Diaz-Canel Calls for a United Iberoamerican Region

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called on Wednesday for a united Ibero-America in the face of inequalities and the current world economic crisis during the 27th Summit of heads of state and government of the region.

In his speech to the plenary, the President affirmed that sustainable development requires political will, solidarity, cooperation, and financial and technology transfer from developed countries, among other requirements.

At the virtual event chaired by Andorra, the Caribbean leader said that the pandemic has exposed that health and social protection systems, education, science, technology, and available material resources must be put at the service of all and not at the mercy of the petty interests of a few.

Regarding Cuba’s handling of the disease, Díaz-Canel affirmed that the development process and the objectives of social justice, a fundamental part of the legacy of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, have been paramount.

They have allowed the island to resist it and have homegrown vaccine candidates, with which it expects to immunize the entire population before the end of the year. 

And all this amid the reinforcement of Washington’s blockade, he said.

In this regard, the Cuban head of state rejected the impact of coercive measures on the development of peoples and expressed his gratitude for the support given to the Caribbean nation in the face of the U.S. blockade.

In another moment of his address, the Cuban leader called on the Ibero-American community to respect the government of the legitimate President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. 

He said that ¨the legitimacy of a government emanates from the express and sovereign will of its people, not from the recognition of foreign powers.¨

Likewise, he affirmed that it would be useful and sincere to recognize that the U.S. design of intervention in Venezuela failed resoundingly and has placed other countries that supported it in an unsustainable political and legal situation.

Díaz-Canel headed the Cuban representation at the meeting, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez; of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca; and of Science, Technology, and Environment, Elba Pérez.

The Summit will adopt a declaration and 16 special communiqués on different topics related to the confrontation with Covid-19, climate change challenges, projects to improve the environment.

The Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government is the most important event held by the Ibero-American Conference, a cooperation mechanism that brings together the 22 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America and Europe.

The high-level meeting should have been held last 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed to the current calendar.