Sergei Mikhailov | DPRK International Youth Friendship League (IYFL, Russia)
Comrades of the World Anti-Imperialism Platform,
We meet in Istanbul as a united front against NATO, the US Empire and all the puppet forces supporting deadly sanctions, mass murder and reactionary ideologies. Our movement has come a long way to become the inspiring, people-oriented platform we are proud of today. But let me state something uncomfortable―our movement too often mistakes loyalty for learning. We defend Caracas and Havana with revolutionary passion, but we rarely ask―why are they still so vulnerable in the face of imperialism after decades of resistance?
Today I would like to address three key issues:
• The vulnerabilities of Cuba and Venezuela, including the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and the worsening economic crisis on the island nation.
• Why the Venezuelan people did not rise up meaningfully after US aggression.
• And what the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea experience teaches us about not only surviving, but also developing under the blows of the empire.
Cuba’s revolution strengthened internationalism, raised literacy and created a healthcare system the US itself can in part envy. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic interdependence system built by it, Cuba entered the Special Period. What did they learn from it? Speaking directly, not enough.
The country’s aspiration to boost tourism and attract investments created a dual economy and changed the dependency to partners like China and Venezuela. The island nation failed to secure food sovereignty, importing 70–80% of its rice today.
With the blockade tightening and warmonger Trump threatening to overthrow the country’s government, Cuba has little time to maneuver. Instead, they prefer playing with reforms and calling out to the powerless international community, ignoring the need to build a balanced self-reliant economy.
Compare this to the DPRK: when US tightens its grip, Korea tests solid-fuel ICBM and launching new industrialization. Understanding the importance of prioritizing independent defense capabilities and putting deep infrastructure and industrial development over short-term investment gains is the message we urgently need to convey to the Cuban leadership.
Venezuela, in turn, represents a rentier state using revolutionary rhetoric. Between 2004 and 2014 oil, which is the country’s most precious resource, was $80-100 per barrel. Did Venezuela build heavy industry, infrastructure, or food processing? No, they chose to focus on expanding welfare and importing goods instead of boosting production. When the oil price crashed, the Bolivarian dream fell with it. The recent capture of Maduro didn’t meet any meaningful resistance from the Venezuelan people. The reason is that the Bolivarian movement spent 20 years substituting state handouts for popular power. When the people don’t feel involved in day-to-day governance, they remain mere spectators when crisis unfolds. An idea that we have to sent to the Venezuelan leadership is as follows: the country has to embark on its own arduous march and an economy of resistance.
Speaking of the lessons taught by the People’s Korea, in the 1990-s the country entered the “Arduous March” period after losing its main trade partners and suffering from multiple natural disasters. Instead of opening to IMF or abandoning the socialist path, Korea launched the Songun military-first policy, transforming the economic system into a state of struggle. We clearly see now that all the sacrifices were worth it, as now the DPRK not only has food security and a mostly self-reliant economy, but also develops substantial social, industrial, regional and infrastructural projects. Furthermore, the greatest gift of Kim Jong Il’s Songun policy to the country was the nuclear weapon―saving the DPRK from the fates of Iraq, Libya and Yugoslavia. For a imperialism-threatened nation, going nuclear is not aggression―it’s insurance against an imminent invasion. When Trump threatens Cuba, it calls for dialogue. When Trump threatened Korea in 2017, Pyongyang tested a missile over Japan, and only then offered room for cautious, conditional negotiations. The DPRK may sit down with the Imperialism to secure better conditions for its people, but never trade their nuclear program for unenforceable promises.
Comrades, our solidarity with the struggling peoples of the world has to change. Defending Caracas and Havana is tactically right, but studying the hard path that the DPRK took is strategically important. Juche Korea teaches us:
• Build industry, even if poor.
• Arm yourselves, even if condemned.
• Study your setbacks without blame, but also without mercy.
My proposal to the World Anti-Imperialism Platform is as follows: let us form a commission to analyze setbacks of countries we support. I encourage you to present case studies of specific policies that led to systematic vulnerabilities in Cuba and Venezuela. After we gain enough data and analysis, I propose writing an address to our friendly governments with our suggestions. Perhaps, the people’s call to action will evoke real change.
Comrades, the deadly grip of imperialism is tightening. But we help it when we refuse to criticize our own side. The DPRK is not perfect―but their method is correct: independence in politics, self-reliance in economy, and defense as a non negotiable right. Let us honor Cuba and Venezuela by comradely criticism, and may the peoples of the world study the Juche idea to better lead the struggle against imperialism, hegemony and reactionary forces.