US-Cuba Labor Solidarity – Building Relations with Cuban Labor
Fact Sheet on US-Cuba Relations
Passing Resolutions in Labor Organizations
Cuba assumes presidency of G77
The struggle for a more just world economic order
Cuba assumed the presidency of G77 on January 12, 2023. It is the first time that the Caribbean island nation will preside over the group. Cuba has announced that in its presiding year it will seek: to advance the common interests of countries in development; to support the development of a multilateral world commercial system; to make South-South cooperation a more effective instrument of the countries of the South; and to call upon the industrialized countries to fulfill their responsibilities.
The G77 plus China is formed by 134 of the 193 UN member nations, and it represents approximately 80% of the world population. It is the largest and most diverse grouping of nations seeking to develop a multilateral world order.
The G77 was created in Geneva, Switzerland on June 15, 1964 by 77 non-aligned nations, for the purpose of providing a forum for countries in development to promote their economic interests. India was the first presiding country, serving as its president in 1971-72. Cuba succeeds Pakistan, the presiding country for 2022.
China has made financial contributions to the G77 since 1994 but does not consider itself a member, although the Group of 77 counts China as one of its members. Official statements of the group are emitted in the name of the Group of 77 and China.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed the Group of 77 plus China by video from the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on January 12, 2023. He thanked the group for the confidence placed in Cuba to preside for the next year. He noted that Cuba will never defraud nations with which it shares a common history of being submitted to abuse, and with which Cuba shares common historic demands and common aspirations to live in a better and more just world. He spoke of the present unjust economic order that is “a profoundly antidemocratic order that is designed to perpetuate the inequality that, in spite of the historic demands of the Group, sustains the wealth of a few at the cost of the impoverishment of the majority and maintains the peoples in an economic and social disadvantage, permanently condemned to underdevelopment, poverty, and hunger.”
He affirmed that the Group can count on Cuba and its unwavering commitment to work without rest in defense of the common interests of the nations of the Group. Cuba believes in multilateralism and in the power of a unity that respects diversity.
Bruno Rodríguez, Cuban Minister of Foreign Relation, addressed the Ceremony of the Transfer of the Presidency of G77 plus China on January 12, 2023. Rodríguez described the great challenges of the present world order in these times of systemic crisis in the areas of health, climate, energy, food, and the economy, accompanied by increasing geopolitical tensions and renewed forms of domination and hegemony. The present world order, he observed, is characterized by unequal access to vaccines, a digital gap, the persistence of the external debt, and food insecurity. There is need for structural reform of the international financial architecture, in order to make possible the financing of development and of responses to climate change.
Rodríguez cited as an example of global inequality the fact that countries in development have only 24 doses of COVID-19 vaccines per 100 inhabitants, in contrast to the richest countries, which have available nearly 150 doses per 100 persons. In addition, the countries of the South have seen their external debt doubled in the past ten years, and they had to spend an estimated 379 billion dollars of their reserves in order to defend their currencies in 2022. Meanwhile, more than thirty-one unilateral systems of coercive measures are being applied against countries in development. This tendency to impose coercive measures on countries, he noted, has increased in recent years.
Rodríguez declared that during its presidency, Cuba will give priority to encouraging international solidarity and cooperation. Cuba will work to carry out projects of cooperation from the South in the areas of health, biotechnology, education, the confronting of climate change, and the prevention of disaster, giving a lesson in unity, complementarity, and real political will.
Rodríguez noted that scientific and technological development today is monopolized by a club of countries that have the majority of patents, technologies, and research centers, and at the same time promote a brain drain from the countries in development. In response to this situation, Cuba advocates the use of science, technology, and innovation as engines of sustainable development. Accordingly, Cuba will convoke a Summit on science, technology, and innovation as a basis for development and for the confrontation of future pandemics, which will be held in Havana this year. The Summit will seek to build upon the great potential of the South in science, technology, and innovation.
The external debt, Rodríguez observed, has been paid various times over. Cuba will promote new approaches with respect to the architecture of the debt, which would provide a fiscal margin to countries in development for investment in post-pandemic recuperation, actions to confront climate change, and the Objectives of Sustainable Development; and to contribute to the avoidance of future debt crises.
Rodríguez further observed that Cuba will insist on a restructuring of the system of international financial governance, which is in the hands of a few institutions that speculate with the reserves of the South. Said institutions perpetuate underdevelopment and apply measures that merely have the purpose of reproducing the scheme of modern colonialism.
The present moment, Rodríguez declared, does not allow hesitation or division. The times require united action in defense of the long ignored demands of countries in development. Cuba embraces, he reaffirmed, the foundational principles that gave birth to G77.
The historical context: The Third World project
The creation of G77 in 1964 was the culmination of an ongoing post-World War II ideological division and political conflict between the West and global South with respect to Third World underdevelopment. As Vijay Prashad writes in The Darker Nations,
“The mainstream view in the field of economics and the halls of power within the United States and Western Europe held that development for the formerly colonized world would come through the precepts of “modernization theory.” The problem of the colonized world was not so much its poverty but its traditionalism. . . .
“Modernization theory typically put the onus for development on the cultures of the so-called traditional societies, and thereby excised the history of colonialism. . . . Modernization theory contended that that the darker world did not have the culture of frugality and thus willed itself into poverty.” 1
In accordance with these assumptions, Prashad explains, mainstream economists recommended foreign aid, which underdeveloped nations would use to increase their infrastructural capacity for the exportation of agricultural commodities and minerals, thereby exploiting its “comparative advantage” in raw materials processing.
The viewpoint of mainstream economists and holders of political power was rejected by a new field of development economics, in which Raúl Prebisch was a leading figure. Prebisch, who had been undersecretary of finance in Argentina and then director of Argentina’s Central Bank, was appointed to head the UN Economic Commission for Latin American in 1948. In 1949, he wrote and circulated a paper entitled, “The Economic Development of Latin American and Its Principal Problems,” in which he argued that the countries that had been colonized had to break out of their dependence on the exportation of raw materials and the importation of finished goods.
One strategy was the imposition of tariffs, an approach that later became known as “import-substitution industrialization.” Tariffs would make imports prohibitively expensive, and they would be strategically applied to those sectors in which a developing economy had the capacity to produce domestically.
In addition, development economists and Third World states advocated the creation of cartels of primary commodities, in which the producing and exporting nations of a particular primary commodity would ban together to set a good price, eliminating the unequal exchange that has been established by the colonial process. Primary commodities were established most notably in oil, but they also were established with less impact in cocoa, sugar, rubber, copper, and bauxite.
Prashad writes that the Third World states pushed for the creation of a UN institution to implement their agenda. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was created in response to this Third World demand, and Prebisch was named its first secretary general. It held its first conference in Geneva, in which 120 countries attended. Seventy-seven of them joined to form the G77 in 1964. It called for better prices for raw materials as well as tariffs and financial structures that favored the development of the Third World countries.
The development economists, unlike the mainstream economists of the North, maintained that colonialism was the cause of Third World underdevelopment. They believed that that there ought to be compensation for this historic crime, and that the measures that they were proposing would function as a strategy of compensation. They believed that the powerful states had a moral obligation to support their proposals for Third World development.
However, from the beginning, the core powers resisted Third World proposals. Assuming that Third World underdevelopment was caused by traditional cultures and not by Western colonialism and imperialism, they saw no moral obligation for compensatory measures. They continued with the worldwide process of competing imperialisms, in which each world power seeks maximum economic advantage with respect to the natural resources, labor, and markets of the Third World, in competition with the other imperialist powers. In pursuit of their imperialist interests, the core powers denounced the structures that were being formed to give voice to Third World concerns by Third World states and by the United Nations, and the core powers adopted maneuvers designed to neutralize Third World strategies. Utilizing the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, the rich countries were able to maintain and increase their global structural economic advantage, casting aside Third World demands and hopes. 2
Cuba is well-qualified
Since the triumph of the Revolution, Cuba has denounced the economic structures of the world-system and the imperialist policies of the world powers. (See “Second Declaration of Havana, 60th anniversary: Fidel speaks of the crisis of imperialism and the interest of humanity in socialism,” February 8, 2022). Cuba has for decades played a leading role in the Third World quest for alternative, more just global political-economic structures. For example, as President of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1982, Cuba denounced the turn of the core powers to neoliberalism. (See “Fidel speaks in the name of the colonized: In defense of all of humanity,” August 17, 2021). And during its second presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement from 2006 to 2009, Cuba was able to lead the Movement to a retaking of its founding principles. (See “China and the Third World: The construction of an alternative, more just world-system,” 10/1/2021). Moreover, during the last twenty-five years, Cuba has played a leading role in the formation of such regional organizations as ALBA-TCP, UNASUR, and CELAC, advocating Latin American union and integration on a basis of mutually-beneficial trade among the nations of the region. (See “ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana: The quest for Latin American and Caribbean unity and integration,” May 31, 2022
Cuba has impressive credentials for assuming the presidency of G77 at the current historic juncture.
Cuba to play in World Baseball Classic March 2023
The United States will permit Major League Baseball players from Cuba to represent their home country in the World Baseball Classic this year. Players from no other country require special authorization from the U.S. government to play with the team of their homeland in the World Baseball Classic.
ESPN wrote: “In December (2018), MLB and the MLB Players Association announced an agreement with the Cuban federation similar to those for players under contract to clubs in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan — one the league believed would end the defection of players and erase the human trafficking of Cuban players that has become the standard as they attempt to join MLB.” But in 2019, the Trump administration scuttled the deal forcing Cuban players to renounce their homeland to contract with a U.S. team. The National Network on Cuba will cheer the Cuban team throughout the Classic schedule and hope to cheer for them in Miami for the Semi-Finals and Final game in March.
Happy New Year to You & 2022 in Review!
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Build US-Cuba “Bridges of Love” on last weekend of every month
Cuban-Americans in Miami publicly call for ending the U.S. economic war on Cuba. On the last Sunday with slight changes in November and December, Cuban-Americans and friends caravan on bikes and in cars through Miami, even down Calle Ocho showing that Marco Rubio isn’t the spokesperson for the entire Cuban community in the U.S. This is the third year since Seattle school teacher Carlos Lazo and family rode bikes from the Northwest to Washington, DC sparking this movement. In 2021, a Cuban American team walked from Miami to Washington, DC.
Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Bloomington, Indiana (every month!), Washington, DC, New York City and Albany, Tampa, St. Petersburg and two cities in Massachusetts have had or are having actions on the last weekend of each month. Join in and send a picture to the central reporting whatsapp so the world knows that Cuba is not alone in your community. Send your details to: [email protected] Stay tuned for 2023! Find out how to join your event pictures/videos with others on our whatsapp group.
Report-back from the US-Cuba Youth Friendship Meeting
🚨 Youth report-back from Cuba!
⏰ Monday, Dec 12 at 8pm ET
👉 RSVP here: bit.ly/uscubayouth
Join us to hear from 5 participants in the historic US-Cuba Youth Friendship Meeting about their experience learning from the Cuban Revolution, building solidarity between US and Cuban youth, observing Cuba’s elections, visiting science and education centers, and more!
Speakers include:
- Diana Castillo from the Cuban Young Communist League
- Kameron Hurt from the International People’s Assembly
- Angie Langdon from IFCO/Pastors for Peace
- Kei Pritsker from Breakthrough News
- Calla Walsh from NNOC
Please help us share this event far and wide so we can uplift youth experiences in Cuba! bit.ly/uscubayouth
US-Cuba Youth Friendship Meeting Final Declaration
CUBA-USA YOUTH FRIENDSHIP MEETING «BUILDING OUR FUTURE TODAY».
Havana
November 23-28, 2022
FINAL DECLARATION
We, representatives of social, political, student organizations and community leaders, have gathered in Havana as delegates to the Cuba-US Youth Friendship Encounter «Building our Future Today».
During intense days we have shared with scientists, farmers, workers, students, artists, educators, community organizers to exchange about our realities and unequivocally reaffirm our solidarity with the Cuban people, who have warmly welcomed us as friends.
In unforgettable meetings, we confirmed that health care, access to free education and culture are rights already guaranteed to all Cubans and even to young people from other countries studying at the emblematic Latin American School of Medicine, reinforcing the premise that a better world is always possible.
For all these reasons, we, the young Cuban and American partakers at the event, express that:
We commit ourselves to work together to spread our achievements and take on the challenges we face in our struggle against U.S. imperialism, as well as to work in a more visible way on various platforms to spread the reality of both countries. To do so, it is essential to combat the misinformation campaigns promoted by the circles of power from the U.S..
We demand respect for human dignity, the implementation of coherent measures to address climate change, access to universal and free education and health, as well as an end to all forms of exploitation, oppression, racism and discrimination.
We recognize the Cuban Revolution as a reference for progressive struggles and social movements in the U.S., as well as a viable alternative to the current hegemonic capitalist order.
We denounce the imposition by the U.S. government of the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, which prevents it from obtaining indispensable inputs for its development. This policy also deprives the American people of the medical, cultural and intellectual potential that Cuba offers. Therefore, we demand the immediate cessation of all economic restrictions on the Cuban people, and the removal of Cuba from the infamous/illegitimate list of States that sponsor terrorism.
We defend peace and demand respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples. We demand the cessation of the illegal occupation by the United States of the territory where the Guantanamo Naval Base is located, as well as all foreign military bases.
We call attention to the dangerous rise of the arms race for the benefit of the military industrial complex, while the scourges of hunger and lack of access to basic services continue to exist in the world.
We recognize the right of the working class to organize and fight against the system of capitalist exploitation.
We recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Cuban people and their decision to build an increasingly prosperous socialist society, and we assume the responsibility to defend socialist projects.
We claim the right to relate respectfully as neighbouring countries.
The youth of the United States will return to our communities re-energized and with the firm commitment to continue our anti-imperialist struggle and to adopt in our spaces the strategic and humanist value of internationalism that our sister Cuban homeland teaches us.
Let us build our future today!
La Habana
23-28 noviembre 2022
ENCUENTRO JUVENIL DE AMISTAD CUBA-EEUU “CONSTRUYENDO HOY NUESTRO FUTURO”
DECLARACIÓN FINAL
Nosotros, representantes de organizaciones sociales, políticas, estudiantiles y líderes comunitarios, nos hemos reunido en La Habana como delegados al Encuentro Juvenil de Amistad Cuba-EEUU “Construyendo hoy nuestro futuro”.
Durante intensas jornadas hemos compartido con científicos, campesinos, trabajadores, estudiantes, artistas, educadores, organizadores comunitarios para intercambiar sobre nuestras realidades y reafirmar de forma inequívoca la solidaridad con el pueblo cubano, que nos ha acogido calurosamente como amigos.
En inolvidables encuentros constatamos que la atención médica, el acceso a la educación gratuita y a la cultura son derechos garantizados a todos los cubanos e, incluso, a jóvenes de otros países que cursan estudios universitarios en la emblemática Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina, reforzando la premisa de que un mundo mejor es siempre posible.
Por todo ello, los jóvenes cubanos y estadounidenses presentes en el evento, expresamos que:
Nos comprometemos a trabajar de conjunto para difundir nuestros logros y asumir los desafíos a los que nos enfrentamos en nuestra lucha contra el imperialismo estadounidense, así como visibilizar más en diversas plataformas la realidad de ambos países. Para ello resulta esencial combatir las campañas de desinformación que promueven los círculos de poder en EE.UU.
Exigimos el respeto a la dignidad humana, la implementación de medidas coherentes para enfrentar el cambio climático, lograr el acceso a una educación y salud universales y gratuitas, así como el fin de todas las formas de explotación, opresión, racismo y discriminación.
Reconocemos a la Revolución cubana como un referente para las luchas progresistas y los movimientos sociales en EE.UU, así como una alternativa viable respecto al orden capitalista hegemónico actual.
Denunciamos la imposición, por parte del gobierno estadounidense, del bloqueo económico, comercial y financiero contra Cuba, el cual le impide obtener insumos indispensables para su desarrollo. Esta política también priva al pueblo estadounidense de las potencialidades médicas, culturales e intelectuales que Cuba ofrece. Por tanto, exigimos el cese inmediato de todas las restricciones económicas que pesan sobre el pueblo cubano, y que se retire a Cuba de la infame/ilegítima lista de Estados patrocinadores del terrorismo.
Defendemos la paz y exigimos el respeto a la soberanía y autodeterminación de los pueblos. Con ello demandamos el cese de la ocupación ilegal por parte de Estados Unidos del territorio donde se encuentra la Base Naval en Guantánamo, así como todas aquellas bases militares extranjeras.
Llamamos la atención sobre el peligroso ascenso de la carrera armamentista en beneficio del complejo militar industrial, mientras continúan existiendo los flagelos del hambre y la falta de acceso a servicios básicos en el mundo.
Reconocemos el derecho de la clase trabajadora a organizarse y luchar contra el sistema de explotación capitalista.
Reconocemos la independencia y soberanía del pueblo cubano y su decisión de construir una sociedad socialista cada vez más próspera, así como asumimos la responsabilidad de defender los proyectos socialistas.
Reclamamos el derecho de relacionarnos respetuosamente como países vecinos.
Los jóvenes de los Estados Unidos regresaremos a nuestras comunidades reenergizados y con el firme compromiso de continuar nuestra lucha antimperialista y adoptar en nuestros espacios el valor estratégico y humanista del internacionalismo que nos enseña nuestra hermana patria cubana.
¡Construyamos hoy, nuestro futuro!
Your tax dollars at work? NED vs Cuba
Part of a larger document outlining the US NED actions to undermine national sovereignty around the world, this is the section on Cuba.
8.Funding anti-Cuba forces to manipulate public opinion against the government. Cuba has long suffered heavily from US infiltration and subversive activities. Cuban media revealed that NED and USAID allocated nearly 250 million US dollars to programs targeting Cuba over the past 20 years. According to the awarded grants disclosed in 2021 on the NED website, it funded 42 anti-Cuba programs in 2020 alone. In 2021, NED funded and guided anti-Cuba forces to fabricate and spread disinformation on social networks to stoke public sentiments against the government, and instigate the people to take part in activities disrupting public order. For instance, in mid-June 2021, anti-Cuba forces rumor-mongered that the country’s health system was overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing public panic. In July, capitalizing on the surge of street protests in Cuba, NED churned out the fake news that “(more than) 100 protesters … are missing” and used InternetA robots to disseminate it. That was a malicious attempt to influence public opinion online and incite the Cuban people to overthrow their government.
Read more including NED funding in Africa and Asia at: May 7, 2022 Fact Sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy
Learn and organize: Digital warfare and narrative control
La dictadura del algoritmo 52:03 (set youtube to automatically translate from Spanish to English)
“Cada nueva technologia crea un nuevo ambiente humano”
(Each new technology creates a new human environment)
The 4th generation warfare against Cuba 13:20 Spanish with English Subtitles – Raul Capote
