Venezuela - More than 500 indigenous delegates from 20 countries have debated since yesterday Wednesday on the defense of rights and the need to preserve the culture of indigenous peoples as an alternative to neoliberal governments.

The First International Congress of Native Peoples held in this city in the state of Bolivar, analyzed on Wednesday in the working tables and conferences the current reality and the challenges faced by these peoples to preserve their heritage and identity in the midst of a globalized world, promoted by U.S. imperialism and the right.

The Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Aloha Nuñez, recalled that this event arose from the commitments made at the recent XXV Forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and that this region was chosen because it has the highest percentage of original population, which exceeds 50,000 inhabitants belonging to 19 indigenous peoples.

Among the conferences held on this second day were those of Maritza Centeno, from Nicaragua, entitled 'Education, Culture, Rescue and Valorization of Indigenous Languages', and that of the Venezuelan Ambassador to Cuba, Adan Chavez, Integration of the Peoples of Abya Yala, in which he analyzed the role of Hugo Chavez in the integration of the indigenous peoples of the continent.

The Congress takes place in La Llovizna Park in this locality, where an Expo Comuna Indígena was also opened showing gastronomy, handicrafts, textiles and informative material about the peoples of the participating countries.

Tomorrow, October 31st, the meeting is expected to close with a great multicultural act and the reading of a final declaration containing the agreements reached by the delegates.