Havana, Nov 8 (Prensa Latina) The Speaker of the Cuban Congress, Ricardo Alarcon, stressed that the recently-closed Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, marked a new direction in history and showed the distinct changes in Latin America.



"The meeting was a reflection that America is alert and will never be defeated," Alarcon told Prensa Latina on his return from Argentina.



"It was resounding victory over the United States," he added, "this is a time of total independence".



"World topics were discussed, mainly those concerning the region," he said, noting the speech by Venezuela"s President Hugo Chavez.



Alarcon pointed out that although the Summit of the Americas is part of the Organization of American States, for the first time Washington could not achieve its goal: agreement on the Free Trade Area of the Americas.



The United States faced the sound opposition of MERCOSUR countries: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela. As Chavez said "five musketeers fighting fair and square".



In his Argentina speech, Chavez confirmed the failure of FTAA, a project he called "annexationist and evil".



"The US plan could not be imposed in spite of the dramatic presence of President George W. Bush," who is branded for his lies and the thousands dead from his crusade against terrorism, said the Cuban leader.



"The unity of the MERCOSUR countries and Venezuela prevented breathing life into the FTAA," Alarcon said, adding "it was a triumph of truth over evil," hr/ccs/rcm/crc