Cuba’s Foreign Ministry shared an excerpt from the Summit’s Final Declaration on Twitter: We reiterate our willingness to continue promoting the construction of a new international order, democratic, fair, inclusive and equitable, in which sovereign equality between states is the norm.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega noted that U.S. interventionist policies toward Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba are criminal acts against humanity.

In particular, he mentioned the intensification of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba, despite the many resolutions approved by the vast majority of members of the United Nations General Assembly demanding its elimination.

He said that the celebration of this Summit on the 14th anniversary of ALBA-TCP reaffirms the value of solidarity throughout the years of struggle for justice and peace.

He insisted that the Nicaraguan people “have the strength and dignity to overcome the sanctions they face, despite the threats. We are sure that the Venezuelan and Cuban revolutions will remain undefeated in this difficult conjuncture, with the accompaniment of the peoples of ALBA-TCP and the world.”He concluded paying tribute to Fidel and Chávez, “to those two great gladiators of peace and justice.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel adjourns the meeting.

A gala event is scheduled this evening to commemorate the 14th anniversary of ALBA’s founding.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra is the final leader to address the Summit this afternoon.

Speaking next was José Luis Merino, El Salvador’s deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, who said that ALBA has been the most vigorous, energetic alliance seen in the region over the last 14 years.

“Without the ALBA, our people would be facing a huge social battle, in which thousands of Latin American patriots would be dying.

“We are living amidst U.S. attacks meant to prevent the Salvadoran people from advancing.”

David Choquehuanca Céspedes, ALBA-TCP secretary, speaks, saying, “At heart all human beings are integrationists.

“That is what we must awaken in ALBA member countries, communal energy to defend our sovereignty, our dignity, and our identity, necessary to strengthen our joint work.

“We need to bring light to international spaces, express our ideas and proposals, work on the rights of Mother Earth, on the protection of the environment.

“We need to activate mechanisms of our alliance, strengthen missions and social exchange, consolidate the Economic Council, designate the country that will coordinate this mechanism, work on a new financial architecture, build new economic thinking, work on a meeting of intellectuals, of communication ministers.

“Work on mechanisms of cooperation, ALBA has served as a cooperation mechanism with Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey. There is interest on the part of governments to work with ALBA. Social movements are also interested in working with us.

“We must become the spirit of integration of the peoples of the world,” he insisted.

A representative from St. Kitts and Nieves and Suriname’s ambassador in Cuba, Marciano Edgar, addressed the Summit.

Chet Greene, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration, took the floor, sharing remarks from the country’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, who expressed gratitude to ALBA, President Maduro and Venezuela, and noted that many of the integration objectives formulated in the Managua declaration have been met.

The issue of protecting our sovereignty and self-determination remains relevant today, he said, adding that all countries of the region are being besieged and threatened with economic terrorism.

Grenada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter David, spoke and expressed his solidarity with Venezuela.

“Grenada will always appreciate the support it has received from the people and government of Cuba.”

(Granma)

“First I want to recall that 24 years ago, at this very same time that I am landing, Comandante Chávez arrived with all his dreams and energy. It was 1994, and also a December 13, and Fidel was waiting for him here,” Maduro noted.

“No one knew, nor did anyone imagine, the story that was to be written, for our continent,” he added, moments after being greeted on the tarmac by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

Arriving yesterday, as well, during the day, were Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit; Foreign Minister Chet Greene of Antigua and Barbuda; the ambassador of Haiti in Venezuela, Lesly David; and Raúl Licausi, Venezuelan deputy foreign minister. All were received by José Ramón Saborido, Cuba’s Minister of Higher Education.

(Granma)

“Dear Daniel and Rosario, I congratulate you for this great electoral victory. Our America can continue counting on you to advance efforts to obtain justice and prosperity for our peoples, and the so-necessary integration of Latin America and the Caribbean” Raúl wrote in a message shared by Cuba’s ambassador in Nicaragua, Eduardo Martínez.

Likewise, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry released a statement in which President Nicolas Maduro congratulated Daniel and Rosario for a “perfect victory for the FSLN.”

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué, as well, stating, “The government of Ecuador expresses its satisfaction with the excellent condition of bilateral relations between the two countries, and its intention to continue working with the sister Republic of Nicaragua within a framework of cooperation and mutual trust.”

Nicaraguan analyst Cairo Amador commented in a Telesur interview that the election shows that the Sandinista Front continues to enjoy broad popular support, the result of a policy of broad alliances with productive sectors and trade unions which have a vision of development and growth, while noting that Ortega has responded to the needs and expectations of the population.

The country’s Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) confirmed President Daniel Ortega’s victory in the general elections held November 6, after counting the votes cast in 99.8% of the country’s polling stations. According to the CSE report, presented to the press by Roberto Rivas, the leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) daniel Ortega and his running mate Rosario Murillo garnered 72.5% of the almost 2.5 million valid votes cast, according to Prensa Latina.

Rivas reported that the Conservative Party received 2.3% of the vote; the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance, 4.3 %; the Alliance for the Republic Party, 1.4%;

and the Independent Liberal Party, 4.5%; adding that 68.2% of potential voters participated, and only 3.5% of the ballots were ruled invalid.

The CSE official reiterated his thanks to the people who exercised their rights and expressed their opinion at the polls.

“With 98.8% of the results at this time, I think we won’t make another public appearance; the results are here and this is going to be maintained when 100% are in,” he explained.

Thus Daniel Ortega has won his fourth term in office, the third consecutive representing the FSLN.

(Granma)

November 6 is Election Day in Nicaragua. Comandante Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, coordinator of the governmental Communication and Citizenship Council, are the candidates for the presidency and vice presidency of the country, respectively, for the current ruling party, the FSLN.

On this occasion, Ortega is seeking reelection for a third consecutive term, and his fourth term in the history of the Central American nation, which according to the latest poll by M&R Consultores appears likely, with both candidates of the left wing party enjoying 69.8% of voting intention.

The same survey revealed that 65.2% of Nicaraguans support the FSLN against other political parties participating in the election.

According to the “Libro Blanco Proceso Electoral 2016”(2016 Electoral Process White Paper), 16 political parties, 11 from the national electoral districts and five from the autonomous regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean, will participate in these elections.

The Nicaragua United will Triumph Alliance, led by the FSLN, is committed to continuing the achievements of President Ortega, who has ensured a better quality of life for the vast majority of the Nicaraguan people over the last ten years.

Among these advances is a reduction in poverty, which fell from 42.5% to 29.6%, according to a survey by the National Information and Development Institute (INIDE), which also demonstrated that the economic development of the Central American country has been sustained (4.5%), to become one of the fastest growing Central American countries.

In addition, Comandante Daniel Ortega has been implementing his 2016 Good Governance Plan, under the slogan “Working together like a huge family”, which promotes and strengthens measures in all areas of society, including health, education, tourism, and the economy.

Meanwhile, the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) has pledged to combat corruption and waste, eradicate extreme poverty, ensure food security and increase productive employment. The party’s candidate is José del Carmen Alvarado, a dentist devoted to agriculture and livestock.

The Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) has Maximino Rodríguez on its slate for President, a Nicaraguan politician who served as a deputy between 1996 and 2011. Under the slogan “United for Change”, the PLC plan through 2021 seeks a socially just, inclusive, economically strong and politically stable Nicaragua.

For its part, the Alliance for the Republic (APRE) states that its only commitment is “to unify efforts, strengths and capabilities to create a more just, inclusive, depoliticized, and participative society, to restore the rule of law and respect for the Constitution and Laws.” Its presidential candidate is Carlos Canales.

Another force, the Democratic Unity alliance, is formed by the Conservative Party (oldest Nicaraguan party), the Social Christian Party, and independents, seeking “a Republic for all” with basic foods accessible to the people, quality education, and transparent government. Their candidate is the young Erick Cabezas, a lawyer and notary public.

Finally, the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance has outlined its plans for comprehensive and quality education, investment, social security and care for women and youth; with former priest Saturnino Cerrato as its candidate.

More than 3 million Nicaraguans are eligible to vote in these elections, where in addition to choosing a President for the next five years, they will elect 90 national deputies and 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

The president is elected by an absolute or relative majority with at least 45% of valid votes, or 35%, should he manage to beat the other candidates by a minimum difference of 5%.

While we must wait until Sunday for the final results, it is already clear from the latest polls who is set to win: Daniel Ortega.

(Granma)

Havana, July 18, 2016

Year 58 of the Revolution

Dear Daniel:

The Cuban President sent a fraternal greeting and solidarity to the government and people of Nicaragua, on the 37th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, expressing confidence that the country will continue advancing toward more victories, always with Cuba’s unconditional support

As of that moment, a no less difficult and complicated stage began: the process of revolutionary transformations to the benefit of the Nicaraguan people, especially the most humble, and confronting the war unleashed by internal counterrevolutionaries and U.S. imperialism, in a very adverse regional situation.

The people could not be defeated, and the Revolution continues today under your sure leadership and that of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, achieving notable political, economic, and social gains. Nicaragua is today an independent, sovereign, peaceful, and democratic nation, of free men and women, as General Augusto César Sandino dreamed, and for which so many other patriots and revolutionaries gave their lives, among them the unforgettable Comandante Carlos Fonseca Amador.

Compañero Daniel Ortega Saavedra, President of the Republic of Nicaragua:

Over these years of struggle, we have forged indestructible ties of brotherhood, solidarity, and collaboration. We are proud to share with you the same revolutionary, anti-imperialist trench, working for sustainable development with social justice and equity, for the integration and unity of Our America.

Accept, in the name of Fidel and mine, that of our people and government, our fraternal greetings and solidarity, with the confidence that the Sandinista Revolution will continue advancing victoriously, and will always have the unconditional support of the Cuban Revolution.

A strong embrace,

Raúl Castro Ruz

President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba

As fate would have it, the other day marked the 94^th anniversary of the glorious Soviet Socialist Revolution. Unforgettable pages in history were written by Russian workers, peasants and soldiers and the name of Lenin shall always be shining among men and women who dream of a just future for humankind.

These topics are ever more complicated and the efforts poured into educating the new generations shall never suffice. Therefore, today I dedicate some time to comment on this event, in the midst of so many occurring on a daily basis on our planet and the news of which arrives by a growing number of channels that were barely imaginable just a few decades ago.

I must say that the Nicaraguan election was held in a traditional and bourgeois style, having nothing fair or equitable about it, since the sectors of the oligarchy who have an anti-national and pro-imperialist character have, as a norm, the monopoly on economic and publicity resources which, generally speaking, and in a special way on our hemisphere, are at the service of the political and military interests of the empire; all that underlines the magnitude of the Sandinista victory.

It is a truth that our Homeland knows well from the time Marti died at Dos Ríos on May 19 of 1895, to “timely prevent, with the independence of Cuba, that the United States could expand over the Antilles and fall with additional force over our American lands”.

We shall never tire in repeating it, especially after our people have been able to steadfastly stand up to half a century of sustained economic blockade and the most brutal aggressions of that empire.

However it is not hatred that moves our people; it is ideas. From these ideas our solidarity with the people of Sandino, the general of free men, was born; we read about him with admiration when, more than 60 years ago, we were university students and without the marvellous cultural outlook of those who, in a few days and along with the students in secondary education, shall be taking part in something that by now is a beautiful tradition: the University Festival of Books and Reading.

The heroic death of the Nicaraguan hero who fought against the Yankee occupation forces in his territory was always a source of inspiration for Cuban revolutionaries. Our solidarity with the Nicaraguan people is not surprising; it was expressed from the very first days of the revolutionary triumph in Cuba on January 1^st of 1959.

Yesterday, on the 8th, the newspaper Granma was reminding us of the heroic fall in November of 1976, just two and a half years before the triumph, of the founder of the FSLN, Carlos Fonseca Amador, “tayacán[1] victor over death”, as the lovely song written in his memory “sweetheart of the Red-Black Homeland, all of Nicaragua shouts ‘Present!’”.

I know Daniel well; he never adopted extremist positions and was always invariably faithful to basic principles. Given the responsibility of the presidency on the basis of a group political directorship, he was characterized by his respectful conduct in terms of the points of view of his comrades coming from within the Sandinista movement at a determinate stage in the struggle before the triumph. He thus became a unifying factor among the revolutionaries and sustained contacts with the people. This was due to the great ascendancy he acquired among the more humble sectors of Nicaragua.

The depth of the Sandinista Revolution earned him the hatred of the Nicaraguan oligarchy and Yankee imperialism.

The most atrocious crimes were perpetrated against his country and his people in the Dirty War that Reagan and Bush promoted from the presidency and the CIA.

Many counter-revolutionary gangs were organized, trained and supplied by them; drug trafficking became the instrument for funding the counter-revolution and tens of thousands of weapons brought into the country caused the death or injury of thousands of Nicaraguans.

The Sandinistas held elections in the midst of that unequal and unfair battle.

The fall of the Socialist bloc is added to this situation, along with the imminent collapse of the USSR and the beginning of the Special Period in our Homeland. Such difficult circumstances and despite the support of the majority of the Nicaraguan people, expressed in every opinion survey, made an electoral victory impossible.

The Nicaraguan people were forced to once more put up with almost 17 years of corrupt and pro-imperialist governments. The rates of health, literacy and social justice installed in Nicaragua began to painfully go downhill. Nevertheless, the Sandinista revolutionaries, under Daniel’s leadership, continued their fight throughout those long, bitter years and again the people recovered the government even though it was in greatly difficult conditions that demanded a maximum of experience and political wisdom.

Cuba was continuing under the brutal Yankee blockade and suffering, moreover, the rough consequences of the Special Period and the hostility of one of the worst murderers that has governed the United States, George W. Bush, son of the father who had promoted the Dirty War in Nicaragua, freedom for the terrorist Posada Carriles to distribute weapons to the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries and reprieved Orlando Bosch who was the other author of the Barbados Crime.

However, a new phase was beginning in Our America with the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela and the coming to power in Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay of governments committed to the independence and integration of Latin American peoples.

Furthermore, I can state with satisfaction that the solidarity of Cuba with the country of Sandino never ceased in the field of political and social solidarity. I must point out with total fairness that Nicaragua was one of the countries that best used Cuba’s cooperation in health and education.

The thousands of doctors who have provided their services in that heroic sister country feel really motivated by the excellent use the Sandinistas made of their efforts. The same can be asserted about the thousands of teachers who, during one day in the first phase of the process, were sent into the most remote mountain areas to teach the peasants to read and write. Today the education experiences in general and especially the practices of teaching medicine coming from the Latin American School of Medicine where thousands of excellent doctors have been trained have been transferred to Nicaragua. Such realities constitute an excellent stimulus for our people.

These details I am mentioning are nothing more than an example of the prolific effort of the Sandinista revolutionaries in favour of the development of their Homeland.

The fundamental nature of Daniel’s role and the reason for my opinion about his overwhelming victory is that he never distanced himself from contact with the people and the never-ending struggle for their well-being.

Today he is a truly experienced leader who has been capable of handling complicated and difficult situations from the years when his country was once more under the aegis of rapacious capitalism. He knows how to intelligently handle complex problems; he knows what he can and cannot do, what he should and should not do in order to ensure peace and the sustained advance of the economic and social development of the country. He is very much aware of the fact that he owes the overwhelming victory to his heroic and courageous people, because of their broad participation and almost two-thirds of the votes cast in his favour. He was able to establish close ties with the workers, peasants, students, young people, women, technicians, professionals, artists and all progressive sectors and forces that sustain and carry out the advances made in the country. In my opinion, it is very right to call on all the democratic political forces willing to work for independence and the economic and social development of the country.

In today’s world, problems are extremely complicated and difficult. But while the world exists, we, the small countries, can and must exercise our right for independence, cooperation, development and peace.

Fidel Castro Ruz

November 9, 2011

8:12 p.m.

[1] Tayacán: Nicaraguan word used to describe a brave and hardworking person seen as a leader.