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 XXIII Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty, ALBA-TCP, in Caracas, on April 24, 2024.
Dear brother Nicolás Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and host of this timely ALBA-TCP Summit;
Dear brothers Commander Daniel Ortega and President Luis Alberto Arce,
Dear Prime Ministers, Skerrit, Gaston, Ralph and Philip,
Representatives of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples' Trade Treaty family;
Dear Arreaza, Executive Secretary of ALBA-TCP:
First of all, I would like to thank you for convening this in "the hour of the furnaces". José Martí defined "the hour of the furnaces" as that revolutionary time of being together and I quote his words: "In the work of foresight and order, of broad judgment and cordial action, all those who have a chest to attack, and a mind to see from afar, and hands to execute. And without misgivings and exclusions. And without forgetfulness of the true and the just. And without tenacious antipathies. It is the hour of the furnaces, in which nothing but light must be seen", and ALBA is precisely giving light.
I invoke José Martí in this land of liberators because no one brought us closer and better to Bolívar and his integrationist ideal, which finally transcended from the dream to the reality of Our America when two profoundly Bolivarian and Martí leaders such as Commanders Chávez and Fidel Castro founded this alternative to the neoliberals' trade, this alliance of dreams that did so much in such a short time in favor of our nations.
Fidel, so precise and fair in his words, defined Chávez as "the best friend that the Cuban people had throughout their history." Both, with their efforts and actions for the emancipation and development of Our America, proved to be dear friends and comrades of all the Latin American and Caribbean peoples by planting the seed of ALBA, the first concrete example of a comradeship that still has a promising path to travel.
This is the Alliance of Solidarity and Cooperation, victor over selfish pragmatism that only bets on profits and the market.
It is the Alliance of the Miracle that made seemingly impossible projects and feats a reality that have benefited millions of citizens in the region.
It is the Alliance where many first found an answer to demands that, for centuries, were not offered to them by development models where the human being is something secondary.
It is the Covenant of unity, which enables us to face challenges and threats together.
Cuba will always be present in the ALBA-TCP because, over and above the blockades and difficulties decreed by the empires and ruthlessly imposed by the current international order, profoundly unjust and exclusionary, our Alliance has shown how and how much can be done from the South, if this solidarity and integration prevails.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This meeting could not be postponed. The international and regional situation is a cause for concern and calls us to action.
In some way and on more than one occasion, we have all pointed out the dangers of the impunity with which Israel acts, thanks to the complicity and support of the United States government and despite the serious risks of regionalization of the conflict in the Middle East, a serious threat to international peace and security.
Only an imperial mentality, an interventionist purpose, can deny that peace and stability in that region depend, in the first place, on a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which includes the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State, on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and guaranteeing the right of return of all refugees to their land.
From this rostrum of free, independent and sovereign peoples, we demand the immediate entry of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
We cannot be indifferent to the daily crime that has been committed against the Palestinian people for 75 years.
No one can justify the brutal Zionist escalation of the last six months, the grave violations of international humanitarian law, the war crimes and crimes against humanity that have turned a tiny strip of inhabited land into a training ground for a bloodthirsty army.
The United Nations Security Council must fulfil its mandate and put an end to the impunity of Israel, the occupying power, before the questionable credibility of its resolutions, besieged by the imperial veto, finally disappears into the rubble of Gaza.
In 2014, in the face of events as serious as those that outrage us today, the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, wrote the following: "The genocide of the Nazis against the Jews reaped the hatred of all the peoples of the Earth. Why does the Government of that country believe that the world will be insensitive to this macabre genocide that is being committed against the Palestinian people today? Are we expected to ignore how much complicity there is on the part of the U.S. empire in this shameless massacre?"
They seem like words written for today. That is why I insist that all the peoples of the world should take up the Palestinian cause.
Brothers of ALBA-TCP:
The Monroe Doctrine, two centuries after it was enunciated, continues to threaten the destiny of Our America.
Imperialism persists in its project of domination over our lands. It funds and promotes violence, destabilization and hate speech. It attacks left-wing and progressive forces and seeks to erase the history of struggle and resistance of the peoples.
In the face of imperialist pretensions, we reaffirm our absolute commitment to unity, the defense of our sovereignty and peace.
We reaffirm our unwavering will to continue strengthening CELAC.
We reiterate our strongest condemnation of the violent raid by the Ecuadorian police on the Mexican diplomatic headquarters in Quito on April 5. This violation of international law, of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, of the right to asylum and of the sovereignty of dear Mexico, is absolutely unjustifiable.
We urge that former Vice President Jorge Glas be restored to his status prior to the attack on the Mexican Embassy, and that his case be brought back into line with international law.
Ten years after the adoption in Havana of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, we call for respect and strict compliance with its postulates. That the region continues to be internationally recognized for its commitment to regional peace and stability is a matter of the utmost importance for the present and future of peoples.
Dear friends, dear brothers and sisters of Our America,
On behalf of the Cuban people, Party and Government, I congratulate the Venezuelan people for the development of the new electoral process in a climate of peace and in accordance with its Constitution. They have succeeded in doing so despite the attempts of some sectors to resort to violence and resume the failed methods that caused so much pain and mourning more than once to the noble Venezuelan families.
We're not talking about old plans. They are as recent as the assassination attempt against brother Maduro just a month ago. We firmly support the timely denunciation of the Venezuelan brothers and sisters of these plans, which seek to prevent the electoral process from taking place in a climate of peace and security.
We reject, once again, external interference and impositions that seek to influence the functioning of Venezuelan institutions.
We denounce the application of unilateral coercive measures by the United States, in violation of international law, and we demand that they be lifted in their entirety, immediately, permanently and unconditionally.
We express our recognition and full solidarity support to our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, who are resisting the media siege and the interventionist attempts of imperialism and its allies to break their constitutional order.
We extend our support and solidarity to the Plurinational State of Bolivia in the defense of its sovereignty over its natural resources and in the face of destabilizing attempts.
The sister Republic of Haiti is facing a new and very serious crisis. The international community owes a great debt to its people, who were subjected to reprehensible punishments by imperial powers and have been unjustly forced to pay a high price for leading the continent's first social revolution.
Haiti needs genuine, sufficient and effective development assistance and cooperation. There is an illegal trafficking of arms and ammunition into Haiti from the United States that must be stopped.
The Haitian people have the right to find a peaceful, sustainable and lasting solution to the challenges they face, based on full respect for their self-determination, sovereignty and independence.
Cuba has offered fraternal and selfless cooperation to Haiti in areas of great impact to its people. Even in the current circumstances, we maintain a medical brigade there that provides services to Haitians in need.
We have proposed, through CELAC, the creation of a Single International Solidarity Fund for the Recovery of Haiti, which would be nourished by the contributions of the international community and address the priorities of the Haitian people. International banking institutions should channel contributions to that fund. Haiti's debt must be forgiven.
We also endorse the just demands for reparation and compensation for the damage caused by slavery and colonialism of our Caribbean brothers and sisters, who need and deserve fair, special and differential treatment.
We support the right to independence of the Puerto Rican people, and we express our solidarity with the Argentine people.
The Caribbean will always find in ALBA-TCP an ally in the defense of its interests and claims.
We are grateful for the Alliance's firm support for the struggle to end the genocidal and illegal blockade of the United States Government against the Cuban people, which has intensified to extreme levels in recent years. We also appreciate the valuable support for the legitimate demand to exclude Cuba from the arbitrary unilateral list of States alleged to be sponsors of terrorism.
Our struggle will continue, year after year, until the U.S. government lifts this cruel, immoral and unjustifiable policy. The Cuban people deserve to live in peace and, on equal terms, to demonstrate all that we would be capable of advancing and building in socialism.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As the year 2024 progresses, the threats and challenges to the Cuban Revolution remain and still grow, but 65 years of resistance and heroic creation do not pass in vain. We face each day with the impetus of struggle and work that characterizes revolutionaries and with the experience gained in more than 150 years of struggle, together with the exemplary Historical Generation headed by the leader of the Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, who on the occasion of another anniversary of the triumph of 1959 has exalted, Above so many virtues of the brave Cuban people, the sacred unity that is at the base of every triumph over the neighboring empire that so despises us.
At the end of his emotional words of that day, Raúl conveyed a synthesis of the lessons learned from the years of revolutionary combat with Fidel and expressed the decisive importance of unity, of not losing serenity and confidence in triumph no matter how insurmountable the powerful obstacles of the enemies or great the dangers may seem, and to learn and draw strength from each setback until it is transformed into victory.
Today I say before you, brothers of the Bolivarian Alliance, that 2024 will also be a year of triumphs and results, of unity and progress. We will not give up on our dreams or betray the legacy of the heroes, living or dead, of Our America.
We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the founding of this emancipatory and unitary alliance, successfully promoted by two great, unforgettable, eternal leaders of Our America: Commander Hugo Chávez Frías and Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.
We do so with a renewed commitment to continue working on its consolidation and the preservation of its humanist and social essence. We do so inspired by the example set by Army General Raul Castro every day.
Our commitment to integration and unity is unwavering, and from now on also to the 2030 Agenda.
We will continue to work tirelessly for an ALBA of victories, for an ALBA of peace and unity, for an ALBA of solidarity and cooperation.
They can always count on Cuba's modest but determined contribution.
Let's make the dreams of the founders of this Alliance come true!
Our strength is and will be in that union.
Until Victory Always!
Together we are invincible!
Thank you very much (Applause).
Translated from the Spanish this is shared via License CC-BY-NC
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