By Rick Sterling, President of TFA Board

The People’s Summit for Democracy took place in Los Angeles on June 6 – 8. I attended the inspiring conference along with Theresa Cameranesi and David Paul from TFA. 

The People’s Summit was convened by a coalition of organizations and unions, with endorsement from TFA and other activist groups. Held at Los Angeles Trade Technical College in downtown LA, it included three days of excellent presentations and discussions, plus an art-photo exhibit in the outdoors activist/craft pavilion. There was live music and dancing at night. The final declaration can be found at https://peoplessummit2022.org/thelatest. Many panels and plenaries were recorded and can be seen at https://www.instagram.com/peoplessummit22/channel/

We distributed TFA literature and made numerous organizational contacts at the event. A high point included the fact that the majority of participants were young, and Latinx and Afro-descendant. Several visitors to our table expressed interest in visiting Nicaragua to see that small country’s amazing agricultural progress based on small farmers and cooperatives. 

The lineup of speakers and panels each of the three days was impressive. They addressed issues including healthcare, student debt, housing and homelessness, police violence and the need for immigration reform. There were panel discussions on Youth Organizing Strategies, Justice for the TPS (Temporary Protection Status) community, ending gender violence and the importance of food sovereignty and cultural resistance.  

Julian Assange’s father and brother spoke to the huge crowd. So did Cornel West, Medea Benjamin, Brian Becker, and many more.  Bertha Zuniga from Honduras spoke, as did the Puerto Rican activist and former prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera. At the final meeting, there were video addresses by the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela and the former president of Bolivia (Evo Morales). 

On Friday a massive rally and march wound through downtown LA. The streets echoed with chants and music. The march ended outside the Convention Center where the Summit of the Americas, hosted by the US State Department, had just concluded.  

The Summit of the Americas, intended to reinforce US dominance of the hemisphere, was a flop!  Led by Mexican president Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, the presidents of seven countries boycotted the Summit because of the US exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Several leaders said exclusion should never again be allowed. They openly criticized the US policies of excluding certain countries, and of imposing deadly sanctions. 

The People’s Summit presented a very different vision of both domestic and international issues, starting with the concept that we will learn from each other. From that foundational point, the People’s Summit was an inspiring success. 

                                                           Source: Task Force on the Americas.  6/19/22