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The 5th National Assembly of the Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples and Struggle for Peace (CEBRAPAZ), held in Salvador, the capital city of the Bahia federal state, was attended by 70 delegates from 11 states and elected by acclamation the new National Board of Directors. As President, Jamil Murad; as vice-president, Wevergton Brito, and as secretary-general, José Reinaldo Carvalho were elected.

Jamil Murad replaces comrade Antônio Barreto at the head of Cebrapaz. Barreto remains in the Executive Board of Directors – the new Board’s list of names is at the end of this report.

Delegates were welcomed on the 7^th of December for a traditional lunch and the cultural performances of Tiago Poeta, in the Raul Seixas theatre, in the Union of the Baking sector Workers, which hosted the Assembly. The Union’s cultural director, Alda Valéria, welcomed the Brazilian activists for world peace.

Works initiated in the afternoon with a political event. The panel was composed by the General-Consul of Cuba in Salvador Milena Caridad Zaldivar Piedra; Ana Prestes, representing the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil; Antônio Barreto, president of the outgoing board; Aurino Pedreira, director of International Relations of the General Union of Brazil’s Workers (CTB) in Bahia; Jamil Murad, member of Cebrapaz’s outgoing consultative commission; José Reinaldo Carvalho, outgoing director of Research; Jussara Cony, outgoing vice-president; Maria Ivone Souza, president of the Cultural Association José Martí in Bahia; Socorro Gomes, president of the World Peace Council; and Wevergton Brito, outgoing secretary-general.

The struggle for peace

Socorro Gomes talked about the historical foundation of the World Peace Council, which turns 70 in 2019. Ivone Souza welcomed the states’ delegations on behalf of Bahia’s activists, and José Reinaldo talked about Cebrapaz’s character as an organization dedicated to the struggle for world peace, to solidarity among the peoples and anti-imperialism, arguing for sustaining and strengthening this character.

Aurino Pedreira related the importance of this international discussion among the workers, as an instrument for raising awareness and political consciousness, and Ana Prestes stressed on the communists’ commitment with internationalism, underlining the relevance of Cebrapaz’s activity.

Cuba’s General Consul Milena Piedra thanked Cebrapaz for its constant solidarity with the Cuban people and reported on the serious intensification of the siege promoted by Donald Trump’s government against the heroic Caribbean island, which gives even more urgency to Cuba’s defense.

Jamil Murad thanked for the indication of his name for Cebrapaz’s Presidency and said that, if elected, as he was, he would count on the commitment of all the other members of the new Board.

Strengthening Cebrapaz

Upon conclusion of the opening panel, discussion of the Draft Political Resolution and the proposal for the new Board began, with works under the coordination of Anônio Barreto, Wevergton Brito and Jussara Cony. Wevergton Brito presented the theses and Barreto, the list of nominations. Fifteen fellows used their time to speak about the way forward and several proposals were made and almost all were adopted for amending the draft resolution – none of them presenting political contradictions or disagreement with the text’s content.

Cebrapaz’s Assembly also approved seven motions:

• Motion in support and solidarity with the peoples struggling and resisting in Latin America and the Caribbean;
• Motion in solidarity with Cuba;
• Motion in solidarity with the Palestinian people;
• Motion for the decolonization of Western Sahara and the liberation of the Saharawi people;
• Motion in support for the Syrian Arab Republic;
• Motion on the US and NATO military bases;
• Motion in solidarity with the People’s Korea.

Cebrapaz shall soon publish and share the final declaration (political resolution) and the seven motions.

As the elected president, Jamil Murad called on every member for strengthening Cebrapaz and said he was confident in the organization’s growth together with the internationalist activism. He also thanked former president Barreto, who, during the debates, received a tribute from the 5^th Assembly, with a commemoration plaque delivered by Socorro Gomes.

The 70^th anniversary of the World Peace Council

Cebrapaz’s 5th National Assembly was concluded with an event in commemoration for the WPC’s 70 years, being as it is a historical organization of anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist struggle of which Cebrapaz is a member. The event was held in the same Raul Seixas theatre, with cultural performances, celebration and the speeches of Antonio Barreto, Jamil Murad and of the WPC’s president Socorro Gomes.

The presence of the General Consul of Cuba and other members of the diplomatic staff from the “greater of the Antillas” was symbolic. After all, Cebrapaz’s 5^th National Assembly reaffirmed the organization’s unwavering commitments with peace, internationalism and solidarity with the peoples in struggle, principles so well embodied by the brave representatives of Cuba. 

CEBRAPAZ’s Board of Directors (2019-2022)

Executive Board:

President: Jamil Murad

Vice-President: Wevergton Brito Lima

Secretary-General: José Reinaldo Carvalho

Executive Directors: Antônio Barreto, Gustavo Guerreiro, Jussara Cony, Maria Pimentel, Moara Crivelente, Raul Carrion, and Sérgio Benassi.

National Directors

Coordinators of state branches

Amapá: Vivian Régia Bandeira da Silva
Amazonas: Ricardo Ribeiro Chaves
Bahia: Maria Ivone Santana Souza
Distrito Federal: Sayid Marcos Tenório
Ceará: Teresinha Braga Monte
Espírito Santo: Mônica Santos
Maranhão: Allan Kardec Filho
Minas Gerais: Antonieta Shirlene Mateus
Pará: Rodrigo Ferreira de Moraes
Paraná: Francisco Manoel de Assis França
Piauí: Francisca Zelma Lima Cavalcante
Rio de Janeiro: Marcos Costa
Rio Grande do Sul: Diego Pautasso
Sergipe: Durand Noronha Silva Junior
São Paulo: Diego Pereira Nogueira

Fiscal Council: Maria José de Souza El Saad, Simone Esterlina, Heloísa da Silva Vieira, Jihad Abu Ali, Pâmela Martins

Consultative Commission: Adilson Araújo, Caio Botelho, Gilson Luiz Reis, Hélio de Mattos Alves, Madalena Guasco Peixoto, Marcelo Pereira Fernandes, Marcionila Fernandes, Socorro Gomes, Rita Matos Coitinho, Thomas de Toledo