As we approach the third millennium, in Latin America we see the convergence and exacerbation of the great contradictions of today's world.

I. Latin America is taking the brunt of the great general crisis of the capitalist system.
Finance capital, the big monopolies, imperialism, principally North American imperialism are sinking their claws into Latin American peoples and nations, robbing them of their natural resources, exploiting the workers, oppressing the masses, and sowing despair and misery. They are the cause and the beneficiaries of the crisis, they are responsible for the generalised unemployment, hunger and poverty.
The imposition of the policies of neoliberalism through the dictates of the IMF, the World Bank and World Trade Organisation, through the decisions of the OAS, through the orders of the Pentagon and of the State Department of the USA, have aggravated even further the situation of the masses and the dependency of the Latin American countries.
Neoliberalism is a policy of finance capital which attempts to resolve in its own favour the general crisis of the capitalist system. Its application in Latin America and in every country, instead of resolving the crisis, has contributed to its intensification, increasing the super exploitation of the workers and the people, and strengthening the chains of dependence. For the popular masses neoliberalism is synonymous with unemployment, misery, the denial of trade union and political rights, the privatisation of education, of health, of transport and other public services; and with the imposition of authoritarian and repressive regimes. For the Latin American countries neoliberalism means de-industrialisation, the massive destruction of the productive forces, the de-nationalisation of the economy, the imposition of the free market by the international monopolies and customs and trade restrictions on production in the markets of the imperialist countries.
Neoliberalism, introduced by the monopolies, as a magic recipe to resolve the crisis, as a measure to overcome the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, is turning against its own agents, against the monopolies and pulling them even deeper into the claws of the crisis. The great expansion and concentration of capital launched by the big transnationals contains a high component of speculative capital which upsets the system, which expands the monetary bubble, which punishes the workers and the people, but which at the same time threatens those same monopolies with the possibility of a new explosion.
The great monopolist expansion and concentration, the collapse of "real socialism", and of social imperialism, which rivalled North American imperialism; the appearance of neoliberalism and the technical scientific revolution have come together in a single capitalist market, and in the globalisation of today's world. Globalisation, its validity and its theory, have made evident more than ever the internationalisation of capital, its claws and its policies. At the same time the monopolies announce the disappearance of national sovereignty of the dependent countries, while those countries run to the imperialist states and to regional coalitions in order to defend their interests. These changes also make evident, with greater force than before, the international character of the working class, and the need for unity and co-ordination in the struggle of the workers and people.

II. The imposition of neoliberalism, in the various Latin American countries, has followed various mechanisms and paths and nowhere has it had a level road. The proletariat and other sections of workers, youth and students have resisted, have supported those fighting and have suffered temporary defeats. Capital cannot destroy labour power which is the prime factor in accumulation, for the extraction of surplus value. Nowhere has capital been able to terminate the militant and revolutionary character of the proletariat and other sections of workers, or to destroy the rebellious spirit of the youth. Everywhere the masses are rising and fighting, to begin with, in the resistance, but they are going forward and sooner rather than later they will move in a generalised way to the counter offensive.
The contradiction between the social character of production and private ownership of the wealth created, between labour and capital, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie is shaking the Latin American continent, expressing itself vigorously in every country, and showing again the historical role of the working class and its nature as the leading class in the process of social emancipation.
Neither the vicious dictatorships, nor the fallacies of the social democratic regimes, nor neoliberalism, nor the consequences of scientific technical revolution, nor the anti-communist offensive have robbed the proletariat of its nature. On the contrary, they have reaffirmed its class character which is at the centre of our epoch, as the creator of wealth and having the qualities of the progressive and revolutionary class.
These claims are not just a repeated dogma, rather they are demonstrated in facts: In the resistance of the workers and people against the policies of monetarism in the great street battles which have taken place in almost every Latin American capital and city, in the general strikes, in the public sector stoppages of work, in the uprisings of the native peoples and peasants, in the struggles of youth and students, in the persistence of the armed revolutionary struggle, and in the defeat of the neoliberal government of Bucaran by the popular Ecuadorian masses.

III. Neoliberalism, as we have shown, at the same time that it strengthens the chains of wage slavery and widens the bridge which is between rich and poor, between exploiters and exploited, and between capital and labour, reaffirms the dependency of Latin American countries.
The great imperialist powers, especially North American imperialism, hold thousands of threads by which they sustain their economic domination and as a consequence the imposition of their expansionist policies on the peoples and countries of Latin America. The North American monopolies have established the backyard of their imperialism in Latin America.
Globalisation, information and communication systems reinforce this dependence, and they signify a process of re-colonisation supported strongly by the big monopolies. The Latin American and Caribbean peoples and nations are not passive in relation to this; they are resisting and struggling against the impositions from outside and against the burden of the external debt; they oppose the robbing of their natural resources and the economic adjustments and impositions of the international bodies attacking their cultural inheritance.
In Latin America we see expressed another of the great contradictions of our times, one which opposes the oppressed peoples and nations against imperialist domination.
Awareness of and rejection of foreign domination is growing, ties of unity between the Latin American people are developing, forums and debates around the unification of the forces for liberation are multiplying, popular actions are uniting and gaining strength around the issues of democracy and defence of national sovereignty and against exploitation and oppression by the indigenous bourgeoisies.

IV. The big Latin American bourgeoisies and the land owning oligarchies have demonstrated, even more clearly than before, their treacherous character, their nature as members and lackeys of imperialist domination. It is through them that the domination by the monopolies is made possible. They are directly responsible for the imposition of neoliberalism. They are accomplices in the imperialist robbery, they are protagonists in the so-called modernisation and in the privatisation of strategic areas of the economy and of public services, in the attack on social benefits, and in the restriction or elimination of social security.
The Latin American oligarchies form part of the international monopolist groups, they constitute cartels at the national level and in consequence have differences and contradictions with other sections of the bourgeoisie. This cannot be denied, it is expressed in the political and economic struggle taking place between themselves. Nevertheless, in general they are united in the turn to neoliberalism and to globalisation. All of them try to become a part of the globalised world. Their ideas are based on modernisation and the alienation of national sovereignty. They argue among themselves under the imperialist umbrella. It has been a long time since they lost their national and progressive character and transformed themselves into a support for foreign domination.
This situation reaffirms the Marxist-Leninist conception that the bourgeoisie is incapable in leading the struggle against imperialist domination, for the defence of sovereignty and national independence.
The great responsibility for the struggle for national independence and against imperialism belongs to the working class and the people. The struggle of the peoples of Latin America for social progress, for liberty and democracy, for full national independence, is the struggle for social and national liberation and for anti-imperialist and democratic revolution in an uninterrupted march towards socialism.
If any sector of the big bourgeoisie, in certain conditions, assumes nationalist positions, this is really about attempting to blackmail the monopolies, with the aim of re-negotiating dependence, or it is to do with positions manipulated by other imperialist powers in their inter-monopolist disputes; they are manifestations which aim to manipulate the masses with patriotic demands in order to use these for their own benefit.
We as revolutionaries do not play games with these positions. We are certain that the people with the working class at its head will lead the struggle for national liberation. We must not lose sight, however, of the need to take into account the inter-bourgeois contradictions, we must work to develop a correct political line of agreements and compromises in order to take advantage of these contradictions in the process of accumulating revolutionary forces.
V. It is the big North American monopolies which maintain hegemony in the domination of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Nevertheless, the inheritance of the Canadian and European monopolies, of the German, English, French, Russian, and the advances of Japanese finance capital, have made of Latin America, above all in the last few years, an area of dispute for hegemony, for markets, and for zones of influence.
This signifies that in our continent there is expressed very sharply, in spite of globalisation, or rather because of it, the inter-imperialist and inter-monopolist contradiction which characterises the epoch of imperialism and of sharpening of the general crisis of capitalism.

VI. The ebb of revolutionary struggle, the reverses of the proletariat, the revolution and socialism which have taken place in recent times do not signify the definite defeat of socialism and communism.
When the Wall and "real socialism" collapsed, this did not mean the collapse of socialism and revolution, but rather the collapse of revisionism and social democracy. The reformists and the opportunists fell down the cliff.
But certainly, these events have sown confusion, lack of direction and even demoralisation in the struggle of the proletariat and the people. Not a few of the leftists and revolutionaries lowered their flags. The attacks against the communist Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organisations and parties had an effect and contributed to their dispersion, in some cases to their disappearances, and weakened them. At present in every country at different levels the revolutionary forces and the communist Marxist-Leninist formations are regrouping, they are licking their wounds, they are beginning again their fight for revolution and socialism.
Socialism, in spite of imperialism and of reaction and over and above the opportunists and revisionists, still lives. It is the direction for the working class, it is the only true alternative to capitalism.
This means that the contradiction between capitalism and socialism, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in the present and for future is still valid, and is one of the great contradictions of our time. This reaffirms for us that we live in the epoch of imperialism and of proletarian revolution. This situation poses the necessity that we as revolutionaries work to unite the great torrents of the international revolution: the proletariat of the capitalist countries and the anti-imperialist movement of the workers and peoples of the dependent countries.

VII. The fundamental contradictions of the epoch of imperialism reaffirm the thesis that the true change is revolution, and that only socialism can put an end to capitalist domination and exploitation. The setback suffered by the proletariat tells us only that the fight is hard, tough, that it is necessary to correct mistakes, to overcome difficulties, to develop revolutionary thought, Marxist-Leninist theory, that it demands the regroupment of our forces and the readiness to fight with more determination.
The history of social revolution, the great victories of the proletariat achieved in this century, the great leaps forward in society on the part of workers for humanity, even including the great defeats of the working class and of socialism, signify only that the struggle continues.

VIII. Cuba straightens up victorious, resisting the imperialistic blockade; the workers and the people are defending the achievements of revolution, they fortify themselves in defence of national independence, joining the forces against the imperialistic offensive.
For the workers and peoples of the world, and especially for the Latin American masses, for the patriots and revolutionaries, for the communists, the defence of Cuba is a right and an internationalist duty, and we dedicate a part of our pre-occupations and activities to this responsibility.

IX. The armed revolutionary fight is valid in Latin America, in spite of the collapses and declines of different processes, despite the betrayal and surrender by certain groups.
In all countries, the workers and especially the youth are willing to assume new levels in political confrontation; in the streets, the oppressive forces receive a militant response which opens the perspectives for insurgent processes.

X. The imperialistic domination reinforces itself on the basis of new technilogical resources of communication, by cultural interference, by submission of the national and peoples' cultures of the Latin American countries. The ideology of imperialism and of the big bourgeoisie is erected as dominant in all spheres. We, the revolutionaries, must make efforts for the working masses and the youth, the Indian nationalities and peoples defending the progressive character of their cultures. We are obliged to develop a new, democratic, progressive and revolutionary culture we can oppose to the reactionary and decadent culture of imperialism, to postmodernism, we are obliged to develop a culture which, with its ideas, gives impulses to organising the masses and to their fight for social and national revolution.

XI. We, the parties and organisations of the revolutionary left who invited to this First Seminar "Problems of Revolution in Latin America", repeat our determination to continue the fight against capital and imperialism, in defence of the sovereignty and for the social emancipation of the working masses.
We are sure that the resumption of the social and revolutionary fight which is running through all Latin American countries will increase, will turn into a progress of the fight of the masses, into a new revolutionary torrent. We prepare our forces for contributing in such direction with more dedication.
The fact that the social movements are beginning to take effects, the revival of the Indian peoples and nations, their integration within the social and national fight, its advances, its partial victories, its difficulties have their strongest and most consequent force in the social movement of the workers, in the proletariat.
The working class continues being situated in the centre of the epoch of imperialism, it is the class which is best fitted out for the fight, for fulfilling its historical role of leadership in social revolution.
"Without revolutionary theory, there is no revolutionary movement." The facts have fully confirmed the above thesis of Lenin. The working masses, the youth, the peoples have the needs and reasons for the fight and they realize it with bravery. In order that such fights have a secure line, that they flock together in social revolution, that they fulfill their role of bringing about the downfall of imperialism, they need to be led by the revolutionary party of the proletariat.
We, the revolutionary parties of the proletariat, made mistakes, were often wrong, suffered declines in some cases, but we have not been destroyed. We are based on the principles of marxism-leninism, on the knowledge of the economic and social reality where we are working, we are correcting our mistakes and resuming the revolutionary fight. Present and future of revolution in Latin America and of its socialist development will be secured to the extent to which the working masses and the revolutionary parties of the proletariat, the communist parties will strengthen and fight consequently.
The revolutionary party of proletariat is not separated from other revolutionary organisations. On the contrary, with its members it contributes to the great unity of the people's forces, of the leftists' and revolutionary organisations which are active in Latin America; it is a part of the anti-imperialistic forces, of the fighters for social and national liberation.
For us, there is no discussion about vigour or not of revolution. We know that revolution is an asked question, that it is the task of the present generations, and we avail ourselves of our determination to organise it.
For us, "revolution does not come into being, it is organised." The task of organising it is not easy, we are faced with problems, with old and new questions. In order to discuss such problems, to find answers and to co-ordinate activities, we invited to this Seminar. The organising of revolution requires the readiness of the working class and the peoples, of the proletarian revolutionaries to think revolution, to plan it and to realize it.
The results of these first debates stimulate us, they strengthen our capabilities of frank and open discussion, they open us new perspectives, they face us with new questions.
We propose the continuing survival of this instance, of this tribune of the revolutionary left. We call for a repeat and invite all organisations of the continent which are obliged to the matter of revolution, to the anti-imperialistic fight, to participate in it.