Declaration of the International Comittee in Defence of Humanity

We the undersigned, intellectuals from various countries of the world, meeting in Caracas to organize an international conference with the theme, "In Defense of Humanity, are hereby resolved:

To support in a decisive manner and with solidarity, the process of profound democratic transformations being carried out by the Bolivarian Revolution, led by the constitutional president Hugo Chávez Frias. This is not the time for neutrality or diplomatic caution.

Faced with the brazen interventionism of the imperialist government headed by George W. Bush and backed by the mass media giants, it is imperative that alternative voices speak out. It is essential that the international community recognize what is really occurring in Venezuela.

We are certain that the popular government will be triumphant in the referendum on August 15, but we fear—based on historical experience—that this new electoral victory of the president, rather than discouraging the conspirators, could promote a new coup attempt as in April 2002. The declaration of the ex-president, (Carlos Andrés Pérez) expressing his desire that "Chávez die like a dog" shows that certain sectors already smell their defeat at the polls and they are not hesitating to propose the assassination of the president.

It is obvious that there is a plan to not recognize the results of the plebiscite: this is demonstrated by the statements of Condoleezza Rice and other high-ranking officials of Washington, editorials in influential U.S. newspapers, and interference in the Venezuelan pre-electoral process by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an entity created by the U.S. Congress to manipulate the political life of other countries.

It is essential to break the information blockade maintained by the mass-media corporations, so that international public opinion can recognize these and other conspiratorial maneuvers of local reactionaries and the U.S. government.

We have also decided to create the Coordinating Committee which will have the responsibility of organizing an international conference of intellectuals under the theme "In Defense of Humanity" to be held in Caracas next December. More than 500 intellectuals and artists from around the world will participate.

The initiative, which began in Mexico in October 2003, aims to create a network of networks of a permanent character, which will be linked with other existing organizations like the Permanent Tribunal of the Peoples, or the World Social Forum.

Today, before this decisive occasion of the referendum, we reaffirm our support for the Bolivarian Revolution as the sole guarantee of social change in Venezuela and as a fundamental advance for the process of Latin American integration.

Caracas, July 31, 2004

Subscribing the Declaration:

• Miguel Bonasso

• Atilio Boro

• James Cockcroft

• Heinz Dieterich

• Theotonio dos Santos

• Luis Hernandez

• Francois Houtart

• Nestor Kohan

• Gloria la Riba

• Gilberto Lopez y Rivas

• Fernando Martinez Heredia

• Osvaldo Martinez

• Jorge Sanjines