José Martí's ideas in force at an international conference in Cuba

The validity of José Martí's ideas on the emancipation and integration of Latin America, the transforming role of youth, and his conception of world balance are the focus of an international academic event taking place in Cuba.

This was evidenced in Wednesday's session of the 5th International Conference For the Balance of the World, which gathers in Havana historians, intellectuals, politicians, trade unionists, and other personalities from around 86 nations.

The Bolivian Sacha Llorenti, former executive secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People's Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), gave a keynote address.

In his speech, he referred to the historical contradiction between the independence doctrine of Bolivar and Marti and the Monroe Doctrine advocated by the United States.

Llorenti said that Washington´s policy of considering Latin America as its backyard is opposed by libertarian expressions such as ALBA-TCP, based on solidarity and cooperation among its members.

He recalled that this mechanism, created by leaders of Cuba and Venezuela, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, respectively, is a genuine expression of Marti's and Bolivarian thinking aimed at uniting the peoples of the region, beyond merely economic considerations.

Among the numerous activities of the conference, which will end on January 28, the 170th anniversary of the birth of Martí,  the youth forum "With all and for the good of all" also stands out due to the importance of this social sector in the transformation of the world towards a more democratic and inclusive development model.

The meeting is convened by the José Martí Project of International Solidarity, with the support of numerous Cuban and global institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (Source: Prensa Latina).