“200 years after the legendary Battle of Carabobo, Our America continues to bet on integration,” he wrote, and congratulated President Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan people and the Bolivarian army for the anniversary of the historic event, which sealed the emancipation of Venezuela. “Cuba shares your passion for the historic project that was forged in the Battle of Carabobo,” he added.

In other messages, the Cuban leader recalled that Cuban blood was shed in Carabobo, and that “there will always be Cuban blood whenever the fate of our Venezuelan brothers and sisters is endangered.”

Cuba was represented at the summit by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who stated, “Cuba maintains its commitment to solidarity and international cooperation for the benefit of the region’s peoples, and this will be the case in confronting the pandemic and the provision of vaccines, to the extent of our possibilities.”

He also thanked ALBA-TCP member states for their support to the Cuban resolution against the blockade, recently approved by the United Nations General Assembly.

“Our strong system of science and technological innovation made possible the results that Cuba and ALBA have obtained in the fight against the pandemic. This was accomplished, although Cuba’s capacity to import supplies to guarantee basic medicines was affected (by the blockade),” Rodríguez Parrilla explained, calling for the U.S. to eliminate unilateral coercive measures against ALBA nations and renounce the neoliberal paradigm that has brought so much hadship to the region.

“The will of the sister nations of ALBA to continue advancing cannot be stopped,” he insisted, and reaffirming the Cuban people’s solidarity, he stated that the bloc will always be able to count on us “on the front linea of this battle for life, dignity, peace and justice.”

On the bicentenary of the Battle of Carabobo, and Bolivarian Army Day, an impressive military parade, held at the very site of the battle, served as the preamble to the Summit.

There could not have been a better place for the regional meeting to reaffirm its commitment to move forward in a present full of challenges and threats from the United States, possible only with the unity of our peoples.

(Taken from Granma)

The visit of the head of Cuban diplomacy to the South American nation takes place after the diplomatic triumph conquered by the island in the UN General Assembly, where the international community expressed its overwhelming rejection of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States.

Previously, the Venezuelan Government welcomed the President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, and the Prime Ministers of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, among other authorities from member countries of the bloc.

The executive secretary of the regional bloc, Sacha Llorenti, specified that the high-level meeting will pay tribute to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, a decisive military action in Venezuela’s independence struggle.

The meeting of high ALBA-TCP authorities will take place in a geopolitical scenario marked by the economic impact and human damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, together with the marked hostility of the United States against several countries in the area.

In recent statements, Llorenti pointed out that the member states of the bloc will ratify the integrationist will in the face of global challenges and threats to the peoples of the area.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

Alliance member countries conveyed their tribute in a communiqué as a “just recognition of a life devoted to the liberation of our peoples, to the struggle for social justice and internationalist solidarity. This life of dedication constitutes an example for future generations.”

The note adds that in the exercise of his responsibilities as President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, ALBA-TCP benefited from Raúl’s wisdom and efforts to strengthen the Alliance.

“We are convinced that he will continue to be a beacon, guiding our steps on the road to the construction of a more just and humane society. And that, as in his own words, he will always have “a foot in the stirrup, ready to defend the homeland, the Revolution and socialism,” the communiqué concluded.

(Taken from Granma)

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, called for the defense of the right to peace and implementation of integrated policies in the region, with human needs as the priority, rather than economic gain or dubious political advantages, during his remarks, March 1, at the XXI Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), where relations were strengthened and actions defined in response to the challenging health situation.

Rodríguez, also member of the Party Political Bureau, saluted the decision to hold the meeting virtually, and thanked ALBA member states for their expressions of solidarity and support, in the wake of the infamous decision by the outgoing U.S. administration to include Cuba on its illegitimate list of state sponsors of terrorism.

He emphasized that results obtained in different meetings of high-level authorities demonstrate the revitalization of ALBA, precisely at a time when it is necessary to globalize solidarity and cooperation. “During these months, the coordinating work of the ALBA-TCP Executive Secretariat has been praiseworthy, dynamic and effective,” he stated.

Regarding the health and socioeconomic crisis facing the planet, he insisted that the prevailing international order has shown its total inability to respond with a minimum of efficiency and justice, hence the need to implement integrated policies, with human needs prioritized.

He condemned the imposition of unilateral coercive measures against several countries in the Alliance, which undermine the living conditions of our peoples, affect access to health, hinder material possibilities to expand cooperation among our nations and cause serious humanitarian harm. He once again denounced the economic, commercial and financial U.S. blockade of Cuba, which has had a severe impact in the context of the pandemic, the authorization to file lawsuits in U.S. courts under the protection of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, and financing of subversive actions to promote change and destroy the political, economic and social order that our people have freely chosen and achieved.

He reaffirmed Cuba’s unwavering support and solidarity with Venezuela and Nicaragua, which have courageously resisted the threats and hostile policies of the outgoing U.S. administration, and reiterated Cuba’s willingness to contribute modestly, as our possibilities permit, in the COVID-19 battle.

He reconfirmed Cuba’s support for the right of Caribbean countries to receive fair, special and differentiated treatment, so necessary given the challenges to be faced with respect to climate change, natural disasters, the unfair international financial system and new adversities imposed by the pandemic.

The Cuban Foreign Minister called on the new White House administration to maintain a respectful relationship with our country and with the entire region, abiding by the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, honoring sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, and adhering consistently to respect for the independence and self-determination of our peoples.

(Taken from Granma)

With these convinced words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-CanelBermúdez greeted the 16th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in his intervention at the 18th Summit of this organization held online.

The Cuban president especially celebrated the return of Bolivia to the Alliance, condemned the US-promoted attempts at destabilization against several countries of Latin America and called for greater unity and cooperation, mainly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the continent.

“By means of a fraternal and diaphanous dialogue, we will coordinate ideas and actions that help us strengthen cooperation, solidarity, unity, integration and the defense of peace in the region,” he said.

Also in favor of strengthening the complementation of the Americas spoke the Heads of State of Venezuela, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and representatives of the rest of the state members. In the summit, the members also went over the reactivation of the Economic Council of ALBA, of Sucre as currency of exchange, the reactivation of the cryptocurrency, the strengthening of the bank of ALBA, and the creation of a center for vaccines and medical consumables to treat COVID-19.

“Big challenges lie ahead for ALBA to keep tending to the cooperation and development of our peoplesin an integral way,” said the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, who paid tribute to the memory of Fidel and Chávez as founding fathers of the multinational body, which he described as “world champion of just causes, dignity, the right to life, peace and development.”

An anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative

The importance of continuing to uphold and promote the principles based on the sovereignty, cooperation, solidarity and Independence of the state members was the common point in the interventions at the 18th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held online on Monday.

The heads of State and Government of the member states and other representatives confirmed their commitment to strengthen the integration mechanism years after it was created by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruzand Commander Chávez Frías.

The debate focused mainly on the analysis on the current political situation and the challenges posed by the COVID-19pandemic, as well as the importance of the reincorporation of Bolivia to the bloc. Another reason to celebrate was the victory of the Great Patriotic Pole inVenezuela and the re-elections of Ralph Gonsalves as Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesand Timothy Harris as Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, respectively.

The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, in his capacity as moderator of the Summit, explained that the decision to create the ALBA-TCP was to provide an anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative and that the challenges ahead can be faced by means of cooperation and development of the peoples of the Americas.

He added that the ministries of foreign affairs have been working jointly on a set of proposals and documents to enter the year 2021 with greater strength and dynamism. “ALBA is a world champion of just causes, dignity, the right of humankind to life, peace and development.”

The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega; the prime ministers of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda; Roosevelt Skerrit, Ralph Gonsalvesand Gaston Browne, respectively, among other representatives, condemned hegemony and advocated for multilateralism, and rejected the coercivemeasures against sovereign nations and the interference of powerful countries in the internal affairs of developing countries. They tanked the support provided by Cuba to the countries of the region and the world in the struggle against COVID-19, and highlighted the importance of ALBA as a political leading force and as a forum to coordinate the courageous and revolutionary standings in the region.

BOLIVIA COMES BACK HOME

The participants in the Summit celebrated the return of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the Alliance. The President of Bolivia Luis Arce said via video message: “We return to the ALBA-TCP and now we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of solidarity, integration, complementarity, mutual respect, justice, equality, respect for cultural diversity and harmony with nature.”

He added that the achievements in more than a decade and half were not easy nor scarce, however, “our duty is to advance to reach the unity of our countries and to carry on the work of our predecessors.” In the current times, it means to take measures that stimulate growth and the strengthening of sovereign and sustainable instruments with humankind at the center. He also emphasized the role of ALBA as an instrument against neoliberalism, submission and exclusion and strengthening it is not an option, but something urgent to do.

MAIN AGREEMENTS

Some of the main agreements made at the Summit included the reactivation of the ALBA’s Economic Council and the Sucre as exchange currency, the activation of cryptocurrency, the strengthening of Petrocaribe and the Bank of the organization that provides financial aid and funds to the state members.

Alba Comunicativawas another of the proposed mechanisms in which the national agendas and common interests would be discussed every two weeks at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs. It was also proposed that the coordination of the Social Bloc of the body was coordinated from Bolivia with the approach that, in order to attain integration, it is necessary to increase the exchange among governments and the peoples.
The creation of a Medicine Bank, namely for vaccines to treat the SARS-COV-2, was a frequent request among the representatives of each delegation and it was decided that Cuba and Venezuela coordinate this project.

The participants voted unanimously for the election of the former minister and former permanent representative of Bolivia to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti as Secretary General of the Alliance. Once elected, Llorenti read the Declaration of the 18th Summit of the ALBA-TCP, where it was vindicated the ideas of the leaders of the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean “as the historical and cultural memory that brings us together in an instrument of unity and development of our people” and declared the Alliance in permanent consultation and activity.
Photocaption:

Translated by ESTI

ALBA-TCP, world champion of the just causes, dignity and the right to life

Ana Laura Palomino and Milagros Pichardo

“We shall prove that there is a solution to many of the planet’s tragedies. We are proving that man can and must better himself. We are proving the value of conscience and ethics.”

With these convinced words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-CanelBermúdez greeted the 16th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in his intervention at the 18th Summit of this organization held online.

The Cuban president especially celebrated the return of Bolivia to the Alliance, condemned the US-promoted attempts at destabilization against several countries of Latin America and called for greater unity and cooperation, mainly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the continent.

“By means of a fraternal and diaphanous dialogue, we will coordinate ideas and actions that help us strengthen cooperation, solidarity, unity, integration and the defense of peace in the region,” he said.

Also in favor of strengthening the complementation of the Americas spoke the Heads of State of Venezuela, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and representatives of the rest of the state members. In the summit, the members also went over the reactivation of the Economic Council of ALBA, of Sucre as currency of exchange, the reactivation of the cryptocurrency, the strengthening of the bank of ALBA, and the creation of a center for vaccines and medical consumables to treat COVID-19.

“Big challenges lie ahead for ALBA to keep tending to the cooperation and development of our peoplesin an integral way,” said the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, who paid tribute to the memory of Fidel and Chávez as founding fathers of the multinational body, which he described as “world champion of just causes, dignity, the right to life, peace and development.”
An anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative

The importance of continuing to uphold and promote the principles based on the sovereignty, cooperation, solidarity and Independence of the state members was the common point in the interventions at the 18th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held online on Monday.

The heads of State and Government of the member states and other representatives confirmed their commitment to strengthen the integration mechanism years after it was created by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruzand Commander Chávez Frías.

The debate focused mainly on the analysis on the current political situation and the challenges posed by the COVID-19pandemic, as well as the importance of the reincorporation of Bolivia to the bloc. Another reason to celebrate was the victory of the Great Patriotic Pole inVenezuela and the re-elections of Ralph Gonsalves as Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesand Timothy Harris as Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, respectively.

The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, in his capacity as moderator of the Summit, explained that the decision to create the ALBA-TCP was to provide an anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative and that the challenges ahead can be faced by means of cooperation and development of the peoples of the Americas.

He added that the ministries of foreign affairs have been working jointly on a set of proposals and documents to enter the year 2021 with greater strength and dynamism. “ALBA is a world champion of just causes, dignity, the right of humankind to life, peace and development.”

The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega; the prime ministers of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda; Roosevelt Skerrit, Ralph Gonsalvesand Gaston Browne, respectively, among other representatives, condemned hegemony and advocated for multilateralism, and rejected the coercivemeasures against sovereign nations and the interference of powerful countries in the internal affairs of developing countries. They tanked the support provided by Cuba to the countries of the region and the world in the struggle against COVID-19, and highlighted the importance of ALBA as a political leading force and as a forum to coordinate the courageous and revolutionary standings in the region.

BOLIVIA COMES BACK HOME

The participants in the Summit celebrated the return of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the Alliance. The President of Bolivia Luis Arce said via video message: “We return to the ALBA-TCP and now we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of solidarity, integration, complementarity, mutual respect, justice, equality, respect for cultural diversity and harmony with nature.”

He added that the achievements in more than a decade and half were not easy nor scarce, however, “our duty is to advance to reach the unity of our countries and to carry on the work of our predecessors.” In the current times, it means to take measures that stimulate growth and the strengthening of sovereign and sustainable instruments with humankind at the center. He also emphasized the role of ALBA as an instrument against neoliberalism, submission and exclusion and strengthening it is not an option, but something urgent to do.

MAIN AGREEMENTS

Some of the main agreements made at the Summit included the reactivation of the ALBA’s Economic Council and the Sucre as exchange currency, the activation of cryptocurrency, the strengthening of Petrocaribe and the Bank of the organization that provides financial aid and funds to the state members.

Alba Comunicativawas another of the proposed mechanisms in which the national agendas and common interests would be discussed every two weeks at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs. It was also proposed that the coordination of the Social Bloc of the body was coordinated from Bolivia with the approach that, in order to attain integration, it is necessary to increase the exchange among governments and the peoples.

The creation of a Medicine Bank, namely for vaccines to treat the SARS-COV-2, was a frequent request among the representatives of each delegation and it was decided that Cuba and Venezuela coordinate this project.

The participants voted unanimously for the election of the former minister and former permanent representative of Bolivia to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti as Secretary General of the Alliance. Once elected, Llorenti read the Declaration of the 18th Summit of the ALBA-TCP, where it was vindicated the ideas of the leaders of the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean “as the historical and cultural memory that brings us together in an instrument of unity and development of our people” and declared the Alliance in permanent consultation and activity.

(Taken from Granma)

During the meeting, the Heads of State and Government of the Alliance’s member nations will analyze the regional political situation and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This meeting will celebrate the 16th anniversary of the founding of ALBA-TCP by the revolutionary leaders Fidel Castro (Cuba) and Hugo Chavez (Venezuela).

The meeting will also welcome the return of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to that mechanism of political agreement and cooperation, after the Movement towards Socialism won the October general elections in that country.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)

Ramonet has offered us some thoughts, with the goal of bringing us closer to understanding the implications of the worldwide epidemic for geo-politics and social communication:

“I would define the pandemic as a total social fact. This is a concept of social science pointing out that, at times, a social occurrence has the ability to disturb everyone, all institutions as well as all the values of society. There are very few total social facts, but the pandemic is one of them; it is not only a health crisis. The question we must ask ourselves today is whether it is neoliberalism itself that has a share of responsibility for the health tragedy? And if so to what extent? To the extent that neoliberalism is the proponent of the reduction in the size of the state, and also to the extent that neoliberalism tries to transfer power to the market, and take it away from the state.

In many countries everything to do with Public Health has had the budgets greatly reduced. In the cases of Italy and Spain we also see the results of the economic crisis of 2008. In the heart of the European Union, the northern countries, Germany especially, demanded as the price of their help to those countries that had suffered economic-financial disasters imposed by the neoliberal model (Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland) adopt austerity measures. That is, that the government reduce spending, and thus cut down on hospitals, particularly intensive care units, respirators, etc., and when the pandemic arrived it is no coincidence that Spain and Italy had the magnitude of the problems that they did, and the United Kingdom as well.

What will happen when the pandemic has passed and societies begin to examine the responsibilities of those governments that have performed badly all over the world, in all these big countries? Why had they not foreseen this pandemic? I show in this essay that, of all countries in the world, it was in the United States where there were the most forecasts of the likelihood of a pandemic. I give examples of CIA and Pentagon reports, of reports by scientists and of other U.S. leaders, of businessmen like BiIl Gates, in which they all announced that a coronavirus, not just a virus, a coronavirus would appear before 2025, and that it would cause exactly what is occurring today, that it would find governments without face-masks, without hospital beds, without face-shields and protective gowns. The mismanagement of those in charge has caused thousands and thousands of deaths, and these dead people have families; they are not guilty of anything but are the innocent dead.

Another aspect is the geo-political. How are we going to get out of this situation? What will the world be like after this? The world cannot be the same after the pandemic because we don’t know how this will end up or how many deaths there will be, finally. In this different world, what we will be able to see clearly is that the leadership of the United States has failed. This country has not lived up to expectations because it has been very badly mismanaged. If there is a leader, among all the leaders of the great countries of the world, who has shown, shall we say, completely disgraceful, completely bizarre behavior, that leader is President Trump, who has behaved like a clown, in many cases quite literally, in the context of such a tragic situation, in a country like the U.S. with such great responsibilities. Will this cost Trump the election? This is another question for which we do not have the answer, but there is no doubt that it has weakened him.

We are headed for a worldwide economic disaster that will be the same as or worse than the Great Depression of 1929, which was the greatest crisis experienced under capitalism since its beginnings in the 18th Century. So, what will happen in the world? What will happen in those countries in the Global South, which already have thousands of problems? What type of social and political crisis? What will happen in those countries that have military conflicts? We do not know what will happen in the world at the geo-political level. Right now we are looking at the health aspects of the problem but this health aspect will cause a cascade of consequences.

Clearly a “second act” which will be economic in nature and a “third act” which will be political and social are yet to come, but obviously this will happen.

It’s clear that the virus is not a revolution, but it is allowing us to see, for example, how it is that in many societies the poor die, not because they have coronavirus, but because they are poor, because health care is not available for them. A treatment in the U.S. might cost an average of $35,000 – not everyone has this kind of money, and not everyone has insurance to seek care. Immigrants and undocumented people – millions and millions of them – don’t even have access to any medical care.

In terms of communication, obviously there is a debate over imposing a narrative, because this is the first battle – that of communications, with 4.5 billion people shut up in their homes. The first lesson is that digital communication prevails; everyone has developed digital communication via social media, via messaging, and this is what has dominated. People don’t have access to paper, the bookstores are closed, the newspaper kiosks are closed. As a result this has been a major triumph for digital media, I would say even an exaltation. Another lesson, and it is something that we had already announced, is that data is the dominant raw material of our times. Data is what is most valuable today, and new empires of the data business – Big Data – have arisen.

There is also the problem of privacy. With regard to this, it has been demonstrated that those countries that have been most successful in combating COVID-19 have been those that have utilized the new technologies, especially surveillance cameras and smart phone apps.

In terms of communication, there has been an attempt to impose one narrative. This has given rise to a great lie of fake news, false news against the truth, and there has never been a period in which more false news was produced than in this epoch. In conclusion, it is also necessary to remember that the health crisis is an aspect of the climate crisis, and that the real crisis that the planet is living through is the climate crisis, which could truly destroy the planet tomorrow, as Fidel Castro declared.

(Translation: Resumen Latinoamericano)

The strategy for recovery from the effects of sars-cov-2 is designed to promote a new model of socio-economic development, based on regional self-sufficiency and complementarity between economies of ALBA countries.

In this regard, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla – who was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz – noted, “In the face of these challenges, ALBA-TCP countries have the instruments that will allow us to confront them effectively and emerge victorious.”

During the meeting, agreement was reached to reactivate PetroCaribe, 15 years after its creation, and to re-launch the ALBA Bank, considered the two fundamental pillars of the Alliance, according to Tareck El Aissami, Venezuelan Economic Vice President and Minister of People’s Power for Industries, National Production, and Oil.

With respect to PetroCaribe, a new operational and cooperation regimen was conceived to allow for regional energy sovereignty, while the ALBA Bank will have new mechanisms for compensation, financing and technical support. In this regard, one proposal is directed toward use of crypto currency.

Agreements reached include the reactivation of important programs addressing health and food; the creation of an alba-tcp humanitarian fund for support in any dangerous situation that may arise, such as health emergencies and natural disasters; the technical office for economic complementation; and the alba-tcp health observatory to monitor the evolution of the new coronavirus and its impact on health systems.

Other noteworthy initiatives include the establishment of a reserve supply of vaccines, medicines, equipment and supplies to deal with the pandemic and the holding of cooperation forums with other international actors including Russia, China and the African Union.

While in other parts of the world self-interest is prevailing, in our region the complementary economic zone alba-PetroCaribe is to be promoted as a true model of productive and technological development based on the values of solidarity and complementarity.

ALBA-HEALTH

Cuba would provide advice and contribute to controlling the pandemic with its medical brigades; promote and expand collaboration; and continue training of human resources.

BANK OF ALBA

New mechanisms of compensation, financing and technical support would contribute to the establishment of a regional financial system that promotes the use of crypto-currency.

PETROCARIBE

The organization’s operational and cooperation regimen is to be renovated, to consolidate a new energy framework that allows for greater sovereignty and better quality of life for the peoples of the region.

ALBA FOOD

Promote projects for the agricultural recovery of member countries, ranging from seed production, to guarantee of fertilizers, food distribution and prices.

HUMANITARIAN FUND

Funds to provide assistance in any dangerous situation that may arise in nations of the area.

(Source: Granma)

(Transcript: Presidency of the Republic)

Dear President Nicolas Maduro Moros;

Distinguished heads of state and government;

Heads of delegations;

Esteemed economic authorities from Alliance countries and guests accompanying us:

I would like to begin by thanking brother President Nicolas Maduro Moros for convening this ALBA-TCP Economic Conference.

Urgently needed are the exchange of experiences and agreement on positions to confront together the effects of COVID-19, a pandemic that threatens to significantly deepen the multi-sectoral crisis suffered by our societies, particularly in the economic field.

Although a global impact is foreseen, no one disputes the fact that those who will suffer most from the consequences of the crisis are nations of the South, since the heavy burden of underdevelopment and debt is compounded by unilateral coercive measures to which some of us are subjected, in the context of an unjust international order, which compromises the sustainable development of our peoples.

Since the beginning of the year we have witnessed a painful type of global political economy.

Every ship to which ports have been closed; every plane that has not found a landing strip; every infected person who has been asked to pay for treatment; every financial speculation to gain advantage in obtaining medicines or protective wear that everyone needs; every unanswered request for help; every dead body without a marked grave – all tragedies that we have learned about through the most diverse means – is an expression of the self-interest and injustice of the economic models of a system whose sole purpose is to enrich minorities at the expense of the majority’s suffering.

Incredibly, the over-developed world, the one that steals talent and dazzles with the brilliance of sophisticated productions, has shown itself incapable of using its enormous resources to build a global front against a pandemic that can only be overcome with two forces within everyone’s reach: cooperation and solidarity.

In developed nations of the European Union, which have been terribly hit by the pandemic, many people speak of separation from the bloc because they feel that community integration has not worked during the emergency. What could be an added strength for economically strong countries has become a weakness in the perception of many citizens, due to fundamental ethical deficiencies.

Today we can clearly see the differences between governments that have defended and strengthened the state as a guarantor of social stability and those that, driven by neoliberal theories, have reduced its role, cutting social benefits, public health services and scientific research.

China, with its effective response to the epidemic in the world’s most populous country, and its contributions to the World Health Organization and other nations, has demonstrated the difference. Even those who speak contemptuously of a “Chinese virus” have been helped by the great nation’s practice of solidarity.

On the other hand, governments presumably very effective in integrating their markets, their finances, their troops and even in organizing extra-regional invasions, failed to coordinate efforts to save their own citizens.

Today the whole world is paying the price for the abuses of savage capitalism. The closest example is offered by Latin America, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic, to reveal to us, in all its brutality, the cost of putting the fate of the people in the hands of the market.

The neoliberal model, which is widespread in our region, has not been able to meet needs during the pandemic, nor will it be able to confront the post-COVID-19 period. The peoples subjected to the right’s economic fundamentalism, today suffer the effects of reduced budgets for health care, social protection, scientific research, and training of medical and paramedical personnel.

The experience of these months confirms that, with an adequate administration of fiscal policy and without neglecting macroeconomic equilibrium, the state plays a major, irreplaceable role, fulfilling its duty to protect, regulate and provide the necessary means to face the crisis, save lives, maintain the vitality of the economy and, at the same time, develop socially beneficial programs.

The economic forecasts are as dramatic as the daily pandemic reports. ECLAC – as explained by Alicia – foresees a 5.3% drop in Latin American economic activity by the end of 2020, with the consequent deterioration of important social indicators. The unemployment rate would be around 11.5%, while the poverty rate could increase by 4.4 percentage points and extreme poverty by 2.6 percent, compared to 2019. This means that poverty in Latin America, the most unequal region in the world, could reach 34.7% of its population, equivalent to 214.7 million people, and extreme poverty would reach 13%, equivalent to 83.4 million.

I wish these were just numbers, but we are talking about human beings: millions of people who are going to join the great masses of the excluded, aggravating existing serious conflicts.

Much trade and investment has been frozen, while tax revenues and access to sources of financing have been reduced as a result of the economic paralysis we face, decreased demand for services and limited exports of our products. In addition, tourism, an activity of great importance to several nations in the region, has been significantly affected by necessary border closures.

Time and common sense impose on the international community the need to put aside political differences and, together, seek joint solutions, through international cooperation and indispensable solidarity.

The priority of our governments in the current situation must be directed toward the promotion and development of food production, with emphasis on local production that guarantees self-sufficiency and requires few imported inputs.

Greater priority and state investment are needed in the health sector, advancing toward universal and free access to basic health services for the population.

Our historical leader, Fidel Castro, has said and written in innumerable statements: “…Instead of investing so much in the development of increasingly sophisticated weapons, those who have the resources to do so should promote medical research and put the fruits of science at the service of humanity, creating instruments of health and life, not death.”

Cuba is saved and contributes to the salvation of other nations based on that philosophy. ALBA-TCP countries can do a great deal. We must identify the potentialities of each one, based on regional economic integration that prioritizes complementarity, with each country producing what is most competitive and exchanging goods and services.

Cuba is willing to promote and expand collaboration in public health, within the ALBA-TCP. We offer to provide advice to meet new challenges in the epidemiological field, which can be through courses or seminars. We offer a cycle of videoconferences by Cuban experts to share their experience in combating COVID-19 and other epidemiological situations, and can make the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine available to ALBA countries as a consultant in this field.

Cuba offers an innovative medical approach for the management of COVID-19, which includes prevention and enhancement of immunity for patients with dysfunctional immune systems caused by aging or comorbidities; and treatment of respiratory distress caused by cytokine storms in patients with the virus.

Cuba also proposes the clinical use of innovative Cuban biotechnological medicines that have proven to be effective in the treatment of Cuban patients, especially older patients in critical and serious condition.

Solidarity is indispensable and has not been lacking in recent years, but improvement is urgently needed of institutional structures on ALBA-TCP’s economic front, in order to establish a short and medium-term economic agenda, design incentives and work with greater agility and flexibility in identifying opportunities and joint projects. We have the political will to carry this out and the proven capacity to cooperate and complement each other, all of which can be redoubled.

The “new real economy” requires a more productive and less financially driven approach. Financing must be channeled toward the generation of goods and services, enabling “more to be earned by producing, than by moving money around.”

And since our historic adversaries are taking action to undermine the global consensus that is so essential today, it is up to us to promote and strengthen multilateralism and support the efforts of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization to coordinate a collective response, which is the only effective way to win the battle against the pandemic.

Cuba modestly offers the experiences of our national strategy to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 and, at the same time, confront the economic crisis that threatens the entire world and will be more serious for those of us who are victims of genocidal blockades.

Despite the difficult situation we are facing, Cuba has not renounced the objectives of our National Economic and Social Development Plan through 2030 for the well-being, development and prosperity of our people.

The contribution of Cuban biotechnology and other scientific sectors has been decisive. Our talented scientists, with their research and newly created pharmaceutical products, have literally defeated death. While in the rest of the world, 80% of patients in serious and critical condition die, Cuban science and medicine have saved 80% of these patients infected by the SARS-COV-2 virus. And this has been achieved without foregoing our internationalist practice of sharing what we have. The huge, slanderous campaign by the United States government against Cuban medical collaboration – which deprived vulnerable populations in Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador of health services, where the pandemic is wreaking havoc – has been defeated. At this moment, 34 Cuban medical brigades, including more than 2,500 collaborators, are contributing our solidarity to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in 26 nations, at the request of their governments.

They join the more than 28,000 health professionals already serving in 59 countries prior to COVID-19.

None of these contributions are recognized by the United States government, while the administration has tightened the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba with new coercive measures meant to make the national effort to confront the pandemic, and recover, even more difficult.

Excellencies and friends:

Regional peace and security are also being threatened. The U.S. administration has refused to make a clear, public statement with respect to a terrorist act that occurred in the capital of that country against the Cuban embassy, confirming an attitude of complicity and collusion with those who promote violent acts against our countries, while reaffirming that the aggressive, provocative language used and extreme, violent positions taken fulfill strategic objectives of the current U.S. government.

Instead of attending to the just demands of tens of thousands of people who, inside and outside the United States, are peacefully speaking out against police abuse, racism, xenophobia and Presidential contempt for those excluded from the “American dream”, the current administration insists on devoting resources and energy to its Machiavellian plans to intervene in Our America.

The sister nation of Venezuela has been the victim of multiple aggressions in violation of the norms and principles of international law, enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and the postulates of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

The ruthless nature of the coercive economic measures unilaterally imposed by the government of the United States against Venezuela arouse indignation. The pursuit of merchant ships constitutes an act of modern piracy, which sets a disastrous precedent in the region with regard to rules and regulations governing international commercial navigation.

Cuba reaffirms our support for President Nicolas Maduro and the civic-military union of the Bolivarian, Chavista people.

No less repugnant are measures against the people of Nicaragua meant to undermine their well-being and security. We once again express our solidarity with the government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the sister Republic of Nicaragua, led by Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra in heroic resistance to interference and interventionism.

We reiterate our solidarity with our sister Caribbean countries, which suffered the horrors of slavery, the transatlantic trade and colonial and neocolonial plundering and which today face challenges resulting from climate change, natural disasters, the unjust financial system and the inclusion in lists of non-cooperative jurisdictions, which endanger their small economies. We demand fair, special and differential treatment for them. The Caribbean will always find in the ALBA-TCP a platform for coordination, cooperation and complementarity in the defense of their legitimate demands.

Brothers and sisters:

The reality we face requires solidarity, as opposed to self-interest.

There is no way to surrender, even with a knee on our neck, for peoples who have learned to breathe freedom conquered with the blood of their best children and who have chosen to fight together.

These hard times motivate us to continue working together, with more cooperation and consensus building.

This was the dream of our predecessors and it will continue to be a priority of our Alliance. Working together, victory will be ours, now and always!

Thank you very much.

The President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, will participate today in the High-Level Conference on Economy, Finance and Trade within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, convened by the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP).

The online gathering, promoted by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, will allow for needed discussion of the complex global economic situation due to pandemic, in order to establish criteria and proposals for the Alliance meet regional and global economic challenges.

June 7, ALBA issued a statement condemning new coercive measure imposed by the United States government against Cuba, sanctioning seven enterprises by including them on the State Department’s list of Cuban Restricted Entities, thus continuing to tighten the blockade.

(Source: Granma)