Vietnam - the hope of revolutionaries around the world

Liberation Army tanks entering the Independence Palace, noon April 30, 1975. Photo: Tran Mai Huong/VNA

Speaking to a VNA reporter in South America, Ms. Patricia Abarzúa recalled the atmosphere of the April 30 victory 50 years ago with deep emotion. Ms. Patricia Abarzúa recalled: “At that time in Chile, we were still living under the repression of the military dictatorship and the mainstream media reported very little about the war situation in Vietnam. However, information about the April 30 victory quickly spread from person to person. We celebrated with joy at home and tried to listen to more information through Radio Moscow, the only foreign media that could be heard, but it was also very difficult.” The good news of victory also quickly spread to some places, upon receiving this news, cheers rang out such as “Ho - Ho - Ho Chi Minh... we will fight to the end” or “A united nation will never be defeated”.

Ms. Patricia Abarzúa emphasized that the Vietnamese people not only gained independence and national unity but also demonstrated to the world the importance of national solidarity and belief in their principles to wage a just struggle, allowing them to gain freedom, independence and sovereignty.

Ms. Patricia Abarzúa said that the leaders of that time greatly admired the leadership ability of President Ho Chi Minh. The images of President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap became a source of inspiration and an example for the liberation movements in Latin America and for the people of the world, those fighting for peace in Vietnam.

According to the President of the Chile - Vietnam Friendship Association, the image of a land devastated by bombs and bullets, the memories of thousands of soldiers who sacrificed their lives, victims of war and victims of Agent Orange, and many other realities, were the challenging beginning that the Vietnamese people had to face after the war. The Doi Moi process that followed in Vietnam was a major turning point on the difficult path of rebuilding the country after the war. With the Doi Moi policy since 1986, Vietnam's economy has improved significantly, people's lives have improved, progress has been made in the education system, and tourism has developed. Vietnam has opened its economy to the world and its people are very excited about this process.

Vietnam’s achievements are admirable. Joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), re-establishing diplomatic relations with the United States in 1995, and joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 1998 paved the way for Vietnam to develop trade relations with countries around the world, practice diplomacy based on dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes, and seek the best ways to contribute to economic growth. Today, Vietnam maintains diplomatic relations with 194 countries, has signed about 170 cooperation agreements in many fields, and participates in 17 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the agreement with Chile signed in 2011.

Vietnam has identified 2025 as the "year of acceleration and breakthrough", which will continue to pave the way for Vietnam's diplomatic efforts, expand import and export markets, effectively contribute to economic stability, development and growth, and help Vietnam soon achieve the status of a developed country, integrating regionally and globally.

Ms. Patricia Abarzúa also recalled the anti-war and pro-war movements of the Chilean people in the 60s and 70s of the last century, which sparked large-scale solidarity actions in Latin America and around the world. In Chile, workers and students responded to solidarity actions across the country to demand peace for Vietnam. The most famous in Chilean history was the march of thousands of Chilean students who walked more than 200 km from the port of Valparaíso to Santiago to protest the war in Vietnam. This march has been recorded in Chilean history books.

According to Ms. Patricia Abarzúa, the Chilean people support Vietnam in many ways, including in the fields of culture and art such as theater, music, poetry, and painting. Artists have turned walls into essential spaces to spread solidarity activities with Vietnam. Singer-songwriter Víctor Jara directed a musical called “Viet Rock” composed by American screenwriter and actress Megan Terry. Víctor Jara also composed the song “The Right to Live in Peace” dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh and the struggle of the Vietnamese people. Today, this song is sung in Spanish in Chile and in Vietnamese in Vietnam, a cultural bridge that shows the long history of brotherhood between the two peoples.

Referring to bilateral relations, Ms. Patricia Abarzúa recalled that in the 1960s, through the first Vietnamese friends who came to Chile to attend the Congress of the United Workers' Union (CUT), the Chilean people began to have direct contact and information about what was happening in Vietnam. Journalist Fernando Murillo Viaña was the one who maintained the initial relationship and, together with former President Salvador Allende and politician Clodomiro Almeyda, shaped the establishment of a friendship group with Vietnam, later known as the Chile-Vietnam Cultural and Friendship Institute. Today, this organization is still actively contributing to solidarity activities with Vietnam.

“Today, under the name of the Chile-Vietnam Friendship Association, we continue to gather old friends who participated in the anti-war movement and stand in solidarity with Vietnam. We also create new relationships and activities to promote the progress and development of Vietnam today in Chile, as well as to promote the development and progress of Chile to the Vietnamese people,” said Patricia Abarzúa.

Dieu Huong (Vietnam News Agency)

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/the-gioi/viet-nam-niem-hy-vong-cua-nhung-nguoi-cach-mang-tren-the-gioi-20250408190322559.htm