Antifascist International
I want to begin by dedicating these words to our martyred comrades; to the children who will never see their parents again, and to the parents who will never see their children grow up. To those who have lost everything except hope. Because no words can fully express human pain… but we have a duty not to forget it.
On September 11 last year, in Caracas, Venezuela, the International Antifascist was founded. More than 2,000 representatives from around 120 countries gathered there, convened by the then newly elected president Nicolás Maduro Moros, in an act of dignity, sovereignty, and unity among peoples.
And I know that this date―September 11―resonates with many. For some, it evokes the fall of the Twin Towers and the attack on the Pentagon in 2001. But for others, it also―and above all―resonates with t he tragedy of Chile in 1973, when the government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown with blood and fire by forces at the service of imperialism. As Silvio Rodríguez said, “both events occurred thanks to a similar hatred.” A hatred that fears self-determination, free thought, and the will of the people. I am sure that the name Nicolás Maduro also resonates with some, and with it, the prejudices instilled by official narratives that portray him as a dictator.
Today, I want to take these two elements―the date and that name―to question these hate-filled discourses designed to divide us.
What happened in Chile in 1973 was not an isolated event. It was part of a continental strategy: Plan Condor, carried out under the orders of imperialist intelligence forces. Torture, murder, disappearances. The whole of Latin America was silenced by terror.
Today, those same forces use not only tanks and coups, but also sanctions. They impose economic punishment on countries that think for themselves. Want facts? Russia: more than 28,500 sanctions. Iran: 2,888. Venezuela: 1,039. Cuba: 243. And many other countries. The goal?
To suffocate us, weaken us, subjugate us.
And in the meantime, they include Cuba on their list of “terrorist ” countries, when the only thing Cuba exports to the world is doctors. After September 11, that same machinery sowed a visceral hatred of Islam. Today it is doing the same with Russia, with Palestine, with Iran, and with anyone who dares to resist.
That machine has names: it is called the West. It is called the European Union. It is called the United States. It is called Israel. And it is called all those allies who, from the Middle and Far East, support its domination. Represented by various acronyms, including NATO. Comrades, we must call things by their name: this is fascism.
It is easy to say what is right and what is wrong from a comfortable position, built not on dignity or effort, but on blood and plunder. It is easy to judge from a position of privilege and point the finger at those who resist, without looking in the mirror.
But the people are not asleep. They are rising up. They recognize each other. They are organizing. They are reclaiming their roots, the teachings of their ancestors. They are writing their own history with their own hands. Our principles are not those of fascism, which hates and destroys. Our principles are respect, empathy, and mutual love. We unite, we do not divide.
Our voices unite in one, strong and clear. Our struggle is inspired by those who gave their lives for a more just world: Patrice Lumumba, Ho Chi Minh, Thomas Sankara, Bartolina Sisa, Simón Bolívar, Che Guevara… And in the brave peoples of Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Palestine, and also in Bolivia, my country, who know how to resist with dignity, elect their leaders, and defend their sovereignty, despite repression and censorship.
The creation of the Anti-Fascist International shows that utopia is not a naive dream. It is a possible goal. It reflects what we have learned: that united we are invincible. That the only way to confront fascism and imperialism is together. We do not want charity, we want solidarity. We do not want band-aid solutions, nor to be led like children. We want to walk with autonomy, shoulder to shoulder.
In these dark times, neutrality is complicity. To be neutral is to become an accomplice to genocide, occupation, and torture. What is happening in P alestine, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Congo, Argentina, Cuba, and so many other ravaged territories concerns us all.
Today, the system has imposed individualism on us as a way of life, but that is not human. We were not born to survive in isolation. Human beings are social creatures. We need each other.
And you cannot build a collective struggle from an isolated “I” or from an “us” that excludes others.
If we want real change, we must unite. And for me to be part of the struggles here, you must also embrace my own struggle, that of all oppressed peoples. We don’t want our wounds covered up: we want our pain to be recognized. Only then can we walk together toward liberation.
Until victory, always—we will win!
