Social and political movements unite to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba

A humanitarian aid convoy, this time aimed at Cuba, is expected to arrive in Havana on March 21, carrying food, medicines, medical supplies and essential products by air, land and sea, with the aim of helping the local population suffering from a new blockade by the United States.

What is being done by the USA, says Ana Prestes, Secretary of International Relations of the PCdoB — the party that makes up the convoy — “is terrifying, it’s like turning Cuba into a Gaza here on our continent”.

Entitled Our American Caravan to Cuba, the fleet was born from the mobilization of social and trade union movements, organizations and political parties and also aims to denounce the seriousness of the situation experienced by the island since Donald Trump decided to suspend the shipment of oil from Venezuela to the country after the attack that resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro in January.

The movement intensified the blockade imposed on Cuba since the 1960s and is a way for the US to suffocate the country and force a change in the local political system.

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The official announcement of the train was made over the weekend. “In response to the enormous global solidarity with Cuba, the initial idea of ​​a flotilla evolved into a convoy coordinated by air, land and sea, which will converge on Havana on March 21,” says a note issued by the organizers.

Activist Greta Thunberg, one of the main organizers of the flotilla that took supplies to Gaza last year, endorsed the initiative. “I support this convoy to Cuba, not only because its people need all the help the convoy can bring,” but also “because international solidarity is the only force powerful enough to confront imperial figures like Trump and (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.”

Among the Brazilian entities and parties involved are PCdoB, CTB, UJS, UNE, Ubes, MST, UBM, Unegro, CUT and Cebrapaz, among others.

Internationalist solidarity

A party with a long relationship with the Cuban PC, the PCdoB has solidarity with the people as one of the central principles of its internationalist action and in defense of socialism, the sovereignty of each nation and against imperialism.

In a recent note, signed by its National Executive, the party highlighted that what is underway in Cuba is the “reaffirmation of an imperialism in crisis and in relative decline, which reacts to the loss of global hegemony by intensifying unilateral, extraterritorial and openly illegal practices, especially against Cuba – which insists on preserving its sovereignty and its revolutionary project. Cuba is once again chosen as an exemplary target of this policy of punitive aggression, as are other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that resist subordination, like Venezuela.”

Find out more: Wave of solidarity with Cuba gains strength in Brazil

In the assessment of Ana Prestes, Secretary of International Relations at PCdoB, “Cuba’s situation is extremely serious due to a combination of factors — mainly from Trump’s two terms in office and with the total connivance of the Democrats, during Joe Biden’s presidency — which led to an increase in strangulation measures, especially economic ones”.

She highlights that this situation “can certainly be characterized as an economic genocide, as it is leading the population to the extreme of suffering, with deprivation of electricity, fuel and everything that arises from this, such as the lack of food and medicine”.

Therefore, he adds, “there is a huge effort on the part of several countries, as well as the mobilization of all political forces that are in solidarity with the Cuban people, to provide food, medicine and to end this blockade.”

Ana Prestes also highlights that “this work has been ongoing, including with the Lula government, in order to increase aid to the country. There are already a series of cooperation programs with Cuba in various government ministries, but at this moment we understand that it is necessary to send photovoltaic panels, fuel, food, medicines and increase our solidarity because what is really being done is absurd, it is terrifying, it is like turning Cuba into a Gaza here on our continent”.

According to recent news, the Brazilian government is studying sending humanitarian aid to Cuba, but there has not yet been an official definition on the matter.

Earlier this month, at the celebration of the PT’s anniversary, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared: “Our country is in solidarity with the Cuban people, who are victims of a massacre of speculation by the United States against them. We have to find, as a party, a way to help.”