Cuba will win, thanks to the courage and dignity of the Cuban people and the solidarity of the peoples of the world
I would like to thank for the honourable invitation extended to the Portuguese Communist Party to participate in this important Conference, under the theme ‘Cuba, the Revolution and the World’, jointly organised by the Portugal-Cuba Friendship Association and other organisations and personalities who support the solidarity movement with Cuba.
An initiative that would always be of outstanding importance, but which takes on particular significance at this very moment when US imperialism’s aggression and threats against Cuba are taking on new and dangerous forms.
This is the time for us to stand here, firm and determined in our solidarity with the Cuban people and their socialist Revolution.
I salute those present here and all those who raise their voices in defence of the Cuban people’s right to choose their own path, but allow me to extend a special greeting to José Ramón Saborido Loidi, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, and, through him, to send a greeting and a warm embrace of friendship to Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba.
Miguel Díaz-Canel, who right here at Voz do Operário on July 15, 2023, took part in a beautiful, heartfelt and firm initiative of solidarity with the true hero of the Cuban Revolution – the heroic Cuban people, a people of exemplary dignity who staunchly and firmly defend their sovereignty and rights.
A people of courage, determination and exemplary solidarity with all peoples and with the struggle for national and social emancipation.
At this Conference, we mark the 100th. anniversary of the birth of Fidel Castro, the most outstanding builder of the Cuban Revolution and its remarkable global influence.
Alongside the rich experiences and lessons contained in the unique nature of the Cuban Revolution and its march towards socialism, and with Fidel’s contribution to the fight against the injustices and social inequalities spawned by the capitalist system.
Fidel also leaves us a rich and relevant legacy of reflections, inspiring proposals and guidelines for action.
São disso exemplo “A História me absolverá”, a sua corajosa e inspirada defesa em tribunal após o assalto ao Quartel Moncada, e as suas audaciosas e fundamentadas posições em relação ao combate ao subdesenvolvimento, à problemática da dívida externa do “Terceiro Mundo”, às questões ambientais, ao desarmamento e à defesa da paz, entre muitas outras.
Examples of this include “History Will Absolve Me”, his courageous and inspired defence in court following the attack on the Moncada Barracks, and his bold and well-founded positions on the fight against underdevelopment, the issue of the “Third World’s” foreign debt, environmental issues, disarmament and the defence of peace, amongst many others.
These reflections and proposals are inseparable from his Marxist-Leninist education and embody an unwavering conviction of the need and possibility of liberating Humanity from capitalist exploitation and oppression.
The PCP has always stood in solidarity with the Cuban people and their revolutionary endeavour which, by putting an end to a brutal pro-US dictatorship on the doorstep of the USA, paved the way for profound political, economic and social transformations, thus constituting a powerful stimulus to the revolutionary forces in Latin America and to the struggle throughout the world to build societies free from the oppression of colonialism and imperialism.
A Revolution which, with Fidel, Raúl, many other bold and committed revolutionaries, and with impressive popular participation, has always faced huge difficulties—first and foremost those imposed by the blockade, but also those resulting from the end of the Soviet Union—yet which has nonetheless managed to place Cuba at the forefront in social, cultural, scientific and sporting terms, though we must always highlight the achievements and advances in the field of medicine and the solidarity shown by thousands upon thousands of Cuban doctors and other healthcare professionals in numerous countries around the world, as was once again evident during the pandemic.
We have not forgotten the example of the thousands of Cubans – doctors, teachers, soldiers – who, in Latin America, Africa and other parts of the world, made a generous contribution, and even gave their lives, for the liberation of other peoples.
There are countless examples of the Cuban people responding to the call of other peoples to help them in their struggle against colonialism and imperialism.
But let us recall the occasion when, with the help of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, thousands of Cuban soldiers fought alongside the MPLA against the invading troops of the South African apartheid regime and their protégés, the UNITA terrorists.
From the crucial battle of Quifangondo to the historic battle of Cuito Cuanavale, many hundreds of Cubans gave their lives in defence of Angola’s independence and for the liberation of the whole of Southern Africa from colonial rule and the scourge of racism and apartheid.
Now is the time to recall each of these examples and also to highlight another point.
Whilst others distribute bombs across the world, Cuba distributes doctors and vaccines; whilst others impose blockades, sanctions, war and exploitation, Cuba gives all it has – and even what it lacks – in solidarity and cooperation to the peoples, and if this is so, then now is the time for these peoples and all the peoples of the world to rally behind the Cuban people.
Solidarity with the Cuban people is not merely a duty for those who identify with the values and ideals of their socialist Revolution; it is a duty for all those who embrace the values of truth, freedom, justice, sovereignty, democracy and peace, thereby giving even greater strength and clarity to the ongoing national campaign ‘For Cuba. End the Blockade’.
The serious threats hanging over Cuba today are not new.
Since the resounding defeat of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 – the Victory at Playa Girón, which brought joy to the peoples of Latin America and the whole world, and which celebrated its 65th anniversary just a few days ago – there have been countless operations by US imperialism aimed at destabilising and stifling the Cuban Revolution and assassinating Fidel Castro.
A criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade has been imposed on Cuba which, although condemned year after year by the UN General Assembly, has not only not been lifted but has been systematically tightened, having been particularly intensified in 2019, during Donald Trump’s first Administration.
Those who flaunt their supposed systemic superiority are the very same people who will only fight if their opponent has their hands and feet tied.
Leave Cuba in peace; let the Cuban people forge their own path.
Blockaded Cuba is more accountable to its people than all the countries around it that are controlled and funded by the US.
And it is truly remarkable that Cuba has resisted more than 67 years of continuous aggression from the world’s most powerful imperialist power, a resistance that clearly demonstrates the superiority of the socialist path, which Fidel and his comrades chose to follow from the very beginning.
The main difficulties faced by Cuba’s economy stem from the criminal and illegal blockade imposed by the US, difficulties that were brutally exacerbated by the end of the USSR and further heightened by the recent US military aggression against Bolivarian Venezuela.
The Cuban people have withstood all this, demonstrating great dignity and a deep commitment to the socialist process.
“We are a people who refuse to submit to the rule of the most powerful economic, political and military power in History, far more so than in ancient Rome. Like those Christians who were atrociously slandered to justify crimes, we, just as slandered as they were, would a thousand times rather die than renounce our convictions.”
These words of Fidel, spoken during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba in January 1998, are an expression of profound conviction and determination.
US imperialism seeks to block the supply of fuel to Cuba and goes even further, making outrageous statements aimed at dominating the country.
These actions are part of a broader escalation of imperialist aggression on a global scale which, unless countered, will lead the world into a confrontation of catastrophic proportions.
An escalation led by the US, which is desperately seeking to respond to the decay of American capitalist society and the decline of US influence on the world stage—a path it seeks to regain in Latin America and the Caribbean, the so-called Monroe Doctrine, whilst at the same time, in the Middle East, in alliance with Israel, it is carrying out the genocide of the Palestinian people and military aggression against Iran, Lebanon and other countries in the region.
The US, with the complicity of its G7 and EU allies, is attempting to dismantle the international order that emerged from the defeat of Nazi-fascism in World War II, and to replace it with a new order dictated by force and dominated by imperialism.
However, despite the full might of imperialism, this is not an inevitable path; it is possible to resist and defeat militarism and war.
It is possible to expose the fabrications and lies with which the ruling class, using its powerful means of ideological manipulation, seeks to condition the peoples.
Fidel was right when, on various occasions, he identified the root of the serious problems of the contemporary world in relations of colonialist and imperialist oppression and exploitation.
And at a time when the worst reactionary forces are once again raising their heads in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is essential to emphasise the extraordinary significance of the process of Latin American and Caribbean integration spearheaded by socialist Cuba and Bolivarian Venezuela, by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez – a process of cooperation and sovereignty that the US is determined to reverse and destroy.
This is clearly evident in the aggression against Venezuela and the abduction of its President, Nicolás Maduro, and in the imposition of coercive measures that seek to target, and are already painfully affecting, the Cuban people.
History is full of examples of the value of solidarity with peoples who resist and fight against imperialism’s interference and aggression.
On our part, we have not forgotten Cuba’s solidarity with our April Revolution; we have not forgotten the criminal bomb attack on the Cuban Embassy in Lisbon, which claimed the lives of two diplomats – an attack whose 50th. anniversary falls on April 22 – we have not forgotten the significance of Fidel’s visit to Portugal during the VIII Ibero-American Summit held in Porto in 1998, nor the demonstrations of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution that took place at that time.
It is on this path of friendship and mutual solidarity between the Portuguese and Cuban peoples, and of deepening relations between Portugal and Cuba, that we must continue.
Here we reaffirm that you can count on the PCP’s commitment to continue and strengthen this path.
We are confident that the Cuban people, united around the Communist Party of Cuba, are finding the solutions and the ways to overcome all difficulties and continue their Revolution.
As Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel states: “We will fight, we will resist, we will strive, we will transform and, above all adversities and imperial threats, we will rise up and triumph!” “People’s Power is, in essence, the certainty that no problem is too great if faced with unity, solidarity and confidence in our own strength.”
It is this special strength of the Revolution and of the Cuban people that we salute.
Cuba is not alone, it has the solidarity of all those who aspire for and work towards a fairer world, a world of peace and social progress.
Cuba will win, thanks to the courage and dignity of the Cuban people and the solidarity of the peoples of the world.
