On March 14, representatives of social movements and trade unions gathered at the World Social Form in Brazil, demanded an end to the economic, financial, and commercial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for almost 60 years.
The call, which also included the return of the territory illegally occupied by the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba’s southeastern province of Guantánamo, was made during a debate in which international solidarity was highlighted as essential “to the Cuban people’s struggle.”
Participating in the encounter, among others, were the President of the World Peace Council, Socorro Gómez; Pascualina Curcio, from the Venezuelan chapter of the Network of Artists and intellectuals in Defense of Humanity; Ivone Souza, president of the José Martí Cultural Society in Bahía; and Iedo Fontes, a professor at the University of Paraiba.
Meanwhile, Yarisleidis Medina, a representative of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), commented on the state of relations between the island and the U.S. after Donald Trump was elected President.
She also expressed thanks for the demonstrations of support from parties and social organizations and reiterated that while the blockade continues to exist, solidarity will be vital to supporting the Cuban people’s struggle.
For the last 60 years or so, the U.S. economic, financial and commercial blockade of Cuba has caused damages of some 822,280,000,000 dollars to the Caribbean nation, taking into account the depreciation of the USD compared to the price of gold on the international market.
As such the blockade continues to be a massive, flagrant, systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people and constitutes an act of genocide, as defined by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.