Kenya-Venezuela Frienship, Bunge La Mwananchi social movement.

08/10/09. The 2nd Africa –South America Summit (ASA) And 3rd Cultural Festival with the people of Africa in Venezuela ,Caracas on September 20-27 , 2009 Reoprt. By Gacheke Gachihi Kenya-Venezuela Frienship, Bunge La Mwananchi social movement. ggacheke@gmail.com Phone +254720318049 The 2nd ASA summit and the III Cultural festival with the people of Africa in Caracas Venezuela this year was great historical connection of the two continents in advancing the peoples struggle and the south- south, platform. The ASA summit which was attended by a great number of head of states , from Africa and Latin America, improved from the first ASA summit that was held in Abuja Nigeria in 2006 in Africa by coming up with declarations, and commitment on concrete issues and action plan that will make the ASA platform more action oriented and deliver result as was indicated by the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez who was the host of 2nd ASA summit in reducing ideas to action on the front of social justice in education with university of south, communication with Radio south and Talesur a television station for the south to broadcast programs from Africa and Latin America and cultural exchange festivals with the people of Africa. The Bolivarian government of Venezuela in the Summit singed agreement with, number of Africa countries in development of Energy and mines, education another agreement was also singed with UN agency of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to help build irrigation infrastructure, in Africa and provide grants to train Africa students in Venezuela. The Summit also discussed the role of global south in agenda of Climate change and its implication to the people’s livelihoods in Africa and Latin America as the industrial nations continues to impose the burden of climate change to developing nations in the global south. The ASA summit also made agreement for creation of Bank of the south, to be a bank that will liberate the global south on imposed World Bank and IMF liberal economic policies that have brought the world to financial crisis. There was also an agreement to democratize the United Nation that remains controlled by few powers in the world, and make United Nation a platform and voice of the people of the world and not a club for few rich and powerful nations in the world , this concern was shared by President of south Africa Jacob Zuma who in his speech called for democratization of united Nations and Condemned the Honduras coup against President Manuel Zelaya, also calling for Obama Administration to lift economic and commercial blockade against Cuba, imposed by United States of America which is cruel and inhuman policy. The President of South Africa also pointed the historical connection of south-south cooperation that can be harnessed to mitigate the current financial crisis, he advised the Africa-South America Summit to call for fundamental reconfiguration of the global economy, for the south countries to assert its collective interests. The cultural festival with people of Africa and South America in the sideline of the ASA summit was to recognize the people of Africa and Latin –America, and Caribbean are from the same origin,they share the same struggles for self determination. The 3rd Cultural festival, By the peoples of Africa- and South America invoked great hopes and spirit, of resistance against imperialism, and economic blockades, coups against progressive government in Africa and South America, this resistance and hopes of overcoming the power of economic and political domination in the south manifested itself in rich Africa and south America Cultural performances, in form songs, dance Africa drumming by Venezuelan afro-descendants, resistance poems. Artistic expression, procession, in carcass, and visit to historical museums, that remind the struggle and resistance of black people against slavery and racism, Also in this program was visit to schools that empower the population of afro descendants, in Venezuela, and historical films and documentary about the struggle of peasants and indigenous people in Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Africa-South America Campesinos Press conference in Caracas. Photob by Gacheke Gachihi. The Cultural festival parade procession was commenced at historical Simon Bolívar square in Caracas, The minister of Africa foreign affairs, Renaildo Boliver who was accompanied by ambassadors from Africa , Who invited President of Venezuela Hugo chavez to address the parade of cultural festival and welcomed the delegations from Africa to the 2nd ASA summit in the Alo president program , Where Chavez engaged the delegation from Africa on live debate in the national television holding the map of Africa and showing where each delegation of women, students , peasants movements participating in the Cultural festival were coming from in Africa pointing Ghana , Nigeria , Benin , Gambia , Algeria , south Africa and Kenya that was presented by Maasai cultural group. . The Cultural Festival Parade ( Maasai from Kenya) In the next five days that followed the festival featured organized debates and discussion on the future engagement of the people of the south, historical resistance and struggle against imperialism,neo-colonialism neoliberal policies advanced by world Bank and IMF, and USA military bases in Africa, noted was USA bases in Colombia and United state African Command bases named Africom in Ghana and other Africa proposed Africa states , there was also commemoration of Pan-Africanist leaders who remain today as symbol of resistance against imperialism in Africa and south America , notably was Amilcar Cabral , Partrice Lumumba , Kwame Nkrumah ,Nelson Mandela , Gamal Abdel Nasser , Che Guevara , Salvador Allende, Fidel castro and Mwalimu, Julias Nyerere who was chair of south -south commission, this was followed by joint declaration by social movements from La via Campesina , women, students and cultural groups from Africa and South America., on peoples popular struggle and action plan that was be taken to advance the peoples struggle., against imperialism., and economic domination in the global south. Delegation members with Florentino workers. From Africa Ghana, Kenya and Chile and Ecuador, in south America we had an opportunity to visit various social programs project in Venezuela in the capital city Caracas at the Barrio and the other states in Venezuela, to see the social programs of the Bolivarian Revolution., the Program was organized by Ezequiel Zamora National Farmers Front (FNCEZ). At Barinas the Bolivarian Revolution government has started agrarian revolution in reclaiming land for sustainable agricultural development with organized cooperative movement and taking the land unused by big landowners for food production and the national interest of the country as the Bolivarian revolution economic principal is based on social justice, one example was Centro Technical Production Socialists named PLORENTINO , a farm of thousands acres with modern technology, for various production of agricultural products and inputs for farmers within the Barinas state that was started in 2005 with the help of the Bolivarian government , this land was idle land that was owned by oligarch of Venezuela but the government with the new Bolivarian constitution reclaimed the land which today is collective investment of peasants cooperatives and the Bolivarian state where the government provide , training and research for breeding of special milk cows within the environment machinery and technology to the peasants farmers around the Barinas state and in order for them to increase their agricultural productivity and enhance food sovereignty., One important lesson we leaned from this farm was great participation of women and youth in scientific research, of seed production and animal breeding that Africa continent can learn from., the President of the farm and representative of the peasant cooperative movement gave open invitation to Africa students, to come and acquire skill and knowledge , in the Institute. We also visited, Latin America institute of agro-ecological named after Brazilian educator Paulo Freire at Arvelo Torre alba Municipality, which was started by La Via campesina and Landless workers movement (MST) of Brazil and the Bolivarian government, the institute is to develop and defend the principals of food sovereignty of the people, and protection all native seeds of all types of farm production and putting value in peasant farming also strengthening the internal market within communities and search for new agrarian techniques, that provide high quality food production for the people and protect environment, and bio-diversity. The institutes also offer courses specialized in peasant, indigenous, and afro-descendants studies. Also train in participatory method, in integrating holistic scientific farming values that will strengthen, social movements in the country side while promoting a technology that is enriched with traditional knowledge, to defend food sovereignty against greed of capitalism. Paulo Freire institute of agro-ecological group photo. Under leadership of Ezequel Zamora National farmers Front a peasants rural based movement and Hon. Braulio Jose Alvarez who is also a national farmers organizer we visited cooperatives farmers with a joint Maize processing plant at Yaracuy state in Venezuela, where the Bolivarian government protect and promote manufacturing of foodstuffs, by small scale farmers with technology transfer from government of Iran, this processing plant is under arrangement of collective ownership with farmers cooperative movement, the maize meal flour processed in this plant is taken to the community market in a subsided price, this process help the cooperatives movements to own the means of production up to the finished product in the community market and advance right to food Maize processing plant at Yaracuy state. The 2ndAfrica -south America summit with the people of Africa in Caracas Venezuela this year inspire and challenge Africa grassroots social movements to acquire new political tools and skills that can empower liberation movements in Africa to develop and deepen theory and practice in organizing our people in the rural and urban areas, to advance social struggle in Africa, this against neo-colonial structures and neoliberal forces that keep Africa masses chained in poverty this Africa movements have to learn from resistance of social movements in Latin America, which have given birth to progressive government , in Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. The peasants , and workers formation in Africa must be the backbone of this alternative leadership as class character that will shape our liberation movements, vital in this will be manifestations of our Africa resistance culture , that embodied liberation movements before in Africa which the indigenous social movements in Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador have utilized to ferment new resistance, which is the vanguard of resistance against imperialism and neo-liberal forces today in the global south. posted by Gacheke Gachihi of Bunge la Mwananchi Gacheke attended the above summit.