During the Special Session of the Congress of the New Era, Afro-descendants chapter, the Minister for Culture, Ernesto Villegas, stated that the struggle of Venezuelan and world Afro-descendants is not only for them, but for the human species.
"Only the recognition of all our diversity guarantees the existence of the human species on this planet. Without that recognition, there will be no peace. So the struggle of people of African descent is not just for them, but for all of humanity," he emphasized.
In this sense, Villegas highlighted the dignity of the Afro-descendant people, who have remained firm in the fight and claiming their rights and achievements achieved in the revolution, AVN highlights.
"Dignity is difficult to measure, which is why the struggle of the Afro-Venezuelan movement is not just a matter of public policy. Beyond quantifying the effectiveness of policies, the dignity and capacity for mobility of our people around specific banners is far more important," he emphasized.
To this end, he emphasized the importance of remembering the historical past of Afro-Venezuelans through their struggles, "not out of nostalgia, but rather to find in the past the keys to the struggles of the present and the guarantee of a future, understanding our roots."
Villegas also announced that they will award the Venezuelan Cultural Heritage certificate to the Barlovento Black Theater. "This means a commitment to ensure that it remains, deferred by time, and does not die with time," he said.
He added that they have this debt with the group La muchachada de Curiepe, founded by the cultist, Luisa Mendoza.
For her part, the president of the National Council for the Development of Afro-descendant Communities of Venezuela (Conadecafro), María Isabel Blanco Sifontes, highlighted the achievements of the Afro-Venezuelan community with the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution.
"We've made progress; we've achieved constitutional recognition. We've made concrete achievements in housing, healthcare, and education, moving from the sensation of effort to the materialization and impact of achievements that benefit and elevate the quality of life of our communities. That's what Conadecafro is for," he emphasized.
The National Secretary of the Social Movement of Afro-descendants also highlighted that the celebration of Afro-Venezuelan Day was held, which is highlighted from the perspective and political participation, as well as from the defense of the Bolivarian Revolution.
Unit
The National Coordinator of the Congress of the New Era, Héctor Rodríguez, stressed that unity is essential to achieve specific objectives through the territorialization of each of the movements, both popular and Afro-descendant.
"That unity must be reflected in concrete organizational achievements, but the fact that we don't know how many Afro-Colombian communities there are in Venezuela should lead us to reflect; we're not capable of reaching the entire territory," he said.
"We will present the concrete agenda for maroon action to our president, which must be accompanied by strength, by power, and strength comes from the movement."
"There we have an immense responsibility to ensure that there is no dispersion in our leadership, our egos, our approach, and that we put all these elements aside and contribute to the unity of the Afro-Venezuelan movement and the unity of the Venezuelan popular movement, because we cannot believe it is something isolated from a popular struggle," he emphasized.
"We can't just go our separate ways and pretend that this way we'll achieve the immense agenda of struggle we have in the Afro-Colombian movement, which is completely consistent with the agenda of struggle of the Venezuelan popular movement," he added.
Rodríguez asked the first vice president of the National Assembly, Pedro Infante, to set up a statistics subcommittee "that allows us to be more efficient in identifying Afro-Venezuelan people in the communities."
He urged the authorities to provide the necessary care so that Afro-descendant communities have all the resources to guarantee the welfare state.
At the end of the day, President Nicolás Maduro sent a message to those attending the Congress of the New Era, Afro-descendants chapter.
“Greetings to my Afro-descendant brothers and sisters who met at the New Era Congress, bringing their reflections and strategies to continue advancing in the construction of an inclusive society of justice and equality. We will continue united, working to make it a reality!” said the president
