We, the peoples and the revolutionaries, are marching with the wind in our favour. We, the participating organizations in the IX International Seminar, Problems of the Revolution in Latin America, held in Quito, inspired by the progress of the struggle of the peoples, confirm our revolutionary commitment with history, with our peoples and with the international proletariat and we unite around the following Statement:

If one had to condense into a single sentence what is taking place with humanity today, one could state that humanity is living in a turbulent world. The manifestations are many: a general crisis of the capitalist system, a new militarist and terrorist offensive on the part of North American imperialism against the peoples, the development and broadening of the struggle of the workers and peoples in the whole world, among other things.

Of the proclaimed stability, prosperity and continuing economic progress predicted years ago by the bourgeois ideologists and economists, there remains only dry ink on paper. Repeated and sharp economic, financial and monetary crises are taking place in various regions of the world, affecting not only the areas where they break out, but entire regions. Besides affecting the weak economies, the economies of the more developed capitalist countries are also affected, which, for the first time in almost three decades, are simultaneously facing recessions, making clear the great difficulties confronting the capitalist system.

This is a general, terminal crisis, which shows itself in all areas, in the economy, in politics, in ideology, that is, in the structure and superstructure of the capitalist system, Given the nature of this system, of its intrinsic contradictions, the crisis cannot be resolved without putting an end to the regime of wage slavery.

Every time that there is a crisis of relative overproduction of commodities, the bourgeoisie has sought to resolve it by ‘enforced destruction of a mass of productive forces, by the conquest of new markets and by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones.’ But they have stilled failed to get out of the cyclic crisis, rather, the difficulties are greater each time, while the periods of revival are small and at times fleeting.

The imperialist monopolies and countries are acting by this logic. Despite the fact that the world has been divided up or taken over by them, creating zones of control or influence, they are fighting for a new division of the world, to expel the competition and take possession of new markets.

The dispute among the imperialist countries and their economic blocs exists at every moment and in all settings. The world is witness to an intense inter-imperialist struggle, which is expressed in the political and economic contradictions seen in international agencies such as the United Nations Organization or the World Trade Organization. It is in the framework of those contradictions that one can understand the rush of the U.S. to intervene in Iraq and Afghanistan, without counting on the endorsement of its allies. This has led to the development of national wars of those peoples and to North American imperialism becoming bogged down in those areas.

With the aim of seizing new markets and defending their zones of influence, the capitalist powers are working out trade and economic accords, forming blocs such as the European Union, the Association of Southeast one Asian Countries, and by this logic it is in the interest of the United States to create a trade bloc in the Americas at its service. Certainly, the formation of these blocs does not get rid of the contradictions within them.

None of the technological and scientific advancements that humanity has experienced in these years has changed the fundamental economic laws of the capitalist-imperialist system and its contradictions; in fact, the internationalisation of capital has greater connotations than in the past and a world capitalist market has been formed, always controlled by the international monopolies, by which foreign investments and speculative finance capital circulate freely.

The existence of imperialism as the highest stage of development of capitalism is a reality; its characteristic qualities exist in various countries, making them imperialists. Of all of them, it is United States imperialism that is the most powerful, the most aggressive and most rapacious; with its military force it has become the hegemonic power and it is acting to preserve its position.

The whole world is witness to the aggressiveness with which it acts. The events of September 11, 2001 served as a pretext for them to unleash a new political-military offensive, not only to seize the oil and gas wealth of Central Asia and the Middle East, but also to politically and militarily control those regions for the strategic value that they have and to consolidate themselves as the policemen of the world. Moreover, such aggressiveness is not a demonstration of its strength and vitality, but of its weakness. Yankee imperialism uses war as an escape valve to confront its sharp crisis and as a lucrative business for its war industry.

The warlike nature of imperialism has unleashed a wave of protests throughout the world. A great movement against the war is condemning the politics of Bush and his allies, and is opening up spaces for anti-imperialist and revolutionary slogans and positions. This is also taking place in the actions of the anti-globalisation movements, in which the influence of social-democratic thought is still significant. Banners are blazing throughout the world in solidarity with the heroic armed struggle of national liberation that the Iraqi people are waging, which is striking hard blows at the imperialist occupation; the same is taking place in favour of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people who are resisting the assault of Israeli Zionism.

The confrontation with neo-liberalism has marked the actions of the peoples on an international scale; the struggle against privatisation, against the annexationist attempts of imperialism, for the defence of political and national rights, of the natural riches and the environment, against the presence of bases and troops stationed in more than a hundred places throughout the world, etc., are constant. The yearning for change runs through the consciousness of the peoples; in their search for change they have overthrown governments as in Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina; they have demonstrated by elections in favor of democratic and progressive political proposals that have presented programmes against the decrees of the International Monetary Fund, regardless of the actual course that those governments have taken. Along the same lines, the government of President Hugo Chávez in Venezuela has defended itself and, in spite of the Bush administration, it is radicalising its political positions every day; for this it has won the sympathy and support of the peoples of the Americas and the world. U.S. imperialism and the Colombian bourgeoisie have failed in their fundamental objective of Plan Colombia, to defeat the guerillas; therefore, the latter have been strengthened with the development of the struggle of the masses in their own country and with the encouragement that the peoples bring it. It has equally failed in its attempt to subjugate Cuba, which has remained firm as an anti-imperialist bastion in the Americas.

The working class, the fundamental force for revolutionary social transformations, has opened the way and is regaining positions in the ideological and organisational spheres, after having been the main target of a brutal bourgeois ideological offensive in the preceding years. In Europe, Asia, the Americas, the call to combat of the proletariat is renewing its confidence with greater and conclusive battles of the exploited against capitalism.

On the African continent its peoples are continuing the struggle against colonial domination.

In the general struggle that the peoples are waging, there stands out the fighting participation of the youth, eager to make its own the social and political demands of the peoples.

By the nature and substance of its programme, the social revolution is international, but in its form it has the character of a national movement. We have to defeat the bourgeoisie and imperialism in each of our respective countries, without discarding the possibility that there will be outbreaks in more general arenas.

Of course, the revolution is not a political social phenomenon that takes place spontaneously; its development and victory arises from the maturation of the objective and subjective factors; we have possibilities of acting on these latter to accelerate the process. The revolution is a necessity; it is a responsibility on which we are working to lead it to victory.

We, the workers and peoples of the dependent countries, face a common enemy: imperialism, however it calls itself, and the winning of genuine national and social liberation demands the carrying out of a correct politics of class independence, without falling into the trap of supporting one imperialism to fight another. However, this does not negate the need to take advantage in a revolutionary manner of the inter-imperialist contradictions that exist.

In the fight against imperialism we work to form an Anti-Imperialist Front, which is manifested in action, in the struggle of all the social forces and sectors subjugated by imperialism. This should be expressed – and in fact is taking place – in local and international actions; in the joint battles and tasks that the workers’ movement, the peasants, the youth, the women, etc., are carrying out. We are working hard to unite the social and popular forces in each place, to unite all those who experience and reject the oppression of imperialism. This is not the exclusive responsibility of the revolutionaries, but in fact it is up to us to take on the most dynamic role for its concretisation. These actions should be planned, and we are working for these to be expressed in an organised manner, coordinated on a national and international scale. All those organised actions, in one process, should flow together in a great front of the workers and peoples that will defeat the rule of capitalism, opening the path to the revolution and socialism.

It is a fact that the influence of bourgeois ideology within the workers’ and peoples’ movement is predominant; the social-democratic and reformist currents have led to the taking up, by part of the movement, of pacifist and conciliatory positions. If we do not defeat the enemies of the revolution in all terrains it will not be possible to lead the social revolution of the proletariat to victory. It is our responsibility to win the working class and peoples to revolutionary politics, so that they will march along the path that is historically theirs, to lead the international proletariat.

For this and more, we maintain that we are living in a turbulent world. In general, the time for defensive action of the revolutionary and peoples’ political organisations has been left behind; we have advanced, we are in better conditions than in the past, revolutionary winds are blowing in the world, and we are pushing the dawn of the new day forward.

Revolutionary Communist Party of Argentina
Workers’ Party of Belgium
Revolutionary Communist Party of Brazil
Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Mexico (Marxist-Leninist)
Peruvian Communist Party Marxist-Leninist – Red Flag
Popular Democratic Front of Peru – FEDEP
Communist Party of Labour of the Dominican Republic
Movement for Independence, Unity and Change – Dominican Republic
Organisation Utopia of Venezuela
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador
Popular Democratic Movement
Revolutionary Youth of Ecuador

Quito, July 15, 2005

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