By Alejandra Garcia and Bill Hackwell on July 18, 2023
Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel
This week, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel attended the III Summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) held on July 17 and 18 in Brussels, Belgium. For 48 hours, the Cuban leader and other government authorities put the island in the spot light and felt the love and respect that authorities and political figures from other latitudes feel towards Cuba and Cubans.
Díaz-Canel arrived in Brussels after a very warm and successful visit to Portugal, where he received the keys to the city of Lisbon, and had high-level meetings, including with the president of that country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Upon his arrival in Brussels on July 17, he was received with honors by the main leaders of the European Union.
Cuba’s name rang out loud and clear during the summit, the first to be held after a pause of eight-years, this time with representatives of the 33 CELAC countries and the 27 countries of the European Union. This has to be viewed as a successful summit for Cuba judging by the howling of the media and activists of the ultra-right wing reacted, which failed to diminish the image that Cuba had in this event.
A few days prior to the Summit these forces who are submissive to the US pushed through a resolution in the European Parliament condemning Cuba’s human rights record. But this attempt of resurrecting the tired worn out lies that emanate from Miami, Madrid and the offices of the US Congress not only did not get traction at the meeting but seemed to backfire when faced with vocal expression of recognition and support for Cuba.
The tone was set by Presidents such as Chile’s Gabriel Boric, Honduras’ Xiomara Castro, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, and other leaders who all spoke out strongly against the US blockade against Cuba and its inclusion in the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism. This theme continued throughout the event including at its closing a final declaration was signed rejecting this US policy against Cuba and its extraterritorial nature.
It was also newsworthy that Díaz-Canel held meetings with the German Foreign Minister, Olaf Scholz, and with Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with whom Cuba had not met for decades.
The visit was also a success because the president was able to dialogue with friendly leaders of the Latin American left-wing, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Luis Arce of Bolivia, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, President Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who is currently the president pro tempore of CELAC, one of the main speakers at the event and a great friend of Cuba.
This company made Díaz-Canel feel comfortable, in an environment where Cuba has an emerging leadership role due to the dignified way in which it conducts itself despite the uninterrupted slander that the island faces every day from the US.
“During the Summit, we called to join efforts to eliminate the huge inequality gap that sets the Caribbean countries and the European Union apart. It is a difficult yet not impossible task. The Caribbean and the EU can and must cooperate better. Count on Cuba to help achieve this goal,” the Cuban president said during his speech at the event.
Going into the Summit the EU had hoped for a resolution that would condemn Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine but the countries of CELAC are no longer willing to just go along with countries who had once colonized them and instead, within the framework of the international event, Cuba and others were able to achieve alliances urging for negotiations for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. “We advocate for the search for peace, the restoration of peace, and the respect for international law. We insist authorities avoid double standards on issues that are so important for humanity,” International Relations Minister Bruno Rodrígez Parrilla added in an interview with EFE from Brussels.
supporters welcome Diaz Canel to Brussels
On Monday, the president also attended the progressive People’s Summit, that ran parallel to the CELAC-EU Summit at the Free University of Brussels. This meeting that was made up primarily of solidarity activists gave a thunderous response to Diaz Canel when he arrived and said “You didn’t think we could be in Brussels and not come here to take the opportunity to express our thanks for all your support, did you?” The Cuban President went on to remind everyone how the Cuban Revolution remains solid to its socialist origins.
“When I see so many people committed to the just causes of this world, I am thinking of Fidel. We are here out of principle, out of conviction. Because this is a truly plural, open, and participatory space. This is a meeting place for representatives of Latin American, Caribbean and European civil society; therefore, this is the best of the Summits because here the people speak,”. He then chanted with the audience “Yo Soy Fidel..I am Fidel”
In reflection, the two day EU-CELAC summit went well for the proud island of Cuba and its dignified president. In spite of the campaigns and the blockade, Diaz-Canel was greeted with all the respect for being a Latin American dignitary that is leading a beautiful, humble, Caribbean island that focuses on the improvement of humanity over the accumulation of wealth. There is no denying that.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English