Venezuela

The heroic people of Venezuela and its revolutionary Government greet all peoples and all Governments of the world represented in the General Assembly of the United Nations. I must begin by underlining the intense activity that Venezuela has undertaken within the framework of the agenda of the United Nations this year of 2002. For that reason, we made the effort to come here to this most timely session of the General Assembly. Venezuela began the year by assuming in January the presidency of the Group of 77 and China. We coordinated and managed that very important group of countries of the world, primarily the countries of the third world. First, we coordinated the preparations, documents, agreements and dialogues leading up to the Monterrey Summit, where we attended, speaking on behalf of the countries of the South and especially on behalf of the countries of the Group of 77 and China. Venezuela then continued that effort by coordinating our Group in preparation for the important Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development, held a few days ago. The discussions at the Johannesburg Summit are still fresh in our minds. This year, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela also held the presidency of the Group of 15, another important group of developing countries fighting for greater scope in the political, economic and social domains. Finally, Venezuela has had a very intense agenda at the United Nations during this year of 2002, and in the remaining months we wish to finish the year with an even greater intensity, making proposals, coordinating actions and seeking decisions to complete and contribute our modest effort in the search for the solutions, goals and objectives set out in this Hall during the historic Millennium Summit of 2000. Thus we come once again to this Hall to ensure that the world hears the voice of millions of men, women and children who fight daily for their life and dignity by striving towards justice in the homeland of SimÛn Bolvar. To begin, I would say that this session of the General Assembly is meeting amidst the suffering and 2 mourning afflicting the people of the United States, the people and city of New York and all peoples of the world, on this first anniversary of the heinous acts of 11 September. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, from the soul of its heroic people and from the heart of its revolutionary and democratic Government, prays to God our Lord for the eternal peace of the victims of those horrible events. It also reiterates its sentiments of solidarity and condolences to their families. It affirms its condemnation of those who planned and carried out those terrorist actions. We also offer our efforts in the fight against the scourge of terrorism in the world in its most diverse facets and manifestations. However, at the same time, Venezuela stresses the necessity of recognizing the complexity of the alarming situation in the world today. The direct condemnation of terrorism must necessarily be accompanied for ethical and moral reasons by an equally forceful condemnation of the causes and processes that have transformed the world into an infinite sum of marginalized individuals and a reign of injustice, inequality and poverty. It is written in the Bible, which contains God's words, that the only path to peace is justice. The resolute repudiation of terrorism must also be accompanied by an unreserved political resolve on the part of the leaders of the world to acknowledge, for example, that today's international economic system fuels a process in which the perverse doctrine of unbridled neoliberalism leads to greater poverty, inequality and despair among the poor peoples of our earth. For example, 17 people die of hunger every minute in the world. If we were to fulfil all the commitments undertaken to combat poverty, it would take us 130 years to eradicate it from the planet, according to figures cited in the most recent report of the United Nations Development Programme. The condemnation of terrorism must go hand in hand with a decision-making process that will make it possible to make greater headway in the war the war, I stress against poverty. For that reason, Venezuela has consistently advocated first at Monterrey and then, more recently, at Johannesburg that an international humanitarian fund should be created whose resources might come, for example, from a percentage of global military expenditure. It could be funded by a percentage of the immense resources, those billions and billions of dollars, that we, the developing countries, the poor countries, annually transfer to the developed world through the perverse mechanism of external debt or eternal debt, I should say. I am sure that the countries of Africa and Asia can tell the same story as we in Latin America do. In the last 20 years of the twentieth century, Latin America paid off more than twice the amount of its external debt. But now it turns out that we owe more than when we began this whole perverse process. It seems only fair to me that, given the situation that faces the world and the bleak path that we are following, this issue must be debated. Why not transfer a portion of this eternal debt' to an international humanitarian fund a fund that could also be financed by monies confiscated from drug traffickers, who do so much harm in the world, and from corrupt individuals who have walked off with billions of dollars from poor countries. Venezuela has a list that it will provide to the police forces of the world. It will assist them in getting back billions of dollars and in transferring them to an international fund. Such a fund could also be financed through a tax that could be levied, quite justly, on major speculative capital transactions. There could be other possible sources as well; of course, this would require a very high-level political decision at the global level. Today, faced with the world's tragedy, Venezuela insists on this idea, and we ask the United Nations to engage in a debate on this issue. In Johannesburg, for example, I recall that we began very interesting discussions in a number of round table meetings in which Venezuela participated. We discussed this topic, and I was very gratified to see a consensus emerge among the heads of State and Government present there. I was very pleased with the support expressed for that idea by the President of brotherly Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who, during the Johannesburg round tables, commented on the need to create instruments such as this, given that today's international financial agencies are not adequately equipped to combat poverty a scourge that besets all of humankind. President Cardoso referred to the Marshall Plan, which was put into effect to assist Europe in the post- war period. I think that today we would need hundreds of Marshall Plans around the world to save the countries of the third word from hell and from death. 3 But just as we condemn global terrorism and its causes, I have come to the Assembly also on behalf of the valiant people of the Bolivarian Republic to denounce out loud other kinds of terrorism and other kinds of causes. In Venezuela, we have seen the beginning of a process of planned, systematic terrorism, which erupted in violence and blood also on the eleventh 11 April, not 11 September this year, that is, five months ago. On that day, a fascist putsch overthrew the legitimate Government that I am privileged to head, and installed, for an extremely brief period, a dictatorship that filled with fear the streets, cities and villages of our beloved Venezuela. What were the causes of that bloody terrorist coup d'état, which resulted in the loss of dozens of human lives and wounded hundreds of people, who are still recovering from their very serious injuries? Quite simply, what we had was a democratic Government a legitimate Government elected by the people; a Government that has committed itself to revolutionary democracy and to political, economic and social change; a Government that has very resolutely and very seriously undertaken to put into effect the principles of the United Nations; a Government that has undertaken the task of carrying out social actions that will transform society in order to bring justice and equality to our people; a Government that has doubled the budget for education in less than three years; a Government that has doubled the health-care budget; a Government that has reduced by 10 per cent infant malnutrition; a Government that has increased by 10 per cent its people's access to drinking water; a Government that has reduced infant mortality from 21 per 1,000 to 17 per 1,000; a Government that has increased by 30 per cent children and adolescents' access to free and compulsory public education. This is a Government that has had to deal with the wild neoliberal privatization of health and education, a Government that began by reducing poverty and marginalization in a country that is full of wealth but has been governed by senseless elitists who were completely insensitive to people's needs. A Government such as this was overthrown by a fascist alliance among privileged sectors, factions instigating a coup d'état using media terror. There is an issue in today's world that needs to be discussed in the world but few dare to do so; I would like to be bold enough to discuss it. This issue is the use of mass media in the world. Venezuela is a good case to be studied. Mass media, exploiting the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press, supported the putsch and manipulated society. The most appalling thing was that, when the people reacted against the dictatorship, the popular reaction was silenced and broadcasting was stopped and nobody knew what was happening in Venezuela. I think this is a special case of ethics in media communications that deserves to be studied. A little while ago, a great intellectual and Latin American writer, the Uruguayan Eduardo Galeano, author of Open Veins of Latin America spoke of the question of mass media around the world and said this great truth: Never have so few deceived so many.' We need to tackle this with courage as we face the beginning of this century. The elitist perpetrators of the putsch used the mass media and think they can continue to use them. They used police terrorism and military terrorism and achieved a very powerful alliance that was successful in overthrowing the Government and succeeded in taking me prisoner and keeping me incommunicado for many hours on a Caribbean island. This fascist coup eliminated the Congress, overthrew all laws and all public branches of authority and did away with the judicial branch. It seized mayors and members of Parliament elected by the population. However, in spite of all of this, they could not oppress us. Within a few hours, something happened in Venezuela that has scarcely ever happened in any country or nation. People began to rush out into the streets, without weapons, with only the weapons of their courage and their hearts and with the Bolivarian Constitution in their hands. Millions of men and women and young people went out into the streets, clamouring for respect for their dignity and miracle of miracles in less than forty-eight hours, the Government along with patriotic soldiers overthrew the dictatorship, restored the Constitution, rescued the President who had been abducted and restored democracy to Venezuela. This was a miracle. Only a people that is united can achieve this. Only a people that is conscious and active can sweep away such fascist and terrorist assaults. This was the first time that this was ever seen in any nation for a very long time. Mine is a people that has regained its libertarian essence and its liberating essence. A people that, since the time of SimÛn Bolvar hardly two hundred years ago, has worked together with Colombia, Ecuador, 4 Peru, Bolivia, Panama to achieve the independence of half of the continent of the Americas. This is the Venezuelan people for whom I, once again, reaffirm my undying love and devotion for their courage and dignity. And here, from this rostrum, on behalf of this people, I offer my sincere and warm thanks for all the gestures of solidarity that we received from here, from the United Nations, from the Organization of American States, from Governments and above all, from many countries of the Americas. Messages came also from Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, because this was a unique situation at the beginning of this century. This constitution is a revolutionary peaceloving and democratic document. It was drafted by the people itself and is now being defended and promoted by the people. In conclusion, following these events we in Venezuela are aware, we know I realize that many people do not yet know we have experienced terrorism first hand. A few days ago a video came out, more proof of what was being planned in Venezuela. In that video an international journalist made some revelations, stating that he was called in the morning on the day of the coup and that, long before the first person fell dead as a result of shooting by a number of snipers there were some foreigners among them the coup perpetrators were already recording a message in which they said that President Ch·vez had ordered people to be killed and that there had been six deaths. Well before the firing and the massacre of defenceless people began, they had already recorded this message. Ultimately, fortunately, the military and civilian reaction was very rapid, because the terror that had been planned against the Venezuelan people on a massive scale would have meant that terrorist practices would be applied against anything that was popular or democratic in Venezuela. They expected to repeal the Constitution. But, of course, it was restored within forty-eight hours because of the peaceful democratic revolution brought about by the people. We are grateful for the international community's unequivocal condemnation of the coup d'état the nightmare that we experienced for some days in Venezuela. And we reaffirm that our Government, in which Venezuelans have placed their confidence in a number of successive democratic processes, will not engage in a witch hunt, or carrying out summary trials or executions. As the people say there is a song they sing in the streets: He's back, he's back, he's back.' With strict adherence to our humanitarian and Bolivarian tradition and upholding our national Constitution, we came back with our Constitution in our hands on the popular tide that swept the legitimate Government back, along with the Constitution, and put an end to the terrorists, the coup d'état and its perpetrators. For the first time in Venezuela's history, victory in a political conflict and bear in mind that this was the overthrow of a dictatorship meant that the Government that returned respected those who had been defeated. We have now engaged in a major national dialogue, a national debate. In this we have also requested the help of the United Nations through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and asked for support from representatives of the Organization of American States. We have also requested support from the Carter Center headed by former President Jimmy Carter. We are grateful for their support and we reaffirm that Venezuela will continue to be guided by God and by the hand of its people, with the Bolivarian Constitution in its grasp. In doing so we will be joining the world to contribute to seek out alternatives to the economic models that have unleashed hunger and misery upon the world. We will continue to make our modest contribution, backed by the efforts of millions. We will continue to make a supreme effort to change the world and to make it viable so that, as soon as possible in the twenty-first century, justice will be achieved. For, as the word of God has asserted for thousands of years, justice is absolutely the only path to genuine peace.