The Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, inaugurated the World Anti-Fascist Festival with a critical analysis of the proliferation of fascist movements globally, placing special emphasis on their advance in Europe and Latin America, and denouncing the situation of the Palestinian people.
During her speech at the opening session of the forum, which is taking place at the La Carlota Convention Center in Caracas, Rodríguez drew a timeline from the World Anti-Fascist Congress held in September, highlighting the worrying expansion of neo-fascist organizations: «We see 17 countries in Europe, 726 organizations, and we see how the map is becoming fascist,» warned the vice president.
The Venezuelan official paid special attention to the situation in Palestine, denouncing “attempts to normalize what is aberrant, what is anti-human and what is abnormal, such as genocide against the Palestinian people.» She expressed concern about the loss of life, especially of children and women, reiterating Venezuela’s commitment to the Palestinian cause.
In the Latin American context, Rodríguez pointed out the presence of neo-fascist movements in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Mexico. She especially highlighted the situation in Argentina, where she denounced «harassments, dismissals, denial of labor and social rights» by Milei’s regime towards workers.
«Fascism cannot be understood without understanding its origin in the capitalist model, in the neo-corporate model, in the model where private individuals become owners of the daily life of entire peoples,» explained Rodríguez, linking the phenomenon with global economic structures.
The Vice President called for collective action, highlighting the importance of the recent parliamentary and youth anti-fascist forums held in November: “This space that was born in September in Caracas at the World Anti-Fascist Congress must be extended, it must be deepened,” she emphasized, promoting the creation of international networks of resistance against fascism.
The Vice Minister for Latin America, Rander Peña, reported that 2,000 international guests, including leaders, youth, workers and peasants, arrived in Venezuela to participate in the World Anti-Fascist Festival, where collective responses to the implementation of neoliberal policies will be discussed.
“There is a great international movement to confront this scourge that impacts our lives,” said Peña, underlining the global dimension of the initiative.
The Vice Minister contextualized the current festival within a series of previous anti-fascist events held in Caracas. Last November, the Venezuelan capital hosted the International Antifascist Youth Congress, which brought together more than 500 delegations from 70 countries. Subsequently, the World Meeting of the Antifascist International Promotion Team brought together 1,100 delegates from 76 nations, laying the groundwork for a global organizational structure against fascism, neofascism and Zionism.
These successive meetings demonstrate Caracas’s emerging role as a coordinating center for international antifascist movements, consolidating a global network of resistance and collective action.
