By Laura Esquivel and Carlos Pellicer López on March 10, 2026 from Mexico City
foto: Bill Hackwell
In these difficult times for Latin American sovereignty, the criminal siege of the island of Cuba pains us Mexicans especially. Those of us who subscribe to this call to support its people believe that it would be an outrage not to do so, at a time when the United States government is attempting to subdue it through hunger and deprivation, by intensifying the economic and military blockade it imposed on the island in the wake of the triumph of its revolution and in the face of its social, scientific, artistic, cultural, educational, sporting, and health successes, as well as its moving international solidarity.
Simón Bolívar taught that unity is necessary in our America, “not to fight or conquer anyone, not to wage war on anyone, but to defend it from common dangers, to achieve respect for its sovereignty, to resolve its differences through conciliation, and to fight for its prosperity and progress.” In 1961, when the Battle of Playa Girón took place, General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río warned, at a rally in the Zócalo of Mexico City, that by trying to “hide or evade our sympathy with the hard-working Cuban people, at the critical moments of their history against invasion, we would not only betray the principles of our anti-feudal, anti-imperialist, and democratic nationalist movements, but we would also contribute to the collective suicide of the sovereignty and independence of the countries of Latin America.”
We have a shared history with Cuba. Invaded by the armies of the Spanish crown, its territory served as a platform for them to take over what is now Mexico, a land of great civilizations. The island suffered the annihilation of its original population, which led the conquerors to repopulate it with slaves brought by force from sub-Saharan Africa.
For centuries, our countries have been neighbors and brothers. Even the Afro-descendant population in Mexico came from Cuba. We have shared their music and ours. Their mambo, their danzón, their son, their trova, and their boleros crossed the Gulf of Mexico back and forth. Their poets and writers are among the great creators of our common language. We have supported each other through hurricanes and epidemics. Their doctors have walked our paths and healed our ailments.
This is not an intrusion into “other people’s conflicts.” The current aggression against the people of Cuba and their legitimate government offends those in Mexico and other latitudes who identify with their humanism and universal fraternity.
As of today, we are announcing a Banorte bank account for the Civil Association Humanity with Latin America: 1358451779, with interbank code 072180013584517792, in order to collect financial contributions from those who wish to cooperate in acquiring food, medicine, power plants, and other products essential to the resistance of our brothers and sisters.
And with regard to President Trump’s latest threat against the island to impose tariffs on those nations that supply fuel to Cuba, we reiterate that these are illegal, inhumane, and unjustified measures that seriously affect its people.
This latest escalation jeopardizes access to essential goods and services for its inhabitants, undermining their right to a dignified and healthy life. At the same time, it restricts the freedom of other countries to decide on their commercial relations of cooperation and exchange with that nation.
The rules of the international order reject and prohibit the use of force and unilateral economic sanctions against any country, precisely because of the indiscriminate harm they cause to the population.
We strongly call for solidarity with the Cuban people and an end to arrogant and aggressive unilateralism. We endorse and call for support for all government or citizen actions undertaken to protect human well-being, integrity, and dignity in Cuba.
Respect for and sovereignty of countries—which originally and always resides with the people—must continue to be the cornerstone of coexistence among nations and of aspirations to achieve a more just and peaceful world.
And if circumstances so require, we will call for support for the government of Mexico, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, in the face of any reprisals our people may face for complying with the mandate, contained in Article 89 of the Constitution, to apply the normative principles “of the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention; the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the threat or use of force in international relations; the legal equality of states; international cooperation for development; respect, protection, and promotion of human rights; and the struggle for international peace and security.”
Responsible parties: Laura Esquivel and Carlos Pellicer López
SIGNATORIES
Elena Poniatowska, Enrique Semo, Ignacio Ramonet, Marcos Roitman, Laura Esquivel, Carlos Pellicer López, Enrique Dussel Peters, José María Murià, Jesusa Rodríguez, Laura Restrepo. DIRECTORY: Carmen Lira Saade, Rosalva Aguilar González, Guillermina Álvarez, Rosa Elvira Vargas, Fabiola Santos Morales, Luis Hernández Navarro, Francisco García Noriega, Armando Andrade Díaz, Lizandro Rodríguez Bárcena, Javier Loza Hernández, Maximiliano Kusznir Albert, Roberto González Amador, Marcela Aldama, Miguel Ángel Velázquez, Pablo Espinosa, Socorro Valadez Morales. José María Huete, Felipe Santacruz. COLUMNISTS: Enrique Galván Ochoa, Julio Hernández López, Carlos Fernández-Vega, Ortiz Tejeda, José Cueli, Gloria Muñoz, Marlene Santos Alejo, Yuriria Iturriaga, David Márquez Ayala. Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, Oralia Casso. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS: Armando G. Tejeda (Spain), Juan Pablo Duch (Russia), Stella Calloni (Argentina), Oscar González (Argentina), Ángel González (Venezuela), Orlando Pérez (Ecuador), Jairo Gómez (Colombia), Eric Nepomuceno (Brazil). PHOTOGRAPHERS: Cristina Rodríguez, Luis Castillo, Víctor Camacho, Alfredo Domínguez, Roberto García, Sergio Hernández, Jair Cabrera, Jorge Pablo García, Yazmín Ortega, Marco Peláez, José Carlo González, Fabrizio León, Pedro Valtierra, José Núñez. CARTOONISTS: Rafael Barajas (El Fisgón), Gonzalo Rocha (Rocha), José Hernández (Hernández), Jorge González (Jerge). COLUMNISTS: Abraham Nuncio, Tanalís Padilla, Tatiana Coll, Hugo Casanova Cardiel, Carlos Fazio, Hugo Aboites, Pedro Miguel, José Blanco, Jóse Steinsleger, Javier Aranda, Fernando Buen Abad, Fabrizio Mejía, Magdalena Gómez, Gilberto López y Rivas, Gustavo Leal Fernández, Mario Patrón, Pedro Salmerón, Ana de Ita, Jaime Ortega, Magdiel Sánchez Quiroz, Jesús Vargas, Francisco López Bárcenas, Estefanía Ciro, José Romero Talleche, Clara Huacuja, Pablo Martínez, Hermann Bellinghausen, Ramón Vera, Lev Velázquez, Valeria Silva, Andrea Cegna, Paloma Galván Ramírez, Jovita Crispin. FRIENDS: Liliana Felipe, Arturo Peimbert, Alicia Castellanos, Julia Hernández Carlsen. GENERAL INFORMATION: (Reporters and Assistants) Andrea Becerril, Carolina Gómez, Arturo Sánchez, Iván Saldaña, Alma E. Muñoz, César Arellano, Jared Laureles, Fabiola Martínez, Laura Poy Solano, Fernando Camacho, Blanche Petrich, Georgina Saldierna, Emir Olivares, Néstor Jiménez, Alonso Urrutia, Angeles Cruz, Lilian Hernández, Alexia Villaseñor, Gustavo Castillo, Jessica Xantomila, Enrique Méndez, José Pedraza, Francisco Nájera, Regina Solórzano Alderete. ECONOMY: Dora Villanueva, Julio Gutiérrez, Braulio Carbajal, Hoguer Cruz, Alejandro Alegría, Jessika Becerra, Clara Zepeda. WORLD: Estefanía Baena, Eliot Gonzáloez, Montserrat Hawayek, Cathia Rodríguez, Ángel López, Diego Jiménez. STATES: Rolando Medrano Gómez, Antonia Esquide González, Fátima Salvador García, Martín Arceo Salazar, Rocío García López, Cristhian Guadarrama Espinosa, Alejandro Torres Lemus, Alfredo Valadez, Rodríguez, Sergio Ocampo Arista, Juan Carlos G. Partida, Javier Salinas Cesáreo, Silvia Chávez González, Israel Dávila Rodríguez, René Ramón Alvarado, Jorge A. Pérez Alfonso, Luis A. Boffil Gómez, René Alberto López, Vianney Carrera Martínez, Javier Santos López, Ernesto Martínez Elorriaga, Iván Sánchez Sánchez, Elio Henríquez Tobar, Carlos Nava Alarcón, Demian Chávez Hernández, Carlos Figueroa Calderón, Raymundo León Verde, Vicente Juárez Gutiérrez, Rubicela Morelos Cruz, Antonio Heras Sánchez, Irene Sánchez Chávez, Patricia Vázquez Pérez, Cristina Gómez Lima. CAPITAL: Rocío González Alvarado, Alejandro Cruz Flores, Nayelli Ramírez Bautista Josefina Quintero M., Grecia Patricia Rosas Ramírez, Kevin Ruiz, Sandra Hernández García, Elba Mónica Bravo, Mara Ximena Pérez, Sergio Hernández Morelos. SPORTS: Erendira Palma Hernández, Alberto Aceves, Karla Torrijos, Adriana Díaz Reyes, Óscar Martínez Reséndiz, Rosalía A. Villanueva, Juan Manuel Vázquez, Joshua Reyes Sámano, Rosalía A. Villanueva. CULTURE: Eder Torres, Merry Macmasters, Eirinet Gómez, Israel Campos Mondragón, Reyes Martínez Torrijos, Daniel López Aguilar, Mónica Mateos. ENTERTAINMENT: Juan José Olivares, Jorge Caballero. EDITORS: Valeria Cepeda Ruiz, Roberto Casilla Valdez, Víctor Manuel García Santiago, Francisco Sánchez Martínez, Edahena Villavicencio Aragón, Ma. Magdalena Rogel Nava, Zazil-Ha Troncoso Flores, Norma Angélica Hernández Pérez, Alberto Ricárdez López, Adolfo Cervantes Ortiz, Amalia Estrada Porrúa, Arturo Jiménez Martínez, María Elena Rivera. ONLINE: Angélica Patiño Vázquez, Ricardo Dávila Romero, Ernesto Yáñez Cruz, Tania Molina. WEEKLY JOURNAL: Antonio Valle, Gustavo Ogarrio, Leopoldo Cervantes Ortiz, Francisco Torres, Luis Tovar. DESIGN: Brenda Moncada, Rosario Mateo, Marga Peña, Oscar Tiscareño, Francisco del Toro, Adrián García Baez, Jesús Díaz Hernández, Israel Benítez, Ricardo Flores, Alejandro Pavón Hernández, Carlos Augusto, Alonso Olivares, Joel Sánchez Lara, Jackeline Vilema Castillo, Guillermo Alejandro Filio Sánchez, Norma Del Orbe Valdez, Graciela Cirenia Palomo Cortés, Nuria Lozano Perrusquía, Luis Alberto Jiménez González, Barbara Hoyos Aragón, Lizbeth Tabaco Martínez, Teresa López Arista, Manuel Flores Rocha. SYSTEMS: Alejandro Pérez Reyes, Gerardo Martínez Rosas, Ricardo Moreno Gutiérrez, Omar Pérez Orístico, Martín Bocanegra Ramírez, Ana Silvía Díaz Hernández, David Velázquez Barrientos.
Source: La Jornada, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English