BY PAT BREWER
HAVANA — "We affirm our conviction that the Cuban people have the unquestionable right to construct their own model of economic, political and social development, to decide their own future without interference or aggression and to defend their sovereignty and independence."
So stated the final resolution adopted by the Second World Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba held November 10-14 in Havana. The meeting, convened by 72 Cuban organisations and institutions, was a huge success. It was attended by 4347 delegates from 118 countries who gathered to condemn the US blockade of Cuba. The largest delegation was the 600-strong US delegation, which defied their government's ban on travel to Cuba.
The First World Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba, held in Havana in 1994, was attended by 3069 delegates from 108 countries. It occurred at the lowest ebb of the trade and financial crisis that Cuba faced following the collapse its main trading partners, the socialist states of eastern Europe and the former USSR. At that time, the US was intensifying its economic war with the passage of laws which extended the blockade to the rest of the world by penalising any country which traded with Cuba.
The second meeting occurred in a different political climate. Cuba has managed to take steps forward economically, politically and socially while the US government's policy of blockading Cuba has become more isolated in the UN General Assembly. The US people's hostility towards Cuba has lessened following the political manipulation that followed the kidnapping of Cuban child, Elian Gonzalez.
The meeting heard reports from Carlos Lage, vice-president of the Council of State, Ricardo Alarcon, presiding officer of the National Assembly of People's Power, and Felipe Perez Roque, minister of foreign affairs. The three Cuban leaders explained the progress the Cuban people have made since 1994.
Delegates made contributions from the floor. There were also working commissions on the blockade, the disinformation campaign and the solidarity movement around the world. The meeting finished with the adoption of the final declaration and a closing speech by the Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Visits to projects and institutions were arranged and delegates were invited to an anti-imperialist rally outside the US interests section embassy, Washington's unofficial embassy in Cuba.
Despite the blockade, the Cuban economy and the provision of social services have grown slowly. There has been an increase in the number of jobs as industries have expanded. The value of the Cuban peso has increased from 150 to the US dollar to 20 to the US dollar. This has been achieved without privatisation, cuts to free health and education and without cutting the support Cuba gives to the Third World.
Much of this support takes the form of training doctors and medical professionals free of charge at Cuban institutions. Cuba has also offered to open a training school for young people from deprived racial, indigenous and ethnic backgrounds from the USA.
US isolated
In 1992, the UN General Assembly resolution that condemned the US blockade was supported by 59 votes, 3 against, 46 absent and 71 abstentions. This year's vote recorded 167 in favour, 3 against, 15 absent and 4 abstentions. Only the US government, Israel and the Marshall Islands voted against the resolution.
One reason why for this shift has been the opening up of trade between Cuba and a greater range of countries and companies. The anti-Cuba US laws have impacted on a greater number of countries. Another reason is that many more people have visited the island and been able to witness the real situation there.
The Elian Gonzalez affair has also boosted support for Cuba. The Cuban Adjustment Laws passed by the US in 1971 encourage perilous and illegal immigration from Cuba to the US. If Cubans arrive illegally, they are immediately given access to US citizenship. Illegal immigrants from other Third World countries are immediately repatriated. This contradicts several agreements signed between the US and Cuba during the 1990s to enact a legal migration program.
During the seven-month struggle to have Elian returned to his father, 80 committees were set up in 57 countries. Major mobilisations were held in the US. In particular, in Miami, the stronghold of the extreme right-wing Cuban emigres, the pro-Cuba immigrants for the first time were able to mobilise. They did so despite constant threats. Polls in May 1999 showed 71% of the US people Americans favoured restoration of normal relations between the US and Cuba.
In Cuba, the fight for Elian's return mobilised and strengthened the Cuban people's support for the revolution. This was shown in the massive size of the mobilisations. This was commented on by Castro in his closing address. He said that if the low period of 1994 had occurred a few years after the 1959 revolution, the revolution would have been defeated because the level of consciousness among the Cuban people would not have been sufficient to sustain them through the privations.
The US has responded to the shift in support for Cuba by trying to appear to loosen the blockade. These adjustments have in reality tightened the blockade further. The delegates at the meeting were clear on the need to campaign to expose this.
Solidarity boost
The Second World Meeting of Friendship and Solidarity with Cuba demonstrated a growing confidence that the US blockade can be defeated by increased international solidarity. This was reflected in the final resolution of the meeting which approved a range of measures to extend and strengthen the global solidarity movement.
These included:
- the declaration of 2001 as international year of solidarity against the blockade and other anti-Cuban laws;
- the organisation of a week of global solidarity with Cuba (April 15-22) to mark the 40th anniversary of the declaration of the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution and the victory at Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs) in 1961;
- the declaration of October 10 as global solidarity day with Cuba as part of the 150th anniversary year of the birth of Jose Marti; and
- sending a message to the next US president condemning the economic war on Cuba.
Other recommendations included greater coordination among solidarity activists to end the blockade, counter the lies and misinformation and to spread the truth about the Cuban Revolution.