Nicolas Maduro pays tribute to Hugo Chavez’s anti-imperialist ideas

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro paid tribute on Thursday to the anti-imperialist character of Commander Hugo Chavez (1954-2013), whom he described as a defender of the Venezuelan people's independence.

We ratify our commitment, in perfect civil-military union, with peace and respect for the sacred homeland, the president wrote on his Twitter account.

The Bolivarian leader’s imprint and validity are still present in this South American nation 10 years after his physical departure, on March 5, 2013, as was demonstrated here at the World Meeting for the validity of Chavez’s Thought in the 21st century last weekend.

More than 100 intellectuals from over 60 countries from all continents, international political leaders and national authorities attended the three-day event, and spoke about the so-called Eternal Commander in such areas as the social field, integration, solidarity, his anti-imperialism, culture and others.

Speaking at a panel on ‘Decolonization and 21st century socialism,’ former Bolivian President Evo Morales (2006-2019) said that the best tribute to Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez is never forgetting the anti-imperialist struggle.

The Bolivian politician pointed out that Fidel and Hugo are commanders of the libertarian forces of all Latin America and the Caribbean.

He affirmed that each country has its own history of anti-imperialist struggle and noted that ‘we are on the right path’ to review that historic struggle of social movements, although it is also time to identify the internal and external enemies, Morales added.

At the closing session of this meeting, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Raul Castro, stressed that Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro early saw in Chavez a leader and discerned his political future when many did not even know him yet.

Chavez had the same revolutionary impetus that animates the Cuban Revolution, Fidel’s idea that victory exists as long as we fight for it was in his ideology, Raul Castro pointed out.

The Army General remarked that Chavez put the ‘yes we can’ concept into practice on a daily basis, even though the challenges are immense.