The social movements and political organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean, who have gathered on January 23 and 24, in the city of Santo Domingo, D.N., capital of the Dominican Republic, sign this document of fervent support to the Fifth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), hoping that it will contribute further to the consolidation and strengthening of this important mechanism of consensus and joint action of our countries to defend the interests and rights of nations and peoples.

CELAC constitutes a gleam of hope for Latin American and Caribbean countries which must join efforts in order to combat together the great evils afflicting us such as poverty, hunger, unemployment, the lack of access to health care services, education, and decent housing, gender inequality and the violence against girls and women, the violation of the most basic rights, the cultural and media war, the lack of public safety, the scourge of drugs, the neoliberal policies, the illegal and predatory actions of multinational corporations, the destruction of the environment, unequal trade, and the obstacles for the existence of a counterhegemonic communication, among others.

We add our militant efforts to the common struggle for national sovereignty, democracy, sustainable development and the guarantee of all human rights for all our citizens. This becomes particularly imperative when the offensive of the right wing in the continent and the recent taking of power by the US president, together with his hegemonic, misogynist, racist, xenophobic and imperialist proclamations, increase the risk of leading to the multiplication and execution of the threats of aggression that are typical of the old Big Stick Policy and the interventionism which has brought so much misfortune upon our peoples throughout history.

We militantly denounce these serious threats, we make an appeal for our peoples to be alert and show their most resolute solidarity and unity, and we claim spaces of dialogue between the government and the social movements so that they can deal with these and other challenges.

We endorse the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, as agreed in 2014 by the Heads of State and Government in the Second Summit of CELAC.

We reject the establishment of military bases by countries and organizations alien to the region, the reactivation of the IV Fleet, the implementation of a new Condor Plan, the joint military drills with foreign powers and organizations, such as NATO, and we demand the withdrawal of the MINUSTAH from Haiti, the first country that rose up against colonial dominance and with which we stand in permanent solidarity.

We condemn the criminalization of social protest and the persecution by paramilitary groups of progressive governments, organizations and leaders. In this regard, we demand the freedom of deputy Milagro Salas and the political fighter Simón Trinidad, and we claim justice for the case of the 43 normalistas from Ayotzinapa.

We support the resistance and struggle of Puerto Rico for its independence, even when the country is not represented in CELAC, and we celebrate the pardon given to Oscar López Rivera, which is the result of the struggle of his people and international solidarity for his release.

We firmly support the sovereignty of the Argentinian Republic over the Falkland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.

We join in the global claim for the immediate and unconditional lifting of the genocidal blockade imposed against the sister Republic of Cuba by the Government of the United States and the return of the territory occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base.

We express our unconditional support to the Bolivarian Revolution and the legitimate government led by President Nicolás Maduro. We demand the repeal of the interventionist Executive Order of the United States government that describes Venezuela as a threat to their homeland security.

We salute the recent electoral victory of the Sandinist Front in Nicaragua and the reelection of President Daniel Ortega. We warn about the attempt to undermine the stability of the government in El Salvador.

We claim the urgent need to eradicate poverty, hunger, and social inequality, in order to build just and inclusive societies, which will guarantee everyone’s access to health care, public, free and high-quality education, decent housing with no forced evictions, decent employment, and the respect for labour rights and achievements, the promotion of culture and identity, opportunities for the youth and the students, and the effective participation of the people. We make common cause with the struggle of teachers and students in the whole region including educational reforms.

We support the efforts of Colombian people to achieve a peace with social justice, after five decades of a bloody war, in the context of the agreements reached by the Colombian government and the FARC-EP, and the beginning of the dialogue with the National Liberation Army. Peace in Colombia represents peace in the continent.

We are guided by the unequivocal conviction that the most effective resource is the unity of nations and peoples and in that spirit we reiterate our militant commitment to do all that is necessary to get that popular force to rise, and thus set up an impenetrable barrier against the ambitions of U.S. imperialism and its allies. The intention to keep moving forward to conquer our definitive national and social liberation, which the mentors and pioneers of this cause continue pointing at from immortality, encourages us to adopt this Declaration and sign it in the best spirit of Latin American and Caribbean solidarity, with an everlasting commitment to the legacy of the unvanquished Commanders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, and inspired by the heroic resistance of women like Mamá Tingó, the Mirabal Sisters and all our heroes and martyrs of the Great Motherland.

Santo Domingo, January 24, 2017

Signed by:

Campaña Dominicana de Solidaridad con Cuba - CDSC

Comité Dominicano de Solidaridad con la Revolución Bolivariana

Articulación Nacional Campesina - ANC

Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos - CNDH

Confederación Nacional Unidad Sindical – CNUS

Federación de Transporte la Nueva Opción – FENATRANO

Unión de Trabajadores Cañeros – UTC

Confederación Nacional de Mujeres del Campo – CONAMUCA

Asociación Nacional de Enfermería – ASONAEN

Centro de Solidaridad para el Desarrollo de la Mujer – CE MUJER

Cooperativa de Producción Social de la Vivienda – COOPHABITAT

Justicia Climática

Frente Estudiantil Flavio Suero – FEFLAS

Movimiento de Mujeres Trabajadoras – MMT

Movimiento de Trabajadores Independientes – MTI

La Multitud

Juventud Caribe

Fundación Francisco Alberto Caamaño

Corriente Magisterial Juan Pablo Duarte

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo – UASD

Asamblea de los Pueblos del Caribe – APC

Federación Sindical Mundial, América Latina y el Caribe - FSM

ALBA Movimientos

Cloc – Vía Campesina

Grito de los Excluidos/as Caribe

Campaña  Cero Desalojos – AIH

Partido Comunista del Trabajo – PCT
Movimiento Patria para Todos – MPT

Movimiento Rebelde – MR

Fuerza de la Revolución – FR

Círculos Caameñistas

Camina RD

Fuerza Juvenil Dominicana – FJD

Ligas Populares – LP

Unión del Barrio

Marcha Patriótica

Unión de los Trabajadores de Trinidad y Tobago

Comité de Solidaridad con Cuba de Guyana

Sindicato Petrolero de Trinidad y Tobago

Organización por la Solidaridad con los Pueblos de Asia, África y América Latina - OSPAAAL

Organización Continental Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Estudiantes – OCLAE

Alianza Internacional de Habitantes

Other social and political movements and organizations of the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia and the United States.