Nicaragua, 2012

As I address the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh

session, I would like first of all to convey the warm

greetings and solidarity of the people of Nicaragua and

its Government of national reconciliation and unity,

led by Comrade President Comandante Daniel Ortega

Saavedra, who wishes us success in our work.

The changes now taking place in science, economy,

geopolitics, technology, ecology and culture are truly

revolutions in the life of all human societies around

the world, but they raise doubts about the effectiveness

of international organizations in conducting global

affairs. The situation in the world today proves that

when governance is conceived and conducted from the

perspective of global capitalism — savage, as it was

called by His Holiness Pope John Paul II — instead of

becoming a factor for positive transformation, as we

were led to believe it would, it can lead us to the edge

of civilization.

The vertiginous development of speculative venture

capital in developed countries has reduced the role of

the State in public affairs. The market imposes itself

in all areas — the economy, politics, culture, society,

individuals and the mass media — thus strengthening the

influence of the interests of giant corporations involved

in food production, communications, medicine and the

military-industrial complex. They are the real power

in decisions having a global impact; their decisions

determine the course of many important events related

to the economy and to peace. That is totally contrary to

the idea that gave rise to our Organization. That situation

is aggravated by the growing sense that, increasingly,

well-being and world power are completely in the

hands of market and finance elites, that the people’s

standards of living are dramatically crumbling and

that confidence in the capacity of all Governments to

solve the most pressing problems is decreasing at an

accelerating pace.

The impact of the economic and financial crisis on

the centres of power of global capitalism is provoking political and social changes with great international

repercussions. The United States and European

countries, paradigms of that egotistical model, are at a

loss to find solutions to their structural problems. They

drag their citizens and the world into unemployment,

social insecurity and greater poverty. Thus the

exclusive nature of the privatization of the State and its

subjection to market forces, speculation and financial

fraud becomes clear, demonstrating the urgent need for

equitable distribution of wealth worldwide.

Many outstanding thinkers describe the scenario as

a struggle between the market and the State. However,

the paradox is that the very State that wanted to find the

paradigm for development in the greater comfort of its

citizens is one that today, without political scruples or

ethics, develops a new neoliberal programme, disguised

as necessary adjustments to save the economy and

defend the citizens. That reveals that in developed

countries, the economy, the market and political power

are the same thing. In them, the State has evolved only to

merge into one programme the interests of speculative

financial capital, of large global corporations and

industries and of the military-industrial complex.

We are certain that the nature of these adjustments is

permanent, and that it is a new economic agenda that

will direct the greatest concentration of power to the

highest global level in the quest to dictate the path of

a new capitalist model that in all spheres of life is ever

more concentrated.

The world of 1945, after the Second World War,

gave rise to all the institutions that constitute global

governance, beginning with our Organization. That

world no longer exists. Thus today as never before it

is imperative that we re-establish a philosophy of firm

and lasting world peace and of economic development

for the benefit of all the peoples of the world — that is,

the philosophy that inspired the founders of the United

Nations system, the philosophy of global governability

and management.

In that connection, we reiterate the urgency of

making progress in the reform of the United Nations

system, or rather in its reinvention. Nicaraguans have

the honour of having taken the initiative in this matter.

Our brother, the former Foreign Minister of Nicaragua

and President of the the General Assembly at its sixty-

third session, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann,

together with President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and

other great present-day thinkers, have taken on the task

of developing a plan for the reinvention of the United Nations system. We say “reinvent” because the present

Organization no longer permits reforms; those that

have been proposed so far have not made progress, due

the policy of some permanent members of the Security

Council. In the name of the people of Nicaragua, I

invite all to strongly push for that proposal, in order to

make a reality of a new Charter of the United Nations

that guarantees democratization of the Organization.

Peace is a supreme value and a condition in

which human activity can develop in a stable manner

beneficial for all. However, some developments

establish a dangerous path.

We consider the economic, commercial and

financial blockade of Cuba a f lagrant violation of

international law and the most basic norms of peaceful

coexistence. Furthermore, today it is claimed that

that blockade is based on the arbitrary, groundless

and unilateral inclusion of that fraternal country in a

list of States sponsoring international terrorism. We

demand the immediate and unconditional end of that

crime against humanity, which constitutes an affront

to the conscience of our peoples. We also demand the

immediate and unconditional release of the five Cuban

patriots who are unjustly kept in prison in the United

States of America.

We demand respect for the sovereignty and

independence of the fraternal Bolivarian Republic of

Venezuela, which faces a wave of conspiratorial actions

seeking to destabilize and destroy the democratic plan

of the Bolivarian Revolution and the popular interests,

thus undermining the enormous social and economic

gains obtained by the Venezuelan people through great

effort and courage, with the distinguished leadership of

President Hugo Chávez Frias.

The peace process in Colombia should be fully

supported in order for the people to start on a path of

true social progress.

International law should be given unrestricted

support as regards the inviolability of Ecuador’s

diplomatic Mission in the United Kingdom. We also

reaffirm our support of Argentina’s sovereign rights

over the Malvinas Islands and the right of Puerto Rico

to obtain its full independence.

Bearing in mind the information disseminated

daily by the world’s main communication media, it

has escaped no one’s attention that there is a risk of

widespread war in the Middle East. The situation in Syria is unacceptable. We strongly condemn the acts of

terrorism that have cost the lives of high-level officials

of President Bashar Al-Assad’s Government and of

the population of Syria. Nicaragua recalls that it is a

form of aggression that was already condemned by the

International Court of Justice in 1986 in the case of The

Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States of America.

It is evident that the mediation promoted by the United

Nations is going nowhere, simply because it is being

blocked by the members of NATO and their allies with

interests in the region.

A peaceful solution with regard to the Islamic

Republic of Iran should be promoted. We need to

resolve without delay the aspirations of the Palestinian

people by supporting the peace negotiations and their

legitimate right to their own State and to be part of

the United Nations. We strongly condemn the terrorist

acts in Benghazi, Libya, on 11 September, in which

United States Ambassador Christopher Stevens and

three other United States citizens lost their lives, just

as we condemn any act of terrorism that is an assault

on civilization, culture, religion and justice anywhere

in the world.

We welcome the recent positive developments with

regard to the relationship between China/Taiwan and

the People’s Republic of China. We have to address the

legitimate aspirations of Taiwan to participate more

broadly in all United Nations specialized agencies and

organs.

We reaffirm our commitment to total and complete

disarmament and international security. A world free

of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction is

indispensable.

On a different matter, Central America is a transit

zone for the drugs produced in the South and that find in

the North, in the United States, their largest consumer

market and the largest money-laundering operation for

the traffic in drugs. Central America has expressed

the need for destination countries to eradicate drug

trafficking and consumption within their borders,

using all the technology and resources at their disposal.

Likewise, we have agreed to demand economic support

for all of Central America in its constant struggle

against organized crime and drug trafficking. However,

the slow pace or lack of commitment to that issue

does irreparable damage, especially to the peoples

of Mesoamerica, who have to allocate enormous resources for the prohibition and interception of drugs,

consequently delaying our social investments.

In that scenario, which is not very encouraging

and in which we are far from being triumphant, Latin

America and the Caribbean are making great strides

in strengthening their economic, political, social and

cultural integration and unity through the Central

American Integration System, the Bolivarian Alliance

for the Peoples of Our America and the Community of

Latin American and Caribbean States. Our regional

process of integration and unity through the Central

American Integration System advances consistently and

on solid ground, based on the common objectives that

further the peace and economic and social development

of Central Americans. Our model for integration and

unity is also evident in the Bolivarian Alliance for the

Peoples of Our America, which has a component of

fair trade, complementarity, cooperation and solidarity

among its members. Another expression of this process

is the Community of Latin American and Caribbean

States, which was established in 2011 and is convincing

proof of our integrationist calling.

The principles and purposes of the Movement of

Non-Aligned Countries constitute a broad common

platform, which has world reach and is contributing

to the development of a multipolar world and to the

strengthening of peace and international security. In

that context, our Government of national reconciliation

and unity, presided over by Comandante Daniel Ortega

Saavedra, and our people are achieving important

results in the struggle against poverty. That strengthens

the process of restoring rights, which translates into

more health, better education, more productive and

service-oriented infrastructure, and a higher living

standard for all our citizens.

Very soon we will have transformed our energy

matrix, using sources of renewable energy, so that by

2017, 94 per cent of energy consumed will be renewable

energy. We have decided to take the necessary steps for

the construction of the great inter-ocean canal through

Nicaragua for ships weighing more than 250,000 tons.

Climate change and all its related effects constitute

one of the most formidable challenges of our time. The

developed countries should comply with their legally

binding environmental commitments. The valuable

natural resources of our planet must not be privatized

in favour of a few. Furthermore, in times of crisis, we can see that

we run the risk of not reaching all of the Millennium

Development Goals that we proposed to reach by 2015.

We cannot allow that to happen. The commitments

of the developed countries to allocate 0.7 per cent of

their gross national product to official development

assistance must be honoured.

Another grave problem is that of food insecurity.

The food crisis is a serious obstacle in the struggle

against poverty and hunger. We must work together

to universally restore that right to the peoples. Our

societies are struggling with the urgency of satisfying

their most basic needs, with equitable profits from the

benefits of development and with the importance of

developing democracies based on representation and

direct participation of the citizens. That is a road whose

specificities must be respected without interference of

any kind.

Dangers lurk and have resulted in events that do not

contribute to our political stability. Coups d’état, such

as those attempted in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador

or those carried out in Honduras and Paraguay, must

be condemned and rejected, regardless of how they are

executed or attempted. We cannot allow coups to once

again become entrenched as methods for a political

solution to conflicts, whether within any country or

between States.

We cannot ignore that the process of concentration

of global power has repercussions in the political

and social systems governing our societies. The

final blow is intended to destroy or break up popular

social movements in order to eliminate States and

Governments that do not align themselves with the

neoliberal model. Therefore, in the progressive or

revolutionary national projects manifested through

the nation States of our Latin and Caribbean America,

our citizens, our peoples, are called to resist and to

raise banners of peace, dignity, identity and national

sovereignty.

We are constructing a new world governance with

our work to transform international institutions. We are

strengthening a new world governance by incorporating

more and more citizens in the work of building this new

world to which we aspire. The present global order and

its institutions are at an impasse. The only headway

being made is through the new effort I am describing

to deeply transform the economy, politics, society and

culture. That effort alone will endure as the fruit of the best of our human nature and our history. The other

world, the world that refuses change, the world of war

and human misery, the world of the apocalypse being

announced on television as a novelty, will fail. The

hope and the future for which we struggle will grow

and shine on its remains.