‘We are experiencing a new moment in history…The peoples are demonstrating that it is indeed possible to overthrow the imperial offensive which aims to resort to criminalisation of social protest, the confinement and displacement of populations, the murder of social and political leaders, femicide, the persecution of the leaders of progressive governments and the judicialization of politics. Times of hope have opened up. Unity is vital and constitutes our duty; mobilisation is the order of the day; organisation of the people is the imminent task; and integration is the strategy that will lead us on to victory.’ – President Miguel Diaz-Canel, final declaration at the Anti-imperialist Solidarity Conference for Democracy Against Neo-liberalism
The Revolutionary Communist Group were invited to the Anti-imperialist Solidarity Conference for Democracy Against Neo-liberalism in Havana, Cuba from 1-3 November in recognition of our longstanding work in solidarity with the country’s socialist revolution, and our contribution to upholding Cuba as an example of sustainable development within the growing movement against climate change. While we were there, anti-neoliberal uprisings in Chile, Honduras and Haiti were simmering on the streets. Social movements in Colombia were preparing for a general strike. The movement to free Brazil’s Lula Da Silva secured his liberty days after the conference closed, while Bolivia’s right wing, backed by the US, were in the final stages of executing their coup. Responding to these tempestuous times, Cuba gathered anti-imperialist revolutionaries and solidarity activists from around the globe. Sam McGill reports.
Our delegates joined over 1,330 representatives of 789 social movements from 86 countries focusing on a clear message – to fight against the war waged by imperialism and neo-liberalism on Latin America and beyond. It was a resounding declaration of solidarity with socialist Cuba, to defy the tightening of the US blockade. As we consistently argue, to defend Cuba is to defend humanity, is to defend basic dignity, is to defend the environment. We shared our platform with revolutionaries from Congo, Iran, Palestine, Burkina Faso, Western Sahara, all of us arguing the same point: ‘when we fight for Cuba we are fighting our struggle too – our common enemy is imperialism… Cuba is an inspiring example for liberation movements around the world’ (Mourad Ayyash, Palestinian refugee). An attack on Cuba is an attack on all.
Our delegate Ria Aibhilín, a leading activist in the anti-imperialist Earth Strike in Liverpool, was invited to speak from the panel on youth struggles. She argued that if the Green New Deal championed in Britain and the US does not cancel the so-called ‘third world’ debt and force multi-nationals to pay back riches plundered from nations forced into IMF structural debt enslavement, it will be nothing more than green-washed imperialism. It was a point illustrated by the Argentinian activist Beverley Keene of Jubilee South:
‘When you look at what we’ve actually been loaned, in Latin America, Asia and Africa, we’ve already paid that debt many times over. But it continues to grow… the debt can’t be paid, it shouldn’t be paid, morally it’s unacceptable to pay it because the consequences are misery, poverty, hunger, unemployment, natural and ecological devastation… We won’t pay it, we don’t owe it… It means the end of sovereignty.’
Debt enslavement is a tool of imperialist domination, driving agro-industrial and extractive exploitation. Keene explained: ‘we have an agreement with the IMF which says what the economic policy of Argentina can be, what the central bank can and can’t do. One of the consequences… is the need to expand extractive industries, mining, petroleum, agribusiness, fracking… to pay the interest on the debt, open pit mines are being expanded on an astronomical scale.’
‘Cuba will never give in, nor betray its principles, nor its solidarity with the rest of the world.’ – Fernando Gonzalez, head of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples and one of the Cuban Five
The RCG regularly pickets British banks, parasitic monopolies that have a stranglehold on countries from Greece to Jamaica. Banks are at the heart of the imperialist system and must be confronted by the fight against climate change, war and poverty. Illustrating this, Richard Lopez from Puerto Rico’s nationalist party gave details of how his country, claimed as a territory of the US for over a century, is ‘targeted by the international banks at Wall Street who say we have $74bn in debt, when Puerto Rico has only been a captive market for the US with no right to international trade because we don’t have sovereignty. [Barack] Obama passed a law implementing austerity, closing our schools, our hospitals, cutting our budget, selling our energy industry and forcing migration by the masses… We’ve been experimented on, bombarded and it’s just like a genocide at slow pace.’
The US has been behind a string of coups in the region. Receiving political support and media cover from Britain and Europe, these coups and the right-wing governments they have installed are central to attacking anti-imperialist movements in Latin America. In 2009 a US-backed coup overthrew President Manuel Zelaya months after he brought Honduras into the progressive Bolivarian Alliance for Latin America (ALBA) – a political project in which oil, goods and services are exchanged at below market prices for healthcare provision and other development aid. What followed was a decade of bloody repression against social activists, journalists and environmentalists. Today, huge sections of the country are on the streets demanding the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Pedro Joaquin from Libre Party in Honduras told us: ‘They are killing poor people in the name of the politics of the US. They use their military bases to launch attacks and we have three US military bases in Honduras…The US talks about all the friends it has in Latin America and the Caribbean, but the truth is it doesn’t have any friends, it has interests.’
Such exploitation and repression breeds resistance. The popular uprising in Chile shows that the right wing cannot enforce their brutal austerity measures unchecked. Youth activist Gabriel García explained: ‘The people of Chile have said no to neoliberalism which has been imposed for 30 years since Pinochet’s dictatorship… They want to privatise even more than what has already been privatised: all our natural resources, healthcare, education, pensions… Chile wants a new constitution, [President Sebastián] Piñera has to step down and be held accountable for the murders that have occurred at the hands of the military and police.’
The socialist revolution in Cuba has defied imperialism’s rampant exploitation and brutality for over 60 years. Instead of dictatorship they have implemented revolutionary democracy, in place of private wealth and extreme poverty they have ensured that healthcare, education and culture are human rights. Despite the genocidal US blockade that costs Cuba $12m per day, they have built solidarity and mutual assistance, training over 29,750 doctors from 105 countries free of charge at the Latin American School of Medicine, restoring sight to over 4 million people in 34 countries as part of ‘Operation Miracle’, sending brigades of doctors to countries suffering natural disasters and epidemics, saving lives. Together with Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, Cuba has spearheaded a raft of regional integration and mutual assistance projects including ALBA.
Precisely because of the threat that this example poses for imperialism, Cuba and its allies in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia have been subjected to economic warfare and US-funded destabilisation. Venezuela has withstood multiple coup attempts with US agencies including USAID and NED pouring billions of dollars of US taxpayers’ money into opposition groups. Nicaragua in 2018 survived a protracted coup attempt from US supported ‘Tranque’ street blockades. Under former president and indigenous leader Evo Morales, Bolivia was a staunch member of ALBA, consistently defending Cuba and Venezuela while opposing US interference. Speaking to us in Havana, Ariana Campero Nava, Bolivia’s ambassador to Cuba, warned: ‘They want to lay their hands on Bolivia – the neoliberals, the oligarchs, fascists, racists. They are denying the popular vote, the fourth triumph of President Evo, this past 20 October. We say: do audits, we don’t owe anything…the popular vote, democracy and Bolivia’s sovereignty must be respected.’ Days later, the right wing triumphed, forcing Evo Morales to resign (see p11).
‘No more imperialist droughts, no more blockades, no more wars, no more interventions, no more unilateral sanctions on the part of imperialism, we will throw them off, we want to be free, independent, we will fight these brutal actions.’ -Roger Jiminez, president of the postal workers union of Venezuela
Bolivia’s coup has given impetus to forces determined to overthrow movements for socialism in Latin America. US President Trump lost no time in threatening Venezuela and Nicaragua. As Bolivian opposition mobs hacked off the plaits of an indigenous mayor, dousing her in paint, he claimed ‘we are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous and free Western hemisphere’. Days later, thugs aligned to US puppet Juan Guaido, self-proclaimed ‘president’ of Venezuela, broke into Venezuela’s embassy in Brazil. Embassy staff and Brazilian social movements repelled the attack while Jair Bolsonaro’s police stood idle.
The imperialist British state backs Guaido, has given its support to the racist coup government in Bolivia, and allows the illegal US blockade on Cuba to operate extra-territorially while withholding $1.3bn of Venezuela’s gold. We in Britain have an urgent duty to step up our internationalist solidarity with the struggle for socialism in Latin America. This must be practical, uncompromising and reach out to wider forces in Britain willing to challenge the imperialist system.
The RCG has been active in Britain making defence of Cuba central to our efforts to build an anti-imperialist trend within the growing movement against the climate crisis. Our delegate Sheila Rubio addressed the closing plenary of the Havana conference by informing delegates about our regular pickets of Esso (ExxonMobil) petrol stations. Under the Helms-Burton Act Title III, activated by US President Trump in May, ExxonMobil is the first multi-national company attempting to sue Cuba for $280m for property nationalised in 1959. It is also the second biggest emitter of CO2 in human history, causing over 3% of global emissions. Calling for practical solidarity against the blockade and regular actions against ExxonMobil, Rubio stated: ‘If you’re going to blockade Cuba then we are going to blockade you!’, prompting huge applause. Our calls were echoed by Gloria La Riva, from the Party of Socialism and Liberation in the United States, who reiterated: ‘The urgency of fighting the US blockade of Cuba, and of course…the blockade of Venezuela… is why we had a plan of action of many points, that we go back home and target a US embassy, consulate, ExxonMobil or another US representation…in dozens of cities to show that the world is speaking up for Cuba.’ On 16 November, the RCG responded to the call for an international day of action with pickets of Esso petrol stations and events across Britain. This came days after the 28th consecutive UN vote on a resolution condemning the US blockade of Cuba which saw 187 countries vote in favour, with only the US, Israel and Brazil voting against.
Cuba remains a beacon of hope for all those fighting for a better future. In closing, Miguel Diaz-Canel, President of the Republic of Cuba, reminded us: ‘Cuba has been held under siege by lies and for years separated from its natural environment. With lies they have invaded nations, torn apart peoples, set back entire regions on their path to development.’ He reaffirmed that Cuba’s new generation ‘are revolutionaries, socialists, faithful to Fidel and Martí…we will not yield a millimetre in our positions in favour of independence, sovereignty, and social justice.’
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Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 273 December 2019/January 2020
