cuba election 2023

On 26 March, Cuba completed the final stage of its General Election. Even in the midst of intense hardships caused by US sanctions including hours-long queues for basic goods, 6,164,876 Cubans turned out to vote for or against deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power at 23,468 voting stations, a turnout of 75.92%.

This exercise in mass democratic participation, in defiance of the illegal US blockade of Cuba which is intended to bring about unrest and the overthrow of the socialist state, demonstrates the strength of popular support for the Cuban revolution.

This month supporters from Rock Around the Blockade and Fight Racism Fight Imperialism once again joined organisations from around the world to condemn the US blockade of Cuba. Cubans marked the occasion in Havana with a bicycle procession along the Malecón:

Cubans on the Malecon

To join us next month, please get in touch! Here are photos and videos from around the country:

signal 2023 05 01 172448 002 NW

This month, activists from Rock Around the Blockade, Revolutionary Communist Group and the 1 Cent For Cuba (1c4Cuba) campaign joined the international caravan against the US blockade of Cuba. This time the event coincided with International Worker's Day/May Day celebrations all around the world! Check out the photos and videos from around the country below:

On 24 January, activists from Rock Around the Blockade, Plataforma 12 de Octubre, Cubanos en UK, the Revolutionary Communist Group and other groups and individuals came together to defend the Cuban people and the revolutionary government who uphold the banner of socialism. The demonstration started at The British High Court, where an imperialist vulture fund has brought a lawsuit against the Cuban state. The protestors then moved on to the Cuban embassy, where right-wing opposition activists had planned to come out against Cuban socialism. See below for video coverage of this vibrant solidarity event!

 

On 17 December activists from Rock Around the Blockade and the Revolutionary Communist Group took part in an international day of action called by the 1 Cent 4 Cuba campaign. For their action on the day, RATB and RCG supporters picketed banks that are extraterritorially implementing the US blockade of Cuba by illegally complying with US sanctions in Britain. The main target was Metro Bank, who recently closed customer's accounts after blocking transactions to Cuba. 17 December is an important day for friends of socialist Cuba, as it was the day when the Cuban 5 were released in 2014. Here are pictures and videos from across the country:

IMG 20221217 141921472

Metro Bank Borehamwood

Metro Bank closes accounts after making transactions that reference Cuba – is Metro Bank breaking UK laws?

This month, activists from Rock Around the Blockade, Revolutionary Communist Group and the 1 Cent For Cuba (1c4Cuba) campaign joined the international caravan against the US blockade of Cuba. This time around, the caravan focussed on Lloyds bank, who earlier this month closed, without warning or explanation, a bank account owned by the 1c4Cuba campaign. The bank account was set up in July 2022 and was used to receive international transactions as part of the 1c4Cuba campaign. Such transactions, using the reference ‘CUBA’, were received from participants in Ireland, Spain and Canada. These were intended to trigger internal systems within the banks to block these transactions, thus proving that they comply with the US blockade of Cuba in an extraterritorial way. 

Here are some photos and videos from across the country! Get in touch to join the Caravan next month!

WhatsApp Image 2022 11 27 at 19.34.51 2

Lloyds Bank

On 4 November, a bank account set up by the 1c4Cuba campaign in Britain was closed without explanation by Lloyds bank. 

The bank account was set up in July 2022 and was used to receive international transactions as part of the 1c4Cuba campaign (www.1c4cuba.eu). Such transactions, using the reference ‘CUBA’, were received from participants in Ireland, Spain and Canada. On 14 October, Lloyds bank sent letters to the account holder informing them, without explanation, that the account would be closed 'with immediate effect'. The UK's Financial Ombudsman Service guidance states that it would expect a bank to provide at least 30 days' notice before closing a customer's account, unless there are 'exceptional circumstances' such as where fraud is suspected.

 Rock Around The Blockade members and supporters gather outside the Cuban Embassy in London to demonstrate in solidarity with socialist Cuba against the genocidal US blockade.