CARACAS — A promotional committee for the Antifascist International For a New World! was installed in Caracas last Wednesday, with over 400 international delegates in attendance. The event, held at the Simón Bolívar Park Convention Center, was overseen by Foreign Minister Yván Gil and Rander Peña, a representative of the internal affairs of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The committee’s formation follows the World Congress against Fascism held in September, aiming to implement the congress’s action plan.
Delegates spent two days at seven working tables, collaborating on strategies to combat fascism. The committee’s work is divided among seven groups, each focusing on a specific area. Grecia Colmenares, Minister for Youth, leads a group addressing youth and student mobilization. Deputy Gustavo Villapol heads a team focused on communication and counter-narratives on social media.
The role of People’s Power in the fight against fascism will be examined by a group led by Pedro Infante, first vice president of the National Assembly. Deputy Blanca Eekhout will lead discussions on human rights, peace, and international justice. Clara Vidal, Minister for Indigenous Peoples, will head a group focused on cultural and symbolic resistance. Diva Guzmán, a National Assembly member, leads the group addressing women’s participation in the anti-fascist struggle. Finally, the group addressing the working class’s defence of labour rights against fascism will be led by Venezuelan parliamentarian Francisco Torrealba.
Venezuela to Establish World Antifascist School
Separately, President Nicolás Maduro announced the establishment of the Antonio José de Sucre National School of Venezuelan Youth, which will serve as the headquarters for a World Antifascist School. The announcement came during the World Congress of Antifascist Youth and Students. Maduro highlighted the importance of integrating training methods from various countries, including China, India, and Mexico. The proposal to create the school emerged from the congress’s closing session, along with the suggestion for think tanks on fascism and the activation of an anti-fascist training school in Caracas.
Maduro noted that over 1,000 young students from 72 countries participated in the congress to discuss confronting fascism, neo-fascism, and similar ideologies. He stated, “We committed ourselves to fight against all forms of oppression, recognizing that fascism and Zionism arise from the same source of hatred.”
Maduro emphasized Venezuela’s commitment to combating cyberfascism, protecting its sovereignty, and defending the human rights and dignity of oppressed peoples worldwide. He described fascism as a persistent, evolving phenomenon, stating, “Fascism feeds on the hopelessness of those who feel dispossessed or threatened, offering a false sense of control and belonging through exclusionary ideologies. The challenge today is therefore to recognise and combat these harmful narratives, fostering inclusive and constructive dialogue that addresses the underlying causes of hopelessness rather than succumbing to polarisation and extremism.”
Maduro also expressed his approval of the congress’s proposals. At the closing ceremony on Saturday, he stated, “After the world anti-fascist meeting and the third congress that culminates a founding cycle to build this great movement of youth and students in the anti-fascist world, this force that was born from Caracas demonstrates the main contradiction that moves the world today – I say it in prophetic words. It is absolutely possible as well as necessary to overthrow what the Yankee empire is trying to impose on the world. We must create new forms of community and create our own strategies of resistance to turn destiny into consciousness. That is why Venezuela will continue to fight for the creation of a multipolar world, but it is not around the corner.” He also referenced previous meetings on fascism that led to the creation of this new Great Antifascist Youth Movement.
