Cuban VP hails solidarity during visit to Brazil

 

BRASILIA, Brazil, Jun 15 (ACN) At a meeting in this country with supporters, Cuban nationals based in Brazil and members of the Cuban embassy, Vice President Salvador Valdes praised the values of the Brazilian solidarity with the island.

After attending the Brazil-Caribbean Summit, the gathering became a space of political reaffirmation and celebration of decades of fraternity between the two nations regardless of the governments in power.

Valdes, who thanked the constancy of those who have supported the Cuban Revolution since 1959, condemned the devastating effects of the 60-plus years old U.S. blockade, reinforced in recent years, even in the midst of the pandemic, with another 243 measures.

“[The blockade] affects all spheres of our lives: health, food, energy, transportation, education... it is a cruel and inhuman policy,” he said, but assured that Cuba stands its ground and keeps seeking internal solutions with creativity, firmness and dignity, “convinced that justice is on our side.”

He also added that the Cuban people conscientiously defend their social project, not as an imposition, but as a sovereign decision to build a more just country. “We will always remain in solidarity,” he stressed.

Maria Auxiliadora Cesar, a veteran of the Cuba solidarity movement, recalled that the support for the Cuban Revolution started from day one and remained active even during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985).

“Solidarity with Cuba is part of our history of resistance,” she remarked.

On his end, Pedro Batista, a Brazilian exiled in Cuba who shared his testimony: “I was taken in as a human being, not as a refugee. In Cuba I learned that dignity is not negotiable".

Fernando Sequeira, a graduate from the Latin American Medical School (ELAM), pointed out that hundreds of Brazilians who studied in that school are now providing their services in far-off communities, because “we learned to take care of lives where no one else wants to go. Cuba taught us that," he said.

Sol Elena Rodríguez, member of the José Martí Association of Cubans Residing in Brazil, reiterated the denunciation of the U.S. siege and rejected the inclusion of Cuba in unilateral lists of sponsors of terrorism, which she described as “slander that offends a noble and supportive people.”