Cuba President Calls for Integration in Sao Paulo Forum

The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, called on Tuesday for the unity of progressive movements during his appearance at the virtual meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the organization.

Thirty years ago, the doomsayers of despair, the enthusiasts of the market, and the speakers of the single-mindedness made the world believe that history was over, and here we are, the unyielding Advocates of Hope, and of another possible World,” said the President.

Accompanying Díaz-Canel at the meeting were José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, and Bruno Rodríguez, foreign minister of the Caribbean nation.

“This celebration allows us to thank the support of the Forum to Cuba and the campaign developed this year for the end of the blockade”, acknowledged the Head of State.

The President described the founding of the Forum as a unitary feat, on the initiative of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva.

The Cuban President also recognized the efforts of Lula and the leaders of the Brazilian Workers’ Party at the head of the Executive Secretariat of the progressive platform.

Diaz-Canel recalled that the virtual meeting coincided with the 66th birthday of a very dear friend of Cuba, described by Fidel as the Best Friend of Cuba and all struggling peoples: commander Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias.

He added that the Invincible example of Chavez invites us to continue the struggle with determination and optimism, convinced that there are no obstacles no matter how difficult they may seem, that could not be overcome by our United peoples is the case today for Venezuela Nicaragua and Cuba.

The meeting brought together the Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro.

Since its birth, the Sao Paulo Forum has stood out as a scenario of convergence, debate, and joint action, born out of the Meeting of Leftist Political Parties and Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in 1990. 

The real and definitive independence of our America depends nowadays on the nature, strength and reason of the current struggles, Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel stressed.

In his Tuesday speech during the virtual meeting of leaders on occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Sao Paulo Forum, the president convened the platform’s political forces to mobilize together to face the new challenges, along with social and popular movements.

Amid the most complex human drama the planet is experiencing, due to the crisis caused by Covid-19, the US government does not stop its hegemonic plans in the region, the president denounced.

‘I speak on behalf of a heroic and noble people, which has resisted for 60 years the most cruel and genocidal of blockades, an economic, commercial and financial siege of the greatest world power, tightened amid fighting the pandemic,’ Diaz-Canel said.

Since its foundation, the Sao Paulo Forum flourished with the socialist ideals in the backyard of the empire with its own personality and strength, the head of State said.

Diaz-Canel described the founding of the Forum as a unitary feat by initiative of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva.

The meeting that also brought together Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, was broadcast on social media by the Cuban Presidency’s official account.