With a standing ovation and shouts of “Viva Fidel,” Army General Raúl Castro was greeted as he entered the International Conference Center, to preside the closing session of the XXIV Sao Paulo Forum annual meeting, yesterday July 17.
With the presence of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; and heads of state Nicolás Maduro, from Venezuela; Evo Morales, from Bolivia; Salvador Sánchez Cerén, from El Salvador; and more than 630 delegates and guests, the Final Declaration of Havana was read, as well as an action plan for the coming year.
Mónica Valente, executive secretary of the organization, described the event as emblematic and thanked the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba and our people for the effort made to host the event, opening our arms to the struggles of peoples around the region and the world.
Resolutions from sector meetings were presented, and debates summarized, while an international campaign to demand “Freedom for Lula now” was launched, with a worldwide twitter effort planned for this coming August.
The closing remarks were made by José Ramón Machado Ventura, Party second secretary, who recalled that, for Fidel, the word ‘defeat ‘ never existed, only temporary setbacks, since as long as there is injustice, there will be revolutions.