By Victor Villalba and Syara S. Massip on May 1 2026 from Havana
foto: Granma
This morning—International Workers’ Day—Havana was the scene of a massive rally at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, located on the city’s iconic Malecón. The event took place under the central slogan “The Homeland Must Be Defended,” a call for unity and resistance in the face of the intensifying economic blockade and growing imperial threats against the nation.
Unlike previous years, when the Plaza de la Revolución was usually the epicenter of the proletarian celebration, this May 1st the “José Martí” Anti-Imperialist Tribune was chosen as the venue for the main event. The change of location corresponds to current limitations in securing fuel given the complex situation the country is facing, exacerbated by the oil blockade and the impact of the intensified blockade.
foto: Victor Villalba
The event was attended by the country’s top leadership and the leadership of the Cuban Revolution, headed by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, who presided over the rally alongside the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, underscoring the continuity of the revolutionary process and the unity of the country’s political and military leadership at a time of particular tension with the United States.
Also in attendance were Political Bureau members Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, and Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, President of the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Cuban Workers’ Central (CTC).
This May 1st took on even deeper significance as it unfolded in the year marking the centenary of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, whose spiritual presence and legacy permeated every inch of the Anti-Imperialist Tribune and every provincial parade. The image of the historic leader of the Revolution, who so often led massive marches along that very same Malecón to denounce the empire’s aggressions, was more alive than ever in the slogans, the flags, and the combative spirit of the people. His anti-imperialist thinking, his concept of defending sovereignty, and his conviction that “Homeland is humanity” remain fully relevant today.
Every step taken by the demonstrators was, in essence, a tribute to Fidel, with the certainty that he not only lives on in history but marches at the forefront of every daily battle for the independence, social justice, and dignity of Cubans. Celebrating his centennial in the streets, under the slogan “The Homeland Must Be Defended,” was the best proof that his legacy is not an inert monument, but an active trench that continues to guide the peaceful yet firm resistance of a people who do not give up.
During the keynote address of the event, Colina Rodríguez stated: “Cuba, the rebellious island, continues to stand as a moral beacon, without armies to invade (…) without digital algorithms to lie. This country has sent doctors where others send bombs, has offered literacy where others impose functional illiteracy, and has shared the little it has where others hoard wealth (…) Our greatest weapon is not a missile, but a conscience. The certainty that another, better world is possible.”
The “My Signature for the Homeland” campaign took on momentous historical significance by enabling more than 6.23 million Cubans—a figure representing more than half the national population—to exercise their constitutional right and duty to defend the nation against the escalation of external aggression. With the presentation of a painting representing the result of this massive exercise in popular sovereignty to Army General Raúl Castro, the Cuban people confirmed their resounding response to the genocidal blockade, imperial threats, and the hybrid war against Cuba. Beyond the numbers, every signature affixed by workers, peasants, students, intellectuals, artists, and athletes signified a conscious act of active resistance, reaffirming sacred national unity and demonstrating to the world that the Cuban people, organized from their grassroots, not only reject the United States’ hostile policies but also collectively assume the defense of their sovereignty as a daily and non-negotiable stance.
The celebration took place against a geopolitical backdrop of maximum tension with the United States, marking a turning point in the perception of the external threat. More than half a million Havana residents were present, accompanied by 827 friends of Cuba representing 38 countries, as well as delegations from 152 trade union and solidarity organizations. The response was immediate; the people chanted slogans of unity and resistance in response to President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s call on the social media platform X: “Let us march united: workers, peasants, students, intellectuals, artists, athletes, all Cubans, against the genocidal blockade and the crude imperial threats against our country.”
Simultaneously with the event in Havana, May Day celebrations spread throughout the archipelago in every province of the country, where parades and rallies took place under the same slogan of national defense. The general atmosphere was one of celebration and serenity, though tinged with an ironclad anti-imperialist determination, demonstrating that, in the face of any threat, Cuba responds with massive popular mobilization, closing ranks around its historical and current leadership under the slogan “The homeland is defended in the streets and squares… defend the country, from the fields, the factories, the classrooms, the scientific centers, the thermo electric plants, the hospitals, culture, and sports; from every combat trench.”
Source: Cuba en Resumen