Projects: Mexico-Cuba
A friendship that transcended formalities.
Díaz-Canel welcomed a delegation from the Mexican Agency of International Cooperation for Development (Agencia Mexicana de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo -Amexcid) and its head, Executive Director, Minister Alejandra del Moral Vela
Alina Perera Robbio | perera@
Carmen Maturell Senon | internet@g
September 11, 2025.
Mexican experts have been collaborating with producers from western Cuba part of a Project of Rural Development and Local Capacity Strengthening. The Cuban President evaluating results up to now explained that the Project is going well and it has been very stimulating for the producers participating in it. As a result the will of both parties is to expand this type of support to other areas of Cuba.
«Today we were in Artemisa in the morning, and the truth is that it is a pleasure to see the results», said Alejandra del Moral Vela. President Díaz-Canel said the exchange transformed producers involved in it, local systems of production, and increased production levels, as well as it permitted the acquisition of supportive machinery.
Díaz-Canel expressed his thanks for the visit and highlighted that their presence is another example of «the historic relations we have, of brotherhood, solidarity, respect, admiration and understanding. I always say to our Mexican partners that Mexico-Cuba relations are so endearing that they go well beyond governmental or party relations as they have to do more with families and with peoples».
Díaz-Canel emphasized his gratitude to president Claudia Sheinbaum, who has maintained a high level of «excellent political dialogue» with Cuba, despite strong imperial pressure. «We, he said, are very thankful to the Mexican government and its position towards Cuba during these times of pressure, times which have been very challenging to us, due to the strengthening of the blockade, and during which we have received many supportive gestures from your government».
He assured that Cuba will keep collaborating with México, in medicine, sport and biotechnology; he reminded us of the touching moments both nations experienced and will always remember. For example when, the Mexican firefighters came to the province of Matanzas to help fight the fire in the Base of Supertankers. We will always remember as well, he said, the support of our Venezuelan brothers.
The relations of cooperation between Cuba and México follow the Basic Agreement of Development Cooperation between the Government of the United Mexican States and the Government of the Republic of Cuba, dated April 12, 1999. All acts emerging from this agreement are implemented by Mexico through its agency Amexcid. Currently, beyond the Projects connected to agriculture there is another one related to the installation of solar panels in Cuban health institutions.
Part of this encounter were the Minister of External Commerce and Foreign Investment (Comercio Exterior y la Inversión Extranjera (Mincex), Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga; the vice-minister of Mincex, Lázaro Víctor Artola Madrazo, and the designated ambassador of the United States of Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos) Eugenio Martínez Enríquez.
Cooperation Project will Benefit more than 5 000 agricultural producers
The Will Accord (Acuerdo de Voluntades), focused on strengthening economic and social capacities of agricultural producers in Cuba, was signed yesterday in this way initiating the second phase of the Project between Amexcid and Cuba.
This Project, supported by the Cuban Minister of Mincex, and by Alejandra del Moral Vela, of Amexcid, will be implemented in the provinces of Artemisa, Mayabeque and Villa Clara, to support and benefit more than 5 000 producers.
Concepción Balmaseda Conde, Cuban coordinator of the Project, detailed the resources donated by México, tractors, seeds, chemical products… that will be provided directly to farmers to facilitate «not only acceptance of the productive base but also improved yields». She explained that donations have been very helpful and contribute to food production and noted the links of friendship that unite the Mexican and Cuban nation and thanked Mexico for the support provided.
Translation by NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)
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Díaz-Canel received a delegation of Chinese businessmen from the sugar sector
The Cuban President spoke yesterday with Zhang Anming, Deputy General Director of Guangxi State Controlled Capital Operations Group Limited, a Chinese state-owned group that intends to carry out joint projects for the recovery of the national sugar agroindustry
Author: Yaima Puig Meneses | informacion@granmai.cu
August 29, 2025
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez spoke on Thursday afternoon with Zhang Anming, Deputy General Director of Guangxi State Controlled Capital Operations Group Limited, a Chinese state-owned group with which the implementation of joint projects for the recovery of the Cuban sugar agroindustry is being evaluated.
In welcoming the delegation, the Head of State highlighted the significance of the visit, which is a continuation of the agreements and consensus reached with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, who has shown great sensitivity to Cuba's problems and has promoted projects of mutual benefit in the economic and commercial spheres.
In his words, the Cuban president acknowledged that the Guangxi autonomous region, where the business group is located, is the most experienced in the cultivation and processing of sugar cane in China, where innovative techniques are applied and equipment, implements and inputs for these productions are developed.
Likewise, he stressed the importance for both countries that this first visit to Cuba by representatives of the Group has enhanced the work with scientific and research centers, as well as the tour of scenarios where the main productive actions will be developed.
After briefly telling his interlocutor about the historical development of the sugar agroindustry in Cuba, President Díaz-Canel said that in the midst of the current economic situation, it has been very difficult for the country to reverse the process of technological deterioration that has been reflected in both industry and agriculture.
He also commented on the potential of infrastructure, soil and human resources that exist in the largest of the Antilles to recover sugar production levels, in which the link between the sugar agro-industry and Cuban universities also plays a fundamental role.
As part of its visit to Cuba, which began last Tuesday and will last until next Saturday, the Chinese delegation will visit several sugar mills in the center of the country to evaluate their potential.
Present at the meeting were, among other representatives of the Cuban Government, members of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, and President of the AzCuba Sugar Group Julio Andrés García Pérez.
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Experiences prove that it is possible to produce more for the people.
The First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez went through the economic and social objectives best illustrated by local practices and initiatives of the head municipalities of Granma and Las Tunas.
Anaisis Hidalgo Rodríguez | internet@granma.cu and Yenima Díaz | internet@granma.cu
August 27 2025
Bayamo, Granma–Once more the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez arrived to our province complying with his work Schedule, and system, that includes each and everyone of Cuba’s municipalities with the goal of touching from the base the experiences identified for their resilience and creative capacity -both abundant in our country.
At the farm Media Luna, managed by Víctor Ismael Armas Aguilar of the Israel Oliva coop in Bayamo, our president had the opportunity of listening to Victor Ismael explaining his experience in overcoming obstacles to ensure an increased production surrounded by his family and workers. Victor Ismael detailed his ambitious project to expand extra dense plantain to 100 hectares. Actually his farm already carries 10 hectares of this plantain variety on top of 40 of corn and 14 of yuca ready to be harvested.
In sharing about the advantages of extra dense plantain, Armas Aguilar pointed out that plantain requires preparation of the soil, adding the seeds and organic matter, but production is high, between 40 and 46 tons per hectare. Despite his results he pointed out two limitations that need to be resolved to multiply production by three -a more efficient water pump and sufficient gas for the use of complex machinery and equipment.
Díaz-Canel praised the cultural attention received at Media Luna and congratulated Armas Aguilar for the 17 of Mayo order he received this year in addition to the Medal Romárico Cordero he so deserved.
Food Sovereignty Innovacion
Together with the First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, and the governor Yanetsy Terry Gutiérrez, the Presidente later visited unit number five, Ernesto Che Guevara, belonging to the Bayamo Agro-Industrial factory dedicated to the production of buffalo milk, an alternative program initiated in 2002 to ensure nutritional sustainability. General director Dalia María Mateo Cofiño explained the remarkable results the project has had since its recovery in 2023. The unit has 92 cattle heads, of which 53 are female buffalos and one buffalo stallion. Daily buffalo milk production is around 66 litres per head.
The President showed interest about workers salaries, receiving monthly between 12-15 thousand pesos. In addition the plant incorporated a micro-industry dedicated to the production and commercialization of cheese and probiotic yogurt, both natural and medicinal and perceived as a crucial strategy to expand their market towards national authorized destinations
Despite significant financial losses of this plant in 2022, there are plans for expansion with the initial goal of 750 cattle heads and an estimated production of 80 thousand litres of milk and 20 tons of meat -both beef and buffalo. Unit Five economic development plan extends till 2030; its goals are ambitious and lead eventually to preparation of 1200 hectares and 1400 cattle heads -400 of them buffalo heads.
At the end of his visit Díaz-Canel visited the Zoo Park of Bayamo, a revitalized space during the summer season, now an important meeting point for a diversity of cultural options. It was in this context that the President appealed to the workers to protect their achievements and to defend the now standing and in construction local infrastructure. He reflected that we are now very aware that it is possible to produce more for the people, ensuring clear, concrete solutions and decentralized practice.
«The examples we see prove that despite resource limitations we have been able to recover numerous spaces». The president's message was unequivocally to support efficient workers, to listen actively to their specific needs and to promote indigenous projects essential to unblock the productive potential of Cuba.
Las Tunas tries on all its fronts.
Paediatric Hospital Mártires de Las Tunas, a health center active since August 28 1960, was the first place the President visited because it is the head of Balcón del Oriente, Las Tunas. Díaz-Canel visited both the general area and the Intensive Care Unit, as both areas are crucial and have begun to function recently -the first because it was just inaugurated and the second because it was totally renewed. The costs of changes and renovations were estimated at about 34 million pesos, with funds provided from donations from local enterprises and groups in solidarity with Cuba, but also with monies donated from non-statal enterprises.
The conversation was with Dr. María Cristina Cisneros Vázquez, director of this institution, who Díaz-Canel asked about indicators on both areas and disponible medications needed in specialized children care. He also asked about the care of health professionals regarding work schedules and turns.
The second entity visited by the President was the fishing firm Pescatun. There he learned about their contribution to the production of food for the Cuban people, which is completed through the work of six base units in coordination with their central district which is located in the northern municipality of Puerto Padre.
During his exchanges with the collective, the general director of Pescatun, Denia Castillo Maíllo, explained to the president that her industry focus is fresh water fish from local aquatics, mainly Labeo, Tench, Claria and Carps. With these freshwater fish 13 mixes, including burgers, minced meat, croquettes and sausages, which are commercialized throughout our fishing nets in the eight municipalities, together with wheels, pieces, filets and whole fish, and which are all very welcome by people.
While observing some productive processes, Díaz-Canel asked the workers present about their conditions of work and the salaries they make. He also received information regarding the collective projection in terms of maintaining their efficiency in producing about 70 tons each month.
Díaz-Canel’s visit also, close to the end, the Factory of Metallic Structures Comandante Paco Cabrera, at Metunas. This factory honors its commitment to reconstruct the thermoelectric Lidio Ramón Pérez, de Felton. Unit 2 of this factory was partly destroyed by fire but at this point more than 280 tons of basic and secondary structures, of the 600 planned, in particular main columns and other components ensure the sequence of assembly.
Heiki Morales Pérez, Adjunct Director of the entity, explained that they have worked through different sections and after that the ceiling beans. They have fabricated the elements needed for the gateways at different levels and they have been delivered slowly and in order. In the finished products warehouse of Metunas, Díaz-Canel asked about workers salaries, above 7700 pesos, and for due delivery of total sales, complying at 103 per-cent rate. He was also interested in the contribution of this collective to the Mariel Special Zone of Development, of disponible raw material for the rest of the year, and for possible effects on production due to lack of electric energy.
In the three mentioned sites Díaz-Canel was accompanied by Osbel Lorenzo Rodríguez, first secretary of the Party Provincial Committee of Las Tunas, the vice-governor Juana Yamilka Viñals Suárez, and other leaders and specialists.
Translation by NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)
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Ho Chi Minh City will bring solar energy to Cuban schools
Prensa Latina, July 29th, 2025
A fundraising campaign collecting monies to support the construction of systems of solar energy for Cuban primary schools has been launched in the southern Vietnamese capital, Ho Chi Minh City.
The campaign, promoted by the Union of Friendship Organizations and the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City and the support of press media, was launched yesterday during a ceremony celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the assault on Moncada Garrison.
The vice-president of the Popular Committee of Ho Chi Minh city, Nguyen Loc Ha, described the campaign as a live demonstration of the great and lasting friendship between the peoples of Vietnam and Cuba. The campaign will extend to November 30 this year when the 65 anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries will be celebrated.
Loc Ha referred also to the challenges Cuba is currently facing, in particular within the energy sector, and invited people to join this effort in the spirit of mutual love and support for Cuba and of pure and constant loyalty. This action, he underlined, will not only make possible for students to enjoy improved conditions of learning but also demonstrates international solidarity and Vietnamese people’s solidarity with our Cuban friends during trying times. He added that it will also contribute to nurture and deepen, even more, the very special relationship Vietnam and Cuba have built with the blood and effort of many generations and which “has demonstrated its value throughout history.”
Cuban Consul General, Ariadne Feo Labrada, while expressing her gratitude for the sentiments and support expressed by the Communist Party committee, the Government and people of Ho Chi Minh City, added that this act celebrated fundamental values for humanity, such as friendship, solidarity and internationalism.
“Vietnam and Cuba are two sibling countries who have known how to forge a special and sincere relationship of mutual support in all areas,” Feo Labrada said, highlighting among these areas solidarity and exchange people to people, which has permitted “the love between both countries to flourish in a natural way.”
During the ceremony, transmitted live by Ho Chi Minh City TV, the organizing Committee of this campaign received the first donations from dozens of organizations, enterprises and people totaling more than 1.600 million dongs, (around 62,000 dollars).
Translation by NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)
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The Council of State analyzed draft laws, prior to their submission to the National Assembly
Updated versions of these texts are published on the Cuban Parliament's website to promote citizen participation and contribute to the legal culture of the population
Author: Enrique Moreno Gimeranez | informacion@granmai.cu
july 11, 2025 10:07:41
Prior to their analysis and discussion by the deputies, in the Fifth Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power, in its 10th Legislature, the Council of State yesterday examined the four draft laws that will be submitted for consideration of the parliamentarians, in compliance with its attributions and as part of the legislative process developed in the country.
In the extraordinary session, which was headed by the member of the Political Bureau and president of this body, Esteban Lazo Hernández; authorities of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder, for its Spanish acronym) delved into the main characteristics of the draft law on the Cuban Sports System, and the modifications made to this proposal, based on the opinions of experts, specialists and the population in the different consultations carried out.
Esteban Lazo acknowledged the broad and fruitful debate developed during all these months throughout the country, as an example of the popular participation in the Cuban legislative process, with consultations to experts, specialists, sports glories, high performance athletes, representatives of organizations related to this issue and the population, which has contributed to its enrichment with the collective contribution; as well as the social communication plan deployed.
Subsequently, the Minister of Education, Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, and other members of the Drafting Commission, presented to the members of the Council of State the proposal of the Code of Children, Adolescents and Young People, as well as the changes made after the specialized consultations and with the opinions issued by the deputies.
During the day, Minister of Justice, Oscar Manuel Silvera Martínez, shared the peculiarities of the bills on the General Regime of Contraventions and Administrative Sanctions, and on the Civil Registry.
The updated versions of these texts are published on the website of the National Assembly of People's Power, with the aim of promoting citizen participation and contributing to the legal culture of the population.
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"Together and integrated we will be able to overcome challenges that today seem impossible"
Speech by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the opening of the Plenary Session of the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum, in Minsk, Belarus, on June 26, 2025
Author: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez | internet@granma.cu
June 27, 2025 09:06:54
Cooperation should lead us to complementary mechanisms that promote sustained growth, said the Cuban President. Photo: Estudios Revolución
(Shorthand Versions - Presidency of the Republic)
Dear Mr. Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus and President pro tempore of the Eurasian Economic Union;
Mr. Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Chairman of the College of the Eurasian Economic Commission;
Heads of States of the member countries and observers of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council;
Distinguished guests:
A long journey and an honorable mission bring us back to historic and beautiful Minsk. It is truly an honor for Cuba to participate in this edition of the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum, an essential platform for business exchange in the integrating space of the Union.
For the second time, a Cuban business delegation organized by our Chamber of Commerce is attending this Forum. This delegation is an expression of our will to strengthen economic, commercial and financial ties with the Union, with its members and observers, countries with which we share excellent relations and a high level of dialogue based on historic ties of friendship.
Cuban companies that represent us here, despite the hard blockade of the powerful neighbor, today offer various options for their exportable products and investment opportunities, along with the benefits of our legislation and our market, the high level of professional and technical resources we have, and the facilities and infrastructure created in different areas of the country.
A panel on "Opportunities for the development of economic ties between the Eurasian Economic Union and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean" has been organized with the aim of informing and clarifying the ways to further deepen this inter-business relationship.
The initiative to use Cuba as a logistics and investment hub, taking advantage of the facilities provided by the Mariel Special Development Zone and the Island's geographical advantages, to serve as a point of entry and expansion of Eurasian products to the Latin American and Caribbean region, is also aimed at those ends.
This is a particularly important project, which would enable the creation of a logistics center for the reception and distribution of cargo from the countries of the Union to Latin America and vice versa. This would facilitate transit and expand the export potential of the members of the Union.
In continuity with these objectives, I would like to extend to everyone a cordial invitation for the Eurasian Economic Commission and companies from its member countries to attend the Forty-first Edition of the Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2025), which will take place from November 24 to 29.
We are open to deepen the exchange in key sectors such as biopharmaceuticals, agriculture, sugar agribusiness, light industry and iron and steel; also the chemical industry, transportation, construction, communications, digitalization and artificial intelligence, renewable energies, tourism, health, science, education and sports.
The cooperation we achieve must lead us to mechanisms of complementarity that foster sustained and mutually beneficial growth.
In this effort to build a common space for development and integration, based on fairer and more equitable economic relations, we ratify Cuba's full willingness and readiness to continue moving forward together.
Thank you very much for your welcome and support. Together and integrated, we will be able to overcome challenges that today seem impossible.
Thank you very much (Applause).
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Russia will continue to provide economic and humanitarian
support for Cuba
The vice prime minister of Cuba, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz,
explained that both countries have a huge potential yet to be exploited.
Elizabeth Naranjo | internet@granma.cu
April 5, 2025
Russia will continue to provide economic and humanitarian
support for Cuba thorough both, the bilateral channels already existing and
through international specialized structures as stated by the vice-president of
the government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko,
during the XXII Session of the Russia-Cuba Inter-governmental Commission in
which the Cuban vice prime-minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz was also important
part.
Chernyshenko explained that the start-up of the commercial
operation of Boca de Jaruco refinery will increase oil recovery and reduce
Cuban dependence on oil import. He highlighted Russian plans to increase
investment projects in Cuba “similar to the inclusion in November 2024 of 12
projects of development support extending until 2030.” Regarding food
cooperation he pointed to the implementation of “a project processing Russian
wheat in a Cuban mill, and the review of all opportunities to help and protect
the Cuban sugar industry and of increasing Russian exports to Cuba in
connection to Russian livestock.”
An important moment for bilateral relations, he explained,
“was the opening in 2024 of a branch of a Russian bank in Havana,” which will
facilitate the process of remittances to Cuba. He also explained the work in
projects connected to the development of tourism. “We have in mind the creation
of a hotel center,” he argued that last year the flow of tourists was 160 000
people, which was a repeat of the 2023 record.
Cabrisas Ruiz, on his side, defined the meeting as
productive and their conversations as honest, direct and transparent regarding
the sensibility of the current time the Cuban people face. He argued that,
given the obstacles the country faces to move forward with a plan that would
stabilize the macroeconomy and a program to correct distortions and impulse the
Cuban economy (…) it is crucial to count with the support and accompaniment of
strategic allies like the Russian Federation. “
Ending their session thirteen bilateral documents were signed. At this point Manuel Marrero Cruz, member of the Political Bureau presided.
The main themes treated by the Commission, as well as the
lines of work defined by each party as priorities to complete the objectives of
the Development Economic and Social plans of both countries until 2030 were
corroborated with the signing of the final Act.
The agreements signed include an agreement of cooperation in
the area of health attention, and two agreements of collaboration scientific
and technical in the establishment of a joint lab focused on artificial
intelligence, technical systems of the Center of Investigations Russian-Cuban
of the University Federal del Sur and of University Technological of Havana
Jose Antonio Echeverria, and of cooperation between the it Código sur of Cuba
and the Sociedad Anonima International “Voxys.” These are proposals geared to
the capacitation of specialists in mkao Voxys technology, in the implementation
of projects in the area of teaching, culture and research, including voice
robots, artificial intelligence system and other products of the information
technology.
Five memorandums connected to Geodesy and Cartography, to
facilitate exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of cadastral (or
real estate), services of geo-information and the execution of projects
together were also signed. There were also five academic agreements to develop
education and research, learning of Russian language and exchange of education
resources.
Translation NSCUBA
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Brazil
to Send Business Leaders to Cuba in Push to Rebuild Ties
Daniel Carvalho, Bloomberg News
Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva , Photographer: Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg
(Bloomberg)
-- A delegation of at least 30 Brazilian business leaders will travel to Havana
on Monday in search of opportunities to boost trade with Cuba, the latest step
in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s push to repair relations between the
two nations.
The four-day mission will take place ahead of Lula’s own trip to the Caribbean island, where he will meet with Cuba leader Miguel Diaz-Canel and take part in the Group of 77 meetings, a United Nations economic summit of developing countries.
Brazil’s ties with Cuba deteriorated under right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, although they were never fully severed. Since taking office in January, Lula has sought to rebuild relations with both Havana and Venezuela, and met with Diaz-Canel on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris earlier this year.
That has created an opening for industry leaders eager to bolster trade relationships, according to Jorge Viana, the head of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, or Apex, which is leading the trip.
“That’s an opportunity to to resume our trade relations, after the previous Brazilian government left Cuba aside,” Viana said in a statement. “It makes no sense for Brazil to turn its back on Central America and the Caribbean countries, including Cuba, as we have done for the past four years.”
Brazil is the fourth-largest supplier of goods to Cuba, behind only Spain, China and the US, according to Apex. But the volume of its exports in 2022 was little more than half of what it sent to the island 10 years earlier.
Read
More: Lula Weighs Cuba Debt as Brazil Pushes to Revive Relations
The trip
will include business leaders from the air transportation, agriculture, energy
and health industries. The names of those joining the delegation were not
disclosed.
Food, industrial machinery, transportation equipment and chemicals are the areas with the largest export opportunities in Cuba, according to Apex. The agency also expects the creation of a commercial airline route connecting Sao Paulo and Havana, it said in the statement.
Lula will also travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly this month. He is planning to meet there with President Joe Biden, whose efforts to reorient US policy toward its longtime adversaries in Havana have been largely overshadowed by other global priorities.
©2023
Bloomberg L.P.
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Lula in Havana for the G77 + China
In Havana, Cuba, Lula da Silva, the Brazilian President, is received at the Jose Marti International Airport by Omar Venegas Hechemendia, acting head of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of Cuba. During his stay in Cuba, Lula will hold working meetings with his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, participate in the G77 and China summit, and then continue on to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Dozens of heads of state and government, as well as leaders of international organizations and agencies including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, are in Havana to discuss the most pressing political and economic issues for developing nations in the mist of systemic international crisis. The G77 and China is the largest bloc and includes 134 developing nations within the UN, the most diverse space for concerted action in the multilateral sphere. Cuba assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Group since January 2023 with a commitment to advance the common interests of the South.
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The best of each generation has faced the challenges with the spirit that was revealed in Moncada
Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the ceremony marking the 70th Anniversary of the attack on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, on July 26, 2023, "Year 65 of the Revolution".
Author: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez | informacion@granmai.cu
august 3, 2023 10:08:29
We will always stand up to confront hatred, violence, the perversity of those who do not want freedom and peace for Cuba, maintained Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Photo: Juvenal Balán
Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the ceremony marking the 70th Anniversary of the attack on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Barracks, in Santiago de Cuba, on July 26, 2023, "Year 65 of the Revolution".
(Shorthand Versions - Presidency of the Republic)
Dear Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, fighter of July 26, assailant of the Moncada Barracks, leader of the Cuban Revolution;
Dear Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, assailant of the Moncada;
Dear combatants of the heroic deed of July 26;
Women and men of Santiago de Cuba;
People of Cuba:
Compatriots:
Once again Santiago brings us together in one of the most beloved celebrations of the homeland.
We celebrated yesterday, July 25, Santiago's Day, the 508th anniversary of the town that would be declared city in 1523. Santiago was also the capital of Cuba and the starting point of the conquistadors towards continental lands.
Before being named Santiago, these lands were called Cuba and its original inhabitants were the first to call themselves Cubans. Historians confirm that this was the case until the near 19th century.
From them, we also know that the Patron Saint of this city, despite his Spanish origin, was dressed as a mambi with a yarey hat during the wars of independence, as shown by the piece preserved in the Emilio Bacardi Museum of this city, the oldest in Cuba.
And the Mambisa Virgin, the pilgrim Caridad de El Cobre, venerated by the patriots of this region, has her altar in the church where the bravest of Cubans was baptized: Antonio Maceo y Grajales, also known as the Bronze Titan.
"It's Santiago de Cuba! / Don't be amazed at anything!", the great poet Manuel Navarro Luna would say. And those verses enclose as many legends as realities of the singular world of Santiago.
Today is July 26th and history asks to talk about a closer time: that of the boys, most of them fresh-faced, who without their own knowledge, as I said a few days ago, came to change the national history in the early morning of that carnival day in Santiago de Cuba. According to Dr. Olga Portuondo, historian of the City, it connects with the rebellion of the independence period, when the most famous popular festivals in Cuba served to mask actions and messages of the rebels against the Spanish metropolis in their necessary link with their collaborators in the city.
Taking advantage of the hustle and bustle of the carnival of 1953, the assault on the Guillermon Moncada Barracks, the second military fortress of the Batista dictatorship, took place. An action with which the Centennial Generation would start the small engine that started the big engine of the Revolution up to our days, as Fidel expressed.
Army General Raul Castro Ruz, one of the young assailants, was only 22 years old. He later described the action with the most beautiful words on the Eighth Anniversary: If Karl Marx said of the Paris communards that they tried to take the sky by storm, of the attack on the Moncada by several dozen young men armed with shotguns to kill birds, someone should say that they tried to take the sky by surprise (Applause).
Photo: Juvenal Balán
Here we are, 70 years later, in another Saint Anne morning, another dawn enlivened by congas. Without shots breaking the dawn, we enter the gardens of the Ciudad Escolar 26 de Julio, which is now a school and museum, an integrated fortress of education and culture.
It is a real privilege to walk through the events with some of its protagonists. The date, the early morning and the historical company remind us of what the young people in their early twenties experienced seven decades ago, when they took over the Barracks, the Court and the Civil Hospital.
Fidel and Abel guided the actions, which were kept a secret until the last hour. Fidel, visionary, told his comrades: "You can win in a few hours or be defeated... in any case, listen well!... the Movement will triumph. If we win tomorrow, what Martí aspired to will be done sooner. If the opposite happens, the action will serve as an example to the people of Cuba."
We are already in combat. Raul Gomez Garcia's verses stand out in the collective memory before leaving La Granjita. The assailants who do not arrive because they get lost in the unknown city; Ramiro who enters through Post 3 with those of the first car, reduces three soldiers and, when leaving, a bullet in one foot will follow him to the Sierra Maestra; the guard who breaks the surprise factor and makes the assault fail; Raul who takes command of the actions in the Court, when they seemed lost; Fidel who orders a retreat.
Then comes the revenge, the bloodbath, the crime and the abuses in the hospital. The eyes of Abel, the serene resistance of the women and the accusatory photo of Tasende wounded in the leg and later murdered. Fidel captured by an honorable military and thus saved from the massacre of Chaviano. Fidel pictured standing under the image of Martí, intellectual author of the assault.
Those who try to attack the Revolution today by accusing the Government of dictatorship should look for information on the events following the assault on this barracks and in the Bayamo barracks. Only six comrades died during the actions within these walls; 55 were brutally tortured and murdered later. The assailants of the Bayamo barracks suffered a similar fate.
Fidel denounced it before the tribunal that tried him: "They were not killed for a minute, an hour or a whole day, but rather, in a whole week: the blows, the tortures, the rooftop throws and the shootings did not cease for an instant as instruments of extermination handled by perfect craftsmen of crime. The Moncada barracks became a workshop of torture and death, and some unworthy men turned the military uniform into butchers' aprons."
The actions of July 26, 1953 were the beginning of the end of the last dictatorship installed in Cuba, with the recognition and (in)moral and material support of the United States. That is why they do not forgive the Revolution. For that reason and because they believed , with the physical disappearance of the Historic Generation, they could break national independence, international solidarity, the defense of the socialist alternative to savage capitalism.
The Moncada is the resumption of the revolution so many times frustrated since 1868 by the breakdown of unity or foreign interference. The young people who, here in Santiago or there in Bayamo, threw themselves into combat without fear, neither of bullets, nor of repression, nor of death, gave their lives, in the first place, for the Marti's ideal of conquering all justice.
Maintaining what has been conquered and advancing further is the duty of the generations responsible today for the immediate destiny of the nation that our fathers won for us.
As long as the United States keeps its brutal and genocidal blockade against Cuba and tries to trample on our national dignity, we will have a Moncada to storm! (Applause.)
As long as we do not reach a dignified level of prosperity for all Cubans, we will have a Moncada to storm! (Applause.)
Every day, every hour, every minute, we have a Moncada to storm!
This Revolution is a constant struggle against hatred: it is the most passionate defense of freedom, love and happiness. The assault on the Moncada was also one of those instances! (Applause.)
We will always stand up to confront hatred, violence, the perversity of those who do not want freedom and peace for Cuba. Since 1959, we are many more than a few dozen brave young people against Batista's tyranny. Since 1959, we are a people who defend the Revolution and socialism as the fairest way to achieve the fairest society for all (Applause).
Cuba has had to confront the imperial ambitions of its powerful neighbor for more than 200 years. Under various forms and methods, by seduction or aggression, with stick or carrot, its obsession to possess us has not ceased.
It is a behavior dictated by the very nature of imperialism, a natural enemy of the right to self-determination of peoples and of any government that really intends to develop programs of social justice. It is a fierce and implacable adversary of countries, especially in our region, that exercise their foreign policy independently.
It is a behavior of intolerant and very anti-democratic rejection of socialism and all the values that are pillars of our national identity and on which the process of independence and national sovereignty rests and would rest on July 26, 1953.
They have shown themselves to be more aggressive and more intolerant when they realize that there is no force in the world capable of making us renounce those Marxist ideals, and also those of Martí and Fidel Castro, which inspire the untiring struggle for the greatest possible social justice.
It explains the severity of the economic blockade and the current validity of the reinforcement measures established by the Donald Trump administration and maintained by the Biden administration, whose effect has elevated the policy of economic coercion that has made the blockade escalate to a more aggressive and harmful dimension.
To illustrate the severity of that policy, which the empire's spokesmen and other willing "servants of the past under a new name" try to deny loudly, I will only mention five of the most perverse measures, the most harmful to the economy and to our population:
I begin, although it is one of the most recent, with the unjustified inclusion of Cuba in the arbitrary list of the United States Government on States that allegedly sponsor terrorism. Beyond the slanderous meaning of that designation, it is known to have a very significant extraterritorial impact that harms Cuba's commercial and financial transactions in almost any part of the world.
Naming Cuba on the list does not respond to any genuine concern about the scourge of terrorism. It is an opportunistic act aimed at deeply damaging the Cuban economy.
A second is the application of the provision of Title Three of the Helms-Burton Act, which allows actions to be taken in U.S. courts against businessmen from any country that legitimately establish trade and investment relations in Cuba. It is an action aimed at preventing foreign investment and damaging our foreign trade by threatening companies from any part of the world.
A third is the persecution of fuel supplies that the country has the need and every right to import. This is an aggressive action in violation of international law, which remains in force against Cuba with a significant impact on our energy requirements for transportation, agriculture, water supply, industry and the fundamental services on which the daily life of the population depends.
The fourth measure, which illustrates the wickedness of this policy, is the intense persecution and demonization of the medical services provided by Cuban professionals in dozens of countries for the benefit of hundreds of thousands of people, mainly low-income and in less favored areas. This is an attack on an activity that is widely recognized internationally for the humanitarian benefit it offers and for contributing to the human right of access to health.
This measure seeks to slander the Revolution and deprive the country of important economic income to sustain the national public health system itself.
A fifth and final example of these measures is the existence of an arbitrary list of Cuban entities with which Americans are prohibited from dealing with. It is a measure directed fundamentally against the tourist sector and seeks to limit income to the economy in this way.
These are just illustrative examples. They are all arbitrary and punitive decisions. That is why they provoke, together with the blockade as a whole, universal rejection, reiterated in multiple international forums.
The reason is on Cuba's side. The blockade and hostility isolate the United States, but its effects can be lethal for an economy with limited resources.
When we observe the expressions of support and solidarity that the Cuban nation receives from any corner of the planet, we feel reasons to consider that we are fortunate, that our work, our trajectory and our commitment are references for those who face and fight against injustice in many parts of the world. In spite of the current difficulties, in spite of the overwhelming effort to suffocate us, in spite of the powerful machinery of communication that in the service of imperialism is dedicated to discredit us, in the useless effort to demoralize us and break the authority that Cuba has earned as a political and moral power. That is the example of Cuba!
We will always feel deeply grateful to have by our side, those friends who have risked and are risking everything for the fate of Cuba. I am speaking of the peoples in struggle, whose representatives are here with us this July 26 without asking for comforts and almost always supporting us in volunteer work under the intense summer heat, this year more scorching than ever.
From this tribune, an embrace and the grateful applause of Cuba for the sisters and brothers infalt
From this rostrum, an embrace and the grateful applause of Cuba for the unfailing sisters and brothers: Gail Walker and the Pastors for Peace Caravan representing the noblest of the American people (Applause); the Juan Rius Rivera Brigade, of the brave Puerto Ricans threatened and harassed by the colonial government (Applause); the 28th Latin American and Caribbean Brigade of Solidarity with Cuba (Applause and exclamations of: "Long live socialist Cuba! "(Applause); the Caravana group from Brazil (Applause), the youth brigades from Belgium and Germany, among many others.
Thank you, sisters and brothers! Cuba's resistance, I will say it again and again, is also a merit of you who give us encouragement (Applause).
People of Santiago:
This celebration of the 70th Anniversary of Moncada you have earned it for your history, but also, and very especially, for the work and the results in a period of serious limitations for the whole country.
It was not only Santiago because it is the heart of this history, and 70 years is a very significant date; it is Santiago, as the Political Bureau informed at the time of approving the celebrations, for being also at the forefront of the most outstanding provinces in Cuba, a recognition shared by Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus, for their stability and progress in the main tasks, and also the recognition to Ciego de Avila and Matanzas. Our congratulations to the people of those Cuban provinces! (Applause).
The good performance of these territories does not mean in any way that there are no problems in them, but they are distinguished by the way they face them with the aim of overcoming them and moving forward.
As for Santiago de Cuba, we know, as the Army General who knows and loves them best has said so many times, that Santiago is still Santiago! (Applause) That dissatisfaction is part of the spirit of rebellion that distinguishes them and that there are still many Moncada to be stormed to solve all the problems that beset us!
But coming back here again and again in the last years and months we always find progress and a province that has jumped over the hard shortages of the country, surpassing others in fundamental sectors such as Agriculture, Education and Health.
A province that has maintained its beauty and hygiene and that has worked in the transformation of its neighborhoods with social debts with the same passion that its baseball players play in the Guillermón Moncada, or dance tightly behind the drums, the cowbell and the Chinese cornet when the Cocuyé is played from La Trocha to Enramadas, or in the Fiesta del Caribe, also called the Fiesta del Fuego (Applause).
You have done well, people of Santiago, and surely you can do better!
As we discussed in the National Assembly, the people are waiting for answers on issues that today affect the standard of living and the daily life of all that we can solve without waiting for the blockade to be lifted. The battle against illegalities, crime and, above all, for the increase in the supply of consumer goods to fight inflation is a difficult Moncada that we have the duty to take on here and throughout the country. Cuba deserves it, and those who one day came to this barracks to change history for the good of all, are waiting for us to do so! (Applause).
On this sentiment I would like to share with you something that Haydee Santamaría once said: "There is that moment when everything can be beautiful and heroic (...). And at that moment one can risk everything to preserve what really matters, which is the passion that brought us to Moncada, and that is named after them, that looks like them, that has its welcoming and strong hands, that has its truth in words and that can be called Abel, Renato, Boris, Mario or have any other name, but always at that moment and in those that will follow it can be called Cuba.
"And there is that other moment in which neither torture, nor humiliation, nor threat can defeat that passion that brought us to Moncada" (Applause).
Good Cubans, patriots, compatriots, people of Saniago:
Let us ratify here, before those assailants of the Moncada barracks 70 years ago who still accompany us, and on the earth that keeps the blood or the ashes of those who are no longer here, to preserve and protect the memory of those who gave their lives so that we could be definitively free, in that act of surrender that still moves us.
Since July 26, 1953, the best of each generation has lived facing the challenges and difficulties imposed by the times, with the spirit that was revealed in the Moncada, the idea of Fidel that will never abandon us: The setback can be turned into victory! (Applause).
Finally, with Fidel we repeat his words to Santiago when he presented the title of Hero to the City: "May your heroism, your patriotism and your revolutionary spirit always be an example for all Cubans! May what we learned here always be the heroic slogan of our people: Homeland or Death! "May what we learned here on that glorious January 1st always await us: victory!
"Thank you, Santiago!"
Long live the Cuban Revolution!" (Applause and exclamations of: "Long live!").
Homeland or Death!
(Exclamations of: "We shall overcome!")
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