President of the Cuban Parliament deepens on the effects of the blockade on Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 29 (ACN) On the last day of his stay in Vietnam, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, president of the National Assembly of People's Power (Parliament) and the Council of State, deepened on the effects of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government against Cuba for more than 60 years and its consequences for the people.

According to information published on the Parliament's website, in a meeting with solidarity organizations, members of the state mission and young Cuban students, Lazo Hernandez recalled that in April 1960, a U.S. undersecretary of state advised taking away popular support from the nascent Cuban Revolution and doing so by the only feasible means: causing as much economic damage as possible to cause hardship to the population.

For his part, Jorge Luis Broche, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PCC and head of its Economic-Productive Department, explained to the attendees aspects of the current situation on the island and the main challenges of the socio-economic development plan for 2030.

He pointed out that a group of external forces influence the Cuban reality generating difficulties that slow down the progress of the economy and reiterated that it is precisely the iron and reinforced U.S. blockade that is the main one of those obstacles.

They seek economic choking by all means and to facilitate it they also promote media intoxication through a hostile campaign against the main decisions of the Cuban government for the benefit of the people, he said, and added that this is aggravated by the inclusion of Cuba in the spurious list of countries allegedly sponsoring terrorism.

Broche said that, despite these difficult circumstances, “we are not standing idle; we are fighting creatively not only to resist, but also to reverse this situation,” and listed the four priorities defined by the country to move forward.

In this effort, he emphasized, Vietnam is for Cuba a strategic partner with which we want to share the valuable lessons learned in recent years.

A representative of the Association of Veterans of the strategic Truong Son-Ho Chi Minh route awarded Lazo Hernandez and Broche Lorenzo the Commemorative Seal of that organization, while the Association of Vietnamese Graduates in Cuba expressed full confidence that once again the island will overcome the challenges ahead.

For his part, the president of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Associations (VUFO) expressed his endless gratitude to the high-level Cuban delegation that, headed by the head of the Cuban Parliament, participated in the funeral honors of the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong.