and indigenous conquest that are central to the story of the formation of the peoples of Latin America.  Russia was peripheralized but never colonized, a dynamic that gave rise to a popular revolution that would inspire popular revolutions in the colonized regions of the world.  India was peripheralized and colonized, and its nationalist leaders (Gandhi and Nehru) became the among the most celebrated in the Third World project of national and social liberation.  China was never peripheralized and only partially colonized, and its revolution led by Mao inspired followers in many Third World lands.  And South Africa was ruled for decades by a white settler minority who exploited and denied fundamental rights of the black majority, until Nelson Mandela was able to emerge from years of incarceration to lead the people to a new South Africa.  The nations of BRICS have the highest levels of industry and technology among the semi-peripheral nations of the world-economy.  They comprise 41.6% of the world’s population, 19.8% of the world GDP, and 16.9% of world commerce.  In recent years, their economies have been growing at a much faster rate than the economies of the most developed nations.

     BRICS was formed for the purpose of developing mutually beneficial trade among its five members, which represents a move toward South-South cooperation.  In 2014, under Chinese leadership, BRICS turned to the expansion and development of mutually beneficial commerce with the other nations of the South.  As an indication of this, it has formed the BRICS Bank of Development, with the intention of providing funds for investment in the nations of the Third World, in projects that are integral to autonomous national projects that seek true development, without the inevitable distortions that are components of interested investments by core governments and banks and core-controlled international organizations (see “BRICS advances to South-South cooperation” 7/29/2014; “The BRICS Bank of Development” 7/30/2014).

      The importance of South-South cooperation was reiterated on January 8, 2014 by Bolivian President Evo Morales, in his capacity as President of the G-77 plus China, which now consists of 133 member nations.  See Speech by Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, on the occasion of the transfer of the presidency of the G77 plus China to Bolivia.  South-South cooperation also was reaffirmed by Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador, in his speech accepting the Presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on January 29, 2015. See “The eradication of poverty is a moral imperative for our region and for the entire planet.”
      
     At the VII BRICS Summit, held in Ufa, Russia, on July 9, 2015, BRICS reaffirmed its commitment to promoting an international order based on “mutually beneficial cooperation” among nations.  It affirmed the principle of South-South cooperation along with North-South cooperation:  “We are committed to further strengthening and supporting South-South cooperation, while stressing that South-South cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to North-South cooperation, which remains the main channel of international development cooperation.”  It expressed its “intention to contribute to safeguarding a fair and equitable international order” (see “VII BRICS Summit” 8/13/2015).  We see in this diplomatic language an intention to move toward a more just world-system gradually and cautiously, hoping to avoid confrontation with the global powers; a necessary approach, given the enormous military capacity of the United States.

​
Key words:  South-South Cooperation, BRICS
     

     We have seen in previous posts that the concept of South-South cooperation has been central to the vision of Third World nations for autonomous development and true independence, and that BRICS (formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has moved toward South-South cooperation, seeking to develop alternative norms of international relations based on mutual respect and cooperation rather than domination and exploitation (see “The Fall and Rise of South-South Cooperation” 7/24/2014; “BRICS advances to South-South cooperation” 7/29/2014).

     At the VII BRICS Summit, held in Ufa, Russia, on July 9, 2015, BRICS reaffirmed its commitment to promoting an international order based on “mutually beneficial cooperation” among nations.  It affirmed the principle of South-South cooperation along with North-South cooperation:  “We are committed to further strengthening and supporting South-South cooperation, while stressing that South-South cooperation is not a substitute for, but rather a complement to North-South cooperation, which remains the main channel of international development cooperation.”  It expressed its “intention to contribute to safeguarding a fair and equitable international order.”

     The Final Declaration of the Summit, known as the Ufa Declaration 2015, also reaffirmed the commitment of BRICS to the United Nations, as an organization of universal membership that has a central role to play in global affairs.  It called for the democratic reform of the United Nations, including changes in Security Council membership, in order to make it more representative.

      The Declaration emphasized the importance of principles of international law that are expressed in the United Nations Charter with respect to the sovereignty and equality of all nations.  “We emphasize the central importance of the principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter, particularly the political independence, territorial integrity and sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs of other states and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

      The Ufa Declaration called upon the nations of the world to respect international law and to discard the double standards that place the interests of some countries over others.  It condemned “unilateral military interventions and economic sanctions in violation of international law and universally recognized norms of international relations.”

     The Declaration rejected the political manipulation of human rights through a distorted emphasis on civil and political rights:  “We will continue to treat all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to development – on the same footing and to give them equal attention. We will take every effort to bolster constructive and non-politicized human rights dialogue at all relevant international fora, including the United Nations.”

     The BRICS Declaration expressed its preoccupation with the persistent risks to the global economy, including high public debt, unemployment, poverty, and inequality.  It expressed concern about “potential spillover effects from the unconventional monetary policies of the advanced economies.”

     The Ufa Declaration affirmed its satisfaction with the formation of a New Development Bank by BRICS (see “The BRICS Bank of Development” 7/30/2014), which “shall serve as a powerful instrument for financing infrastructure investment and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other developing countries and emerging market economies and for enhancing economic cooperation between our countries.”

     The Declaration called for reform of the IMF, revising quotas and voting power in favor of countries in development.  It expressed its disappointment with the failure of the United States to ratify reforms that were proposed in 2010.

     The Declaration called for debt restructuring.  It expressed concern for the unstable financial system and price volatility in global commodity markets.  It called for development of the real sector of the economy, noting that industrial development had been central to the growth of the BRICS economies in recent years.

     Ufa Declaration 2015 affirmed its support for the post-2015 development agenda, pending before the United Nations, which will guide international development cooperation in the next 15 years.  “We reaffirm our commitment to the ambitious post-2015 development agenda. . . . We reiterate that the post-2015 development agenda should be built on the foundation laid by the Millennium Development Goals. . . . A post-2015 development agenda should furthermore reinforce the international community's commitment to eradicate poverty; achieve sustained, equitable and inclusive economic growth and sustainable development; and fully comply with all principles of the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in 1992.”  

     The Declaration maintains that the eradication of poverty is necessary for the attainment of sustainable development.  “We consider eradication of poverty as an indispensable requirement for and overarching objective towards the attainment of sustainable development, and stress the need for a coherent approach to attain inclusive and balanced integration of economic, social and environmental components of sustainable development.”

     The Ufa Declaration condemns terrorism in all of its forms.  “We reiterate our strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stress that there can be no justification, whatsoever, for any acts of terrorism, whether based upon ideological, religious, political, racial, ethnic, or any other justification.”  It insisted that responses to terrorism should be in accordance with international law, and it called upon all governments to “resist political approaches and selective application.”  

     The Declaration condemns mass electronic surveillance.  “We reiterate our condemnation of mass electronic surveillance and data collection of individuals all over the world, as well as violation of the sovereignty of States and of human rights, in particular, the right to privacy.”

     With respect to the exploration of outer space, the Declaration state that “outer space shall be free for peaceful exploration and use by all States on a basis of equality in accordance with international law, and the exploration and use of outer space shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development.”

     The Declaration also expressed the position of the BRICS nations with respect to Syria, Palestine, the nuclear energy program of Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Libya, South Sudan, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and the Central African Republic.

     The nations of BRICS are seeking to play a leading role in the development of a more democratic world-system that would be based on universal human values (see “Universal human values” 4/16/2014) rather than neocolonial dominations.  The progressive and socialist governments of the Third World are looking to reduce their structural dependency on the neocolonial European powers and to expand economic, commercial and cultural interchange with the BRICS, in their quest for a more just, democratic and sustainable world-system.

     The full text of the Ufa Declaration can be found at VII BRICS Summit: 2015 Ufa Declaration.

Key words: BRICS, South-South cooperation, Ufi Declaration 2015

Posted July 25, 2014
​
       South-South cooperation was identified as an important goal, necessary for the autonomy and development of newly independent nations, in the 1950s and 1960s.  Two of the giants of African nationalism, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, were among its advocates.  They called it “non-alignment,” referring to their desire to avoid political alliance and economic dependency on both the former colonial powers of the West, among which the United States had become hegemonic, as well as the socialist bloc headed by the Soviet Union.  In accordance with the strategy of non-alignment, the newly independent nations of Africa and Asia would develop economic and commercial exchanges with one another and with Latin America, seeking to sever economic dependency on the former colonial powers, with which the colonies were locked in a core-peripheral relation, providing cheap raw materials and superexploited labor and purchasing surplus manufactured goods, thus promoting their underdevelopment.  The strategy of non-alignment was integral to the worldview of the leaders of the newly independent nations, which viewed the nations, cultures, and peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America as forming a “Third World,” distinct from the First World of capitalism led by in the United States, and the Second World directed by the Soviet Union, which had developed a bureaucratic form of socialism based in the particular conditions of Russia and Eastern Europe.  They understood the anti-colonial revolution as the Third Revolution, following the bourgeois and proletarian revolutions (see “What is the Third World?” 7/16/2013; “What is the Third World Revolution?” 7/17/2013; “What is the Third World perspective?” 7/18/2013).

      But the vision of the Third Revolution and the strategy of non-alignment confronted insurmountable barriers (see “Obstacles to Third World movements” 7/22/2014).  The most important obstacle was the opposition of the United States and the former colonial powers of Western Europe, which rejected out of hand any thought of cooperating with the newly independent nations in order to promote their autonomous development, thereby creating a more just and democratic and politically stable world-system.  Instead, the global powers used all means at their disposal to preserve the essential economic and commercial characteristics of the colonial relation in the new era of political independence.  Taking advantage of the class and ideological divisions within the national liberation movements, the core powers supported moderate elements and sought to destroy radical and revolutionary tendencies.  Their mechanisms included strategically placed aid, political maneuverings, deceptions, ideological distortions, economic sanctions, wars and military interventions, and assassinations of radical leaders.

     Beyond the hostility of powerful global actors, the Third World revolutionary vision of a more just and democratic world had to confront the legacy of the colonial situation.  There was not sufficient capital for investment in industry and in the diversification of industrial and agricultural production.  The domestic markets of the newly independent nations, necessary for the expansion of industry and trade with other newly independent nations, were weak.  The necessary infrastructure for the movement of goods within or among nations of the South did not exist, inasmuch as the colonial transportation infrastructure was oriented to the service of the core-peripheral relation with Europe and the United States.

      In spite of the obstacles, enormous efforts were made, and modest gains were registered.  But through the collaboration of the national bourgeoisie with core governments and the international bourgeoisie, most newly independent nations of Africa and Asia and the independent republics of Latin America were neocolonies, and the colonial legacy of underdevelopment and poverty endured.  In the 1980s, as the world-system was beginning to feel the effects of a structural and possibly terminal crisis (see “The terminal crisis of the world-system” 3/28/2014), the global elite turned to the neoliberal project, an aggressive economic war against the poor, casting aside the modest gains that had been registered by the national liberation movements.

     But since 1995, there has been a stunning reversal, and today the dreams of Nkrumah and Nyerere are being made real.  A new global political environment has been established, constructed on a foundation of popular movements in opposition to the neoliberal project.  The process has been especially advanced in Latin America, where popular movements resulted in the taking of power by political forces of popular sectors in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador and by a progressive coalition of forces that includes popular sectors in Nicaragua, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, all of which have been developing economic, commercial, and cultural accords of mutual benefit.  This dynamic has affected other nations of the region, and it has culminated in the establishment of the South American Union of Nations (UNASUR for its initials in Spanish; see “Latin American union and integration” 3/13/2014) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC; see “The Declaration of Havana 2014” 3/14/2014), which are dedicated to the strengthening of relations among the nations. 

     Now, as a further step in this process of South-South cooperation, CELAC and UNASUR are expanding relations with China and with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), as we will discuss in the next posts.

     In the context of the structural crisis of the world-system and the persistent efforts of the global powers to sustain an unsustainable neocolonial world-system, the governments and peoples of the South are developing alternative norms of international relations, based on mutual respect and cooperation.


Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, non-alignment, South-South cooperation

Posted July 26, 2014

     At the Second Summit of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), held in Havana, Cuba in January (see “The Declaration of Havana 2014” 3/14/2014), the creation of a China-CELAC Forum was approved.  On July 17, hours after the conclusion of the Sixth Summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, the heads of state of China and the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean, meeting in Brasilia, formally established the China-CELAC Forum.  This is an important step in the strengthening of commercial and social relations between the Asian giant and the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean and in advancing South-South cooperation (see “The fall & rise of South-South cooperation” 7/24/2014). 

     China has a unique history.  In the pre-modern era, the Chinese Empires were the most advanced and the largest of the world-empires.  But during the nineteenth century, China was forced to make economic and commercial concessions to the expanding European powers, undermining its autonomy and reducing its power.  But on the other hand, it was sufficiently powerful to prevent European conquest, colonization, and peripheralization, as had occurred in the rest of the empires and societies of Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, except Japan.  All three of the twentieth century political currents in China (republicanism, nationalism, and communism) envisioned the restoration of Chinese power and prestige in the world.  The triumph of Chinese communism made possible the reconstruction of the political-economy in accordance with popular needs and interests and facilitated an autonomous, if isolated, development.  Since the 1980s, the “opening” has built on this socialist foundation to develop trade with all nations of the world and to facilitate commercial and productive advances.  Thus, in the fundamental global divide between colonizers and colonized, China pertains to neither: it was never colonized, and in the modern era, its development has not been built on a foundation of colonial domination and imperialist penetration of other lands. 

     In the present global reality, in which the modern world-system has reached the geographical limits of the earth, the possibilities for an emerging power to ascend through colonial domination and imperialism is far more limited than in the past.  The entire planet is under imperialist domination, and any effort by an emerging power to penetrate areas neocolonized by a global power would pose a threat to the interests of the global powers, which have demonstrated their ability to cooperate in defense of interests threatened by rising semi-peripheral nations.  These conditions favor an alternative strategy by an emerging semi-peripheral nation, involving cooperation with other semi-peripheral and peripheral nations, making an end run around the global powers and avoiding a direct confrontation, while invoking universal human values.  This alternative strategy contributes to the formation of an alternative world-system, based on respect for universal human values rather than on domination and exploitation (see “Universal human values” 4/16/2014).  The alternative world-system could have increasing viability as the best option for humanity as the global powers demonstrate their inability to resolve the global crisis and increasingly turn to militarism and new forms of fascism (see “The future of the world-system” 7/22/2014; “Imperialism, fascism, and democracy” 7/23/2014).    

     This alternative strategy of development through cooperation has been followed by China in recent years, as is indicated by the growing Chinese relations with Latin America.  China has become the first trading partner of Brazil and the second of Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba, nations that pursue equitable trading relations.  The development by China of accords with Latin America and the Caribbean, which are based on the assumption that the participants are equal partners, puts the process of Latin American and Caribbean unity and integration on more solid ground, and it strengthens the movement toward South-South cooperation.

     Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, recently traveled to Brazil for the BRICS Summit and for the meeting, establishing the China-CELAC Forum, with the heads of state of the nations of CELAC, including Raúl Castro of Cuba, Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Rafael Correa of Ecuador.  And he subsequently visited Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.  Prior to his trip to Latin America, the Chinese President responded to questions by journalists from Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.  He describes China as a large nation, not a global power, and in a phase of development similar to Latin America and the Caribbean nations.  He maintains that China is seeking to develop through trade based on cooperation and win-win relations of mutual benefit.  He advocates the promotion of South-South cooperation in order that underdeveloped nations can attain autonomous and sustainable development, and he considers the expanding economic and social relation between China and CELAC to be an example of South-South cooperation.  He affirms that China is committed to a more just and reasonable international economic and political order (Xi 2014).  An English translation of the interview can be found at: Xi Jinping, Long distance does not weaken close friendship.


References

Xi Jinping.  2014.  “Cooperación entre China y América Latina y el Caribe: La larga distancia no borra la íntima amistad,” Granma: Órgano Oficial del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba, La Habana, 15 de julio, Págs. 3-5.


Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, South-South cooperation, China, CELAC

Posted July 29, 2014

     On July 25, an article on the China-CELAC Forum by Cuban journalists Yaima Puig Meneses and Leticia Martínez Hernández appeared in Granma , the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, which also functions as the daily newspaper in Cuba.  Granma is an excellent source of news on international events.  It differs from the major international news media both in the items that it selects for news coverage as well as the perspective taken.  It represents the current perspective of the Cuban Revolution on world affairs.

     The article by Puig and Martínez describes the formal establishment of the China-CELAC Forum (see “China-CELAC cooperation” 7/25/2014) as “an historic milestone for the nations that compose it. Our region, historically plundered and beaten by foreign powers, now receives respectful treatment and gratitude from the Asian giant” (2014:9).

     Puig and Martínez summarize the major points of the Joint Declaration emitted by China and CELAC on July 17.  In addition to confirming that the First Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum will be held in Beijing, the document emphasizes the need to strengthen capacity for the flow of goods and information among the participating nations, and to this end to develop the infrastructure of transportation and communication, including railroads, roads, ports, airports, and telecommunications, and it affirms that the participating nations seek to establish an  association based on equality, mutual benefit, reciprocal cooperation, and common development.  Here it should be noted that in the core-peripheral relation, the core powers financed the construction of an infrastructure designed to facilitate the flow of raw materials from the periphery to the core and of manufactured goods from the core to the periphery.  But what is envisioned in the Declaration is the development of an infrastructure to facilitate commerce among the nations of the South, the lack of which was a significant obstacle to putting into practice the historic Third World vision of non-alignment (see “The fall & rise of South-South cooperation” 7/24/2014).   

      The Cuban journalists describe the project that China proposes as a program for the integral development of cooperation, driven by three engines: commerce, investment, and financial cooperation.  The commercial accords should be designed to increase the economic growth of both parties.  Investment should be reciprocal, and oriented toward the productive sectors and the diversification of production. This will require financial cooperation between the central banks, which will liquidate the commercial exchanges in national currencies.  With respect to Latin America, the priorities of cooperation fall into six areas: energy and natural resources, infrastructure construction, agriculture, manufacturing, technical innovations, and computer technology.  As an initial concrete step, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the establishment of a Special Credit for Chinese and Latin American and Caribbean infrastructure, which will provide lines of credit under preferential conditions to Latin American and Caribbean nations.  (See an interview with Xi Jinping, in which the Chinese president describes China’s program for integral development on an international scale).

     The China-CELAC Forum envisions not only commercial relations of mutual benefit but also the establishment of space for dialogue between CELAC and China with respect to global political issues of common interest, such as the democratic reform of the United Nations.  As the Chinese President expressed in his address to the China-CELAC meeting,

     Puig and Martínez conclude that

References

Puig Meneses, Yaima y Leticia Martínez Hernández.  1914.  “Foro China-CELAC: Una plataforma para el diálogo y la cooperación,” Granma: Órgano Oficial del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba, La Habana, 25 de julio, Págs. 4-5.


Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, South-South cooperation, China, CELAC

Posted July 30, 2014

     BRICS is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.  These nations comprise 41.6% of the world’s population, 19.8% of the world GDP, and 16.9% of world commerce.  Whereas the combined GDP of the developed nations has grown 60% in the last decade, the combined GDP of the BRICS has increased 300%.

     BRICS was established in 2009 with the intention of facilitating economic and commercial cooperation among the member nations.  But BRICS is now taking a further decisive step.  It is connecting itself to an alternative process that is unfolding in Latin America and the Caribbean.  This alternative process is not merely an integrationist project of ascent in the world-system but a project that seeks to develop alternative structures that can serve as the foundation for an alternative and more just and democratic world-system.

      The Latin American process has roots in the Latin American independence movements of the early nineteenth century, which established republics that were semi-colonies rather than truly independent.  Popular movements during the twentieth century followed one of two roads.  The first, the more common, was a reformist project of ascent through import-substitution, supported by an alliance of the national industrial bourgeoisie and the popular sectors.  It could not succeed, because the neocolonial situation provides limited possibilities for autonomous industrial development and for the satisfaction of popular needs.  The second path was the revolutionary taking of power through armed struggle by the popular sectors, which triumphed only in Cuba.  With the emergence of the structural crisis of the world-system in the 1970s, the global powers launched the neoliberal project, sweeping aside the modest gains of the import-substitution project.  Meanwhile, Cuba, battered by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the neoliberal global environment, nevertheless endured.

     But the neoliberal assault, a true economic war against poor, politically backfired.  It provoked popular movements that sought to cast aside governments and political leaders that had violated the dignity of their nations by implementing the neoliberal agenda of the global powers.  And as the popular movements gained momentum, there stood tattered but proud revolutionary Cuba, a model of Latin American and human dignity.

     Venezuela was the first government to fall to the popular outrage at the neoliberal project, bringing to the presidency Hugo Chávez, whose soul was nurtured by the Bolivarian dream of a single country of all Latin America and by the warnings of Martí of the imperialist intentions of the great power to the North.  When Chávez began to speak at an international meeting, in which Fidel also was present, the Cuban revolutionary passed a note to him, saying, “I think I am no longer the only devil in the room.”  Chávez would become like a son to Fidel, a relation for all the world to see.  Bolivia would soon follow in the change that was beginning to sweep the region, led by an indigenous coca farmer association leader who soon mastered the art of international diplomacy and formulated a Latin American popular perspective with an indigenous ecological emphasis.  And then came Ecuador, led by an economist in expensive suits who had studied in the United States and who, once he arrived to the presidential office, hit the ground running with his insistence of the development of alternative political-economic structures.  Others emerged, a little less radical but nonetheless participating in the process of change: Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and El Salvador.  Ultimately, the entire region was affected, and all of the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean would affirm the basic principles of the alternative process and would bury the Pan-American project of the United States, once the dominant project in the region.

      So the connection being established between BRICS and CELAC has significant global political implications, for in establishing formal relations with CELAC, the nations of BRICS are casting their lot with the alternative popular project of CELAC.  They are not merely seeking ascent in the established world-system, but seeking to promote their development through the construction of an alternative world-system, more just and democratic.

     Sensing the importance of the historic moment, and appreciating the leadership of China and Russia in the process, Fidel Castro has recently written that Russia and China are “the two countries called to head a new world that would permit human survival, if imperialism does not beforehand unleash a criminal and exterminating war” (2014:4).


References

Castro Ruz, Fidel.  2014.  “Es hora de conocer un poco más la realidad,” Granma: Órgano Oficial del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba, La Habana, 22 de julio, Págs. 4-5.


Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, South-South cooperation, China, CELAC

Posted July 31, 2014

     We have seen that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) was established in 2009 for the purpose of promoting commerce among its members, and that it has evolved to active support for South-South cooperation (see “BRICS advances to South-South cooperation” 7/29/2014). 

     Beginning in 2013, BRICS began to move toward the development of alternative global financial structures.  On July 15, 2014, on the opening day of the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, the BRICS Bank of Development was established.  Its headquarters will be in Shanghai, and it will have an initial authorized capital of 100 billion dollars.  With its initial funding coming from the members of BRICS, the Bank of Development will provide financing for projects as well as credit to countries in development.

      Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, asserted that the BRICS Bank of Development “will help Latin American countries to free themselves from the speculation and financial extortions of neoliberalism and neocolonialism.”  In a similar vein, Cristina Fernández, President of Argentina, noted that the BRICS Bank of Development will promote development “without the hostile intention” of the established organisms of credit.

      We have seen that the peoples of the Third World, historically colonized and today for the most part neocolonized, are taking decisive action in the development of alternative structures of political-economy within and among nations.  These alternative structures form the foundation of a potential alternative more just and democratic world-system, which could replace the reigning neocolonial world-system, which has been in crisis since the 1970s and which cannot resolve its contradictions within the context of its logic of domination, which its leadership, blinded by parochial assumptions and by short-term interests, cannot escape. 

      The potential alternative of a more just and democratic world-system has been emerging since 1995, when popular movements in opposition to the global neoliberal war against poor nations and peoples began to emerge.  In nations like Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Nicaragua, popular movements, or coalitions that include popular sectors, have taken control of states, which have taken steps to enable national control of natural resources.  They have utilized income generated by the sale of raw materials in the global market to provide for the social and economic needs of the people and to develop forms of production that are more profitable.  They have sought to put into practice the historic Third World vision of non-alignment, developing structures of South-South cooperation, in which trade is mutually beneficial, and in which exchanges among people include not only the economic and the financial but also the social and the cultural (see “The fall and rise of South-South cooperation” 7/24/2014.  They are seeking to develop alternative financial structures, like the Bank of the South and the Bank of Development, so that global financial resources can be used to provide support and impetus to the projects that are necessary to move forward in the construction of a more just and democratic world.  They are making real the dreams of Bolívar, Martí, Nkrumah, and Nyerere.  In this global process, Cuba, persistent in its socialist revolution, is an important symbol and participant.  And China, overcoming the serious problems that it found in its socialist road, has emerged to play a significant leadership role in the building of a more just and democratic world-system.  That the Chinese leadership is prepared to play a leading role in this time of crisis for humanity is evident in the July 15 interview of Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.

      The notion of a world-system on a foundation of justice and democracy is not merely a good idea.  It is an idea that is being developed in practice by global political leaders with understanding of global dynamics and commitment to universal human values.  And it is an idea that promises the survival of humanity, seeking to detour humanity from its present road of self-destruction (see “A change of epoch?” 3/18/2014; “The alternative world-system from below” 4/15/2014).

       In order to understand global dynamics and to do what is right, we who form the peoples of the North need to encounter the movements of the Third World and to cooperate with them in the construction of a more just and democratic world-system (“What is personal encounter?” 7/25/2013; “What is cross-horizon encounter?” 7/26/2013; “Overcoming the colonial denial” 7/29/2013).  If the history of revolutions is a guide, intellectuals must play an important role in this process, establishing the subjective conditions that would enable an alternative political leadership to emerge in the nations of the North, displacing the ruling political parties and leaders that have demonstrated their incapacity to respond constructively to the challenges that humanity confronts.


Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, South-South cooperation, China, CELAC

     The Group of 77 and China consists of 133 nations of the South.  It was formed on June 15, 1964 by 77 nations at the end of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with the intention of promoting South-South cooperation and attending to their common problems of underdevelopment, a legacy of an international order established by colonial domination.  China joined the group in 1991. The organization provides the possibility for the neocolonized peoples of the world to define a common approach to the issues that humanity confronts, in an environment that is freed from the interferences, manipulations, and pressures of the global powers.

      The Group of 77 held its first South Summit in Havana in April 2000 and the second South Summit in Doha in June 2005. At these summits, as expressed by its 2014 Declaration,

     On June 15-16, 2014, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the Group of 77 and China held an Extraordinary Summit in commemoration of its fiftieth anniversary.  Inasmuch as Bolivia is the current president of the Group of 77, the Summit was noteworthy for the presence of the perspective of the indigenous peoples of America and for the visibility of Evo Morales, who has emerged as one of the principal charismatic leaders in the emerging process of Latin American and Caribbean unity and integration.  See “Speech by Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, on the occasion of the transfer of the presidency of the G77 and China to Bolivia” (New York, January 8, 2014).

      The Extraordinary Summit issued a Declaration with 242 points that represent a consensus among the neocolonized peoples of the world.  The Declaration affirms the importance of the right of sovereignty to the nations of the South, including the right to control natural resources in accordance with a national development plan.

     The Declaration implicitly rejects the policy of the United States to impose its model of democracy on the world, to interfere in the political affairs of nations, and to distort information concerning political practices in nations.

     The Declaration also calls for the eradication of poverty, the reduction of inequality, and the protection of the social and economic rights of the people; sustainable development and the protection of the Earth, addressing such issues as climate change, biological diversity, deforestation, and desertification; the full and equal participation of women, gender equality, and programs of action with respect to violence against women and girls in all of its forms; the “rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, natural resources, identity and culture;” debt cancellation and debt restructuring; reform of the global financial architecture; and reform of the United Nations.

     The Declaration demands “the immediate and full withdrawal of Israel, the occupying Power, from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 and from the remaining Lebanese occupied land.” And it calls for “the Government of the United States of America to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and international law, as well as to the principle of neighborliness, causes huge material losses and economic damage to the people of Cuba.”

      For a full English version of the Declaration, go to: “Group of 77 Final Declaration 2014.”

     The Group of 77 and China, having arrived at a consensus with respect to fundamental problems that humanity confronts, recognizes that its greatest challenge is to induce the global powers to listen to its consensual voice.  It has arrived at the understanding that unity is indispensable for the attainment of the new international order that it seeks to create.

     In his address to the Extraordinary Summit, Raúl Castro stressed the theme of unity, maintaining that “only unity will enable our ample majority to prevail.”  He joined with others in calling for a new international order.  See “Address by Raúl Castro Ruz, Summit of the Group of 77 and China, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, June 15, 2004.”

Key words:  Third World, revolution, colonialism, neocolonialism, imperialism, democracy, national liberation, sovereignty, self-determination, socialism, Marxism, Leninism, Cuba, Latin America, world-system, world-economy, development, underdevelopment, colonial, neocolonial, blog Third World perspective, Group of 77, G-77, Evo Morales, Raúl Castro