MORENA IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE CUBAN REVOLUTION
On behalf of the National Executive Committee of Morena, I would like to extend a warm welcome to compañero President Miguel Díaz Canel of Cuba to our country.
Likewise, I would like to greet all of you, compañeras and compañeros, sisters and brothers all, activists in the various struggles of the Mexican people, gathered here today in solidarity with Cuba and its revolution.
As you know, compañero Díaz Canel was with our President Andrés Manuel López Obrador yesterday at the commemoration of our country’s independence and was the only foreign leader to speak.
This symbolic act, as well as the words of President Lopez Obrador, reaffirm the support of the government and people of Mexico for the cause of Cuba and the struggle to put an end to the criminal blockade against the island.
I would like to quote verbatim the words of our President because of the impact they are having at this moment on an international level and to show the importance we attach in the Latin American agenda to the issue of Cuba and the fight against foreign interventionism.
In his remarks yesterday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said:
Today we remember that great historic deed and we celebrate it with the participation of the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who represents a people that has known, like few in the world, how to defend their right to live free and independent with dignity, without allowing any foreign power to interfere in their internal affairs. I have already said and I repeat: we can agree or disagree with the Cuban Revolution and its government, but to have resisted 62 years without being subjugated is an indisputable historical feat.
Therefore, I believe that, due to their struggle in defense of their country’s sovereignty, the people of Cuba deserve the award of dignity and that island should be considered as the new Numantia for its example of resistance. Furthermore, I think that for that very reason it should be declared a world heritage site.
Now I would only add that the government I represent respectfully calls on the government of the United States to lift the blockade of Cuba, because no state has the right to subjugate another people, another country. It is necessary to recall what George Washington said, that nations should not take advantage of the misfortune of other peoples.
To put it frankly, it is wrong for the government of the United States to use the blockade to hinder the well-being of the people of Cuba so that they, forced by necessity, will have to confront their own government. If this perverse strategy were to succeed -something that does not seem likely due to the dignity we have referred to-, I repeat, if it were to succeed, it would become a pyrrhic, vile and despicable victory. It would be one of those stains that cannot be washed away even with all the water of the oceans.
Understanding, mutual respect and freedom without conditions or arrogance is better. Still alive among us is President Jimmy Carter, who knew how to reach an understanding with General Omar Torrijos to return the Canal and its sovereignty to Panama.
Hopefully President Biden, who has great political sensitivity, will act with such greatness and forever put an end to the policy of offenses against Cuba.
The Cuban-American community must also help in the quest for reconciliation, putting aside electoral or partisan interests. We must leave resentments behind, understand the new circumstances, and seek reconciliation. It is time for sister and brotherhood and not confrontation. As José Martí pointed out, clashes can be avoided, “with the exquisite political tact that comes from the majesty of disinterest and the sovereignty of love”.
Compañeras and compañeros:
For the members and leaders of Morena, the Cuban revolution continues to be an example of the type of society we fight to achieve, a society in which the interests of the majority and the wellbeing of the people, and not that of a handful of bankers and investors, determine the course of the nation.
Despite more than six decades of blockade, military aggression, policies aimed at destabilization, and media campaigns directed against Cuba, the great achievements of the revolution in fields such as education, health, science, sports and social welfare continue to be an example of what the people can do when guided by a project and the values of social equality and solidarity.
Today, in these times of pandemic, despite all the limitations, shortages of supplies and boycotts, Cuban doctors have shown commitment and solidarity in the medical brigades sent to different parts of the world. We also recognize the Cuban scientists who have created, thus far, four vaccines against Covid-19 that they have put at the service of humanity without being guided by a profit motive in doing so.
For this and many other reasons we are honored to be with you today and we pledge to stand with the Cuban people, the Latin American community, and progressive forces around the world in the struggle for the defense of national sovereignty and for a better world, here in Mexico and everywhere.
Thank you very much.