Online Public Meeting

Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela: On the Frontline of the Anti-Imperialist Struggle

As imperialist countries back the genocidal assault on Gaza, solidarity with peoples on the frontline of the anti-imperialist struggle is more important than ever. Cuba has engaged in a daily battle against US economic warfare for over 60 years, whilst Venezuela faces similar challenges for daring to defy US domination.

• Khaled Barakat - Masar Badil, Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement
• Ivan Ernesto - Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples and Union of Young Communists
• Jorge Vilalta - Movimiento Otro Beta and Alba Movimientos (Venezuela)
• Plus a speaker from the Revolutionary Communist Group (Britain)
  

Join us for an international webinar featuring stories from anti-imperialist struggles across the globe!

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Reposted from 1c4cuba.eu:

On 15 March 2024, supporters of RATB protested outside the offices of London resident and DCD Rights’ Head of IT Mickael Behn against his $440m lawsuit targeting cruise ship companies previously involved in tourism to Cuba. After lobbying US politicians, both Democrat and Republican, Behn convinced a US district court judge in Miami to recognise his claim to his grandfather’s shares in the so-called Havana Docks Company.

This Delaware based company held a lease to operate three docks in Havana before the Cuban Revolution; this lease expired in 2004. RATB calls on Mickael Behn to drop the claim; we say no economic war on Cuba!

Beatriz Johnson Urrutia, first secretary of the PCC committee in Santiago de Cuba, meets with the protesters: "We attended a group of people around the Antonio Maceo District of #SantiagoDeCuba, dissatisfied with the electricity supply and food distribution, we are part of the people, integrated and facing the genocidal blockade" -  via Twitter

Below we republish a statement on the recent protests in Santiago de Cuba from the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP):

The RATB brigade embarked on a visit to the agroecological community project known as ‘Granjita Feliz’ (‘Happy little farm’) in Guanabacoa, Cuba. During this enlightening experience, the brigade had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the environment ministry, who shed light on Tarea Vida (‘Life Task’), the Cuban government’s ambitious 100-year plan to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The brigade also had the privilege of viewing an art exhibition and talent show prepared by local residents and students with special educational needs who participate in the Granjita Feliz project.

Socialist Cuba’s long-standing principles of free universal healthcare – enshrined in its Constitution – take expression in its emphasis on primary care. The pinnacle of this approach is Cuba’s Family Doctor and Nurse programme. Teams of doctors and nurses are based in every community. Families receive visits at least yearly, or every three months for those with chronic illnesses. This allows the socialist state to assess the health of the entire population, not just the sick.

Climate change is already profoundly affecting Cuban society, as it is elsewhere in the underdeveloped nations. Cuba has already begun to experience rising sea levels and one million Cuban people live on or near the coast. Our brigade met with representatives from the Environment Agency at an agroecological community project known as ‘Granjita Feliz’ (‘Happy little farm’), in Guanabacoa, Havana, to learn more about the government’s ambitious 100-year plan to combat the adverse effects of climate change: Tarea Vida (‘Life Task’).
Despite being situated away from the coastal areas, Guanabacoa was chosen by the Cuban state as the sole recipient of EU funding and technical training related to climate change. This decision was instrumental in dispelling the misconception that climate change only affects coastal regions.

The triumph of the Revolution instigated thousands of transformations in social, political, and economic life in Cuba, made by and for Cuban women. Vilma Espin, leader in Cuba’s revolutionary struggle, founded and was President of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in 1960. Today 4.2 million women and girls over 14 years old (92% of the female population) are members of the FMC. They join voluntarily to carry out community and municipality-based work.

Cuba has developed groundbreaking biological technology which has prevented over 20,000 diabetic-related amputations and treated over 120,000 Cubans. Herberprot-P is a genetically engineered epidermal growth factor, a molecule that encourages cell growth and multiplication so when it is injected in a wound, or ulcer, it promotes wound healing.

Brigadistas saw firsthand what workers’ democracy can achieve when visiting the La Genética neighbourhood in the Playa municipality of Havana. Political representatives in Cuba cannot nominate themselves for positions of state power and must instead be proposed by local residents. As a result, La Genética’s representatives – mostly black women – truly reflect the community they serve (56% of Cuba’s National Assembly are women and 45% are black or mixed race). The Cuban people make their voices heard not only through representatives in government, but through participation in the mass organisations that are active in every aspect of life, including the Workers’ Central Union, Federation of Cuban Women, University Student Federation, and José Martí Pioneer Organisation that empowers young people.

La Genética has benefited from the Neighbourhoods in Transformation initiative aimed at improving the infrastructure, services, and quality of life of the country’s most vulnerable communities. RATB visited a well-equipped nursery, open from 6am-7pm to provide for working parents, many of whom are employed in the nearby biotech plant that gives the neighbourhood its name. The nursery, whose 24 staff care for the developmental needs of 100 children, costs parents just 40 pesos per month for as many children as they have. Among the facilities in the centre are a theatre, cinema and dance studio, with free workshops provided for residents. The planning of the improvement works was conducted by local people based on the community’s needs, and the construction of amenities throughout La Genética provided more than 100 jobs.

The needs of different social groups are not treated as antagonistic under socialism, as they are under capitalism. This was reflected in the approval by the Cuban people in 2022 of a revised Family Code (see FRFI 291). The drafting of the Code was open to the entire population, with six million people participating in tens of thousands of meetings. The final version was passed with 67% of the vote. But, as RATB learned when it visited the Cuban Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), the 33% who voted against the Code are not glibly expected to ‘like or lump’ the result. Socialist Cuba commits resources to regions where reactionary views prevail in order to enable all Cubans to develop together their understanding of the needs of all people.

Felix Lancashire

First published in FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 298 February/March 2024

Brigade to Cuba 2023/24
- Cuba resists - End the US blockade
- Cuba democracy in action
- Capitalism destroys lives
- Socialist Cuba advances womens’ and LGBT rights
- Cuban socialism a model for climate action
- Socialist healthcare leads the way