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News > Latin America

Sao Paulo Forum Looks to Latin American Heroes for Inspiration

  • Fidel Castro (L), Hugo Chavez (C) and Ernesto

    Fidel Castro (L), Hugo Chavez (C) and Ernesto "Che" Guevara (R). | Photo: Wikimedia Commons - Reuters

Published 18 July 2017
Opinion

Puerto Rican independence hero Oscar Lopez Rivera and Aleida Guevara, daughter of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, participated in the conference.

Hundreds of participants at the 23 Sao Paulo Forum in Managua, Nicaragua on Monday paid tribute to notable Latin American revolutionaries, including late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara

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Puerto Rican independence hero Oscar Lopez Rivera and Aleida Guevara, Che’s daughter, called on attendees to draw inspiration from their revolutionary struggles. 

“They are examples of what we can be,” Lopez Rivera said. 

“I think it is very important to have an appreciation of the legacy of those who are no longer with us, but they did a lot to make us better off.”

Lopez Rivera also praised Sandinista National Liberation Front, FSLN, founder Carlos Fonseca, whom he said served as an example of youth-led resistance to U.S.-backed dictatorships.

Taking the stage, Guevara informed participants that Fidel, Chavez and her father had inspired her with their words and actions, “even now more than after their deaths.”

Joining Lopez Rivera and Guevara was Gabriel Aguirre, a representative of the Communist Youth of Venezuela. Aguirre, condemning ongoing right-wing protests in the South American country, warned that “we are facing the most brutal aggression, threat and interference of U.S. imperialism.”

FSLN International Relations Secretary Jacinto Suarez called the event “a tribute to the giants where modern-day freedom fighters made.”

During the 23 Sao Paulo Forum, which began on July 15, participants officially adopted the “Consensus for Our America,” a 24-page document dedicated to Fidel that lays out the principles, purpose, objectives and priorities of the forum's participants.

The agreement laid out a plan for the “global integration of social justice movements” along with the “continued fight against imperialism.”

The convention will end Wednesday with a celebration of the 38th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua.

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