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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE March 13, 2007
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| January 10, 2007 |
Viva Simon Bolivar! Young Latin Americans Take Up a Historical Quest To Integrate Their Continent |
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| A mural in Venezuela honors Simon Bolivar, the country's independence hero |
More than 500 years ago, Spain and Portugal vied to expand their empires by invading various regions throughout present-day Latin America, establishing them as colonies, and amassing their stores of gold, silver, copper, and other highly coveted resources. Local indigenous people, as well as millions of slaves transported from Africa, were forced to labor on behalf of these grand schemes. Despite being born into wealth and luxury-and despite being of Spanish descent himself-Simon Bolivar rose up against the various injustices he witnessed and helped to liberate much of Latin America from imperialism in the early 1800s. He died, however, before he could carry out his greatest goal: uniting all of Latin America into great homeland. If he had succeeded, such a bloc may have prevented other superpowers - especially the US - from eventually filling the gaps left behind by Spain and Portugal. Two centuries later, 14 young Latin Americans gathered on Peace Boat to continue Bolivar's vision. |
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| Members of the Bolivar Project gave talks on Peace Boat about Latin America's struggle for independence |
Assembling from Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Brazil, the young visionaries worked together on “The Bolivar Project,” a Peace Boat co-sponsored project that gave them the chance to analyze the injustices of their respective countries, think about what changes need to made, and formulate strategies for uniting Latin America into a region of peace, cooperation, and equality. Their joint efforts are part of a larger socio-political movement currently taking place throughout Latin America. This movement aims to restore rights and dignity to indigenous people, halt massive environmental degradation, correct the huge imbalance between rich and poor, stop exploitation by multinational companies, and prevent the US from continuing to destabilize the continent by toppling democratic leaders and replacing them with repressive dictators. |
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| Project members spent hours together intensely analyzing their past, present, and future |
Evo Morales, Bolivia's newly elected indigenous president, is one sign of this sweeping change in Latin America. “Seventy percent of Bolivia's population is indigenous, but it took more than 500 years for us to have an indigenous president,” said one member of the Bolivar Project.
The country's former president was driven out by citizens tired of him channeling much of the nation's natural resources out of the country and amassing a personal fortune while they lived in great poverty. “In my village, there was a pipeline carrying natural gas running right in front of my doorstep,” recalled another project member. “It carried gas out of the country, and yet all of our homes had no heating.” The former president fled to the U.S., where he received the support of the Bush administration. |
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| Bolivians show off their country's indigenous flag, which represents the diversity and harmony of various groups |
Though the task of integrating Latin America may seem daunting, members of the Bolivar Project said they found it easy to work with one another and share ideas. With the exception of Brazil, they noted, their countries share the same language, as well as similar customs and histories. From the onset, they also agreed to refrain from following any one political philosophy and focus instead on concrete problems and their solutions. “Uniting is more important than philosophy,” they said. This flexible, results-oriented attitude, too, reflects shifts taking place in the foreign policies of their respective countries. Venezuela, for example, has started exchanging oil for medical support from Cuba, and Cuba's successful literacy program has been shared and duplicated throughout other countries. Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba, and Argentina have joined forces to form their own broadcasting station – Telesur – to challenge the monopolies of foreign broadcasters. |
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A Venezuelan member of the group urged audience members not to be brainwashed by the international press, much of which has portrayed her president negatively |
After two weeks of working together, members of the Bolivar Project completed a document called “The Bolivarian Declaration,” in which they clearly outlined the problems that have long dogged Latin America, and set forth guiding principles they agreed upon to help overcome them. Costa Rican Roberto Zamora, one of the coordinators of the project, urged a Peace Boat audience to listen carefully to the young Latin Americans, “not because they are the future, but because they are the present.”
To see the website established by members of the onboard Bolivar
program, please click here – www.crucero.fundacionchasquis.org
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| Project members from Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, and Venezuela share an afternoon together at one of Venezuela's youth centers |
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