By Alejandra Garcia on February 12, 2023
photo: cuba presidencia
Cuba and Mexico continued to strengthen their ties of brotherhood Saturday, as the president of the Caribbean island, Miguel Díaz-Canel, received from the hands of his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration awarded to a foreign head of state. The act, which took place during the visit of the Cuban leader to the State of Campeche, represents a new seal to a close bilateral relationship that goes beyond the symbolic.
Since his arrival to power in 2018, López Obrador has been recovering the traditional harmony between Mexico Havana, that had cooled during the last several governments. The rapprochement has been forged with economic agreements and political winks until reaching its most intense point last year. In a strong diplomatic support, the Mexican president refused to attend the Summit of the Americas convened by Joe Biden in Los Angeles because the Cuban president, among others, was not invited.
“Mexico and Cuba have always maintained relations of political brotherhood,” said AMLO in a brief tour of the work and struggle of Cubans and Latin Americans such as José Martí, Pedro Santacilia Palacios, and Manuel Márquez Sterling.
” We could not keep silent remembering the historic fact that the Granma yacht set sail from the port of Tuxpan, from this Gulf of Mexico, with a group of revolutionaries like Commander Fidel Castro and the legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto Che Guevara to free Cuba from the Batista dictatorship, and, most importantly, define for more than 60 years, with the will and support of an indomitable people, the border that should always exist between sovereignty and the desire for hegemonic domination.”
The official announcement published this Friday justifying the high decoration, which has also been given to Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and José Mujica, is a compilation of the latest milestones in the bilateral relationship.
“For this and many other reasons, you, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, are for the government I represent, a distinguished, admired and fraternal guest. Thank you for coming,” Lopez Obrador ratified.
It is Always an Honor for Me to Arrive in the Homeland of Benito Juarez
“I am very happy and honored to set foot on Mexican soil again, to reunite with friends and share, even if it is only for a few hours, with this beloved part of the Latin American family,” said the Cuban president in his message during the welcoming reception.
“We come to give back the embrace we received from you in difficult and uncertain hours, along with material assistance and technical advice, in vital areas and activities,” the President highlighted.
“It is always an honor to come to the homeland of Benito Juarez -he added- of whom our Jose Martí wrote such heartfelt appraisals. Every Cuban recognizes him as one of the great figures of Our America, a symbol of the dignity of the original peoples and a hero during the struggle against European colonialism and their expansionist ambitions of the powerful neighbor from the north,” the leader added.
A few hours after Díaz-Canel’s arrival, both presidents visited a medical center in Campeche where there is a group of the nearly 600 Cuban specialists currently providing services in the country. In May 2022, during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s visit to Cuba, both countries agreed to send specialists to provide public health services in medical institutions of both nations.
“In less than one year, we are fulfilling what was agreed, and there are already results to show. We are very proud to note the presence here in Campeche of a group of Cuban doctors,” Díaz-Canel commented.Another part of the official tour was to view the progress of the Mayan Train, which crosses the state of Campeche, a construction that also counts with Cuban collaboration. More than 20,000 tons of the Cuban ballast stone used in construction have been imported from the island.
“We will always be indebted to Mexico for having given a home, inspiration, and strength to those who fought for our freedom, like José Martí, Fidel Castro, Raúl, Che Guevara, and the Centennial Generation. Thank you for your support and honesty. Thank you Mexico. Thank you President,” Díaz-Canel concluded.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – US