Cuban Workers Support Party Congress Decisions
Elio Delgado Legon
HAVANA TIMES — Millions of Cuban workers and their families rallied this May 1st at each of the country’s main squares and, at all parades, the support for the agreements reached at the recently concluded Congress of the Cuban Communist Party was evident.
In the capital, at Revolution Square, following a brief address delivered by the Secretary General of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), the parade began with a column of 40,000 workers in the education sector, who this year will also celebrate the 55th anniversary of Cuba’s literacy campaign (which turned the island into the first country in America free of illiteracy in 1961).
It was followed by a column made up by more than 50,000 members of the Health Workers Union, a sea of lab coats and white T-shirts expressing support for the revolution and socialism, the same men and women who have fought every day against death and saved thousands of lives (sometimes risking their own) in 60 different countries around the world.
Flags with the colors of the national emblem, giant portraits of the late trade union leader Lazaro Peña and slogans adorned Havana’s historic square, which saw more than half a million workers from 17 different CTC unions.
To demonstrate we Cubans are not alone in our struggle to build the prosperous and sustainable form of socialism our people deserve, numerous representatives of international organizations, Cuba solidarity groups from around the globe and many tourists who expressed their surprise at the enthusiasm with which Cubans take part in the May Day parades (having seen nothing similar in their own countries) also participated in the rally.
And they are right: in most capitalist countries where May Day parades are held, these are aimed at demanding improved working conditions and other demands. In many places, they are repressed by the police, which does not defend the workers, as they do in Cuba, but capitalist companies.
At the Jose Marti grandstand in Revolution Square, the representatives of trade unions from 68 different Latin American, Caribbean, African, Asian and European nations, as well as from the United States and Canada, were present to get to know Cuban reality and the challenges faced by the union movement, in support of the Cuban people and its revolution.
Slogans in support of the revolution and its leaders and the legitimate presidents of Venezuela and Brazil – Nicolas Maduro and Dilma Rousseff – as well as the demand that the economic, commercial and financial blockade the United States has imposed on Cuba for more than 50 years be ended, accompanied all of the columns that paraded in Havana and all provincial capitals.
Cuba’s youth, leader of many battles and guarantor of the future of the socialist homeland, closed the parade in the capital, bearing red, blue and white flags. Fifty thousand people, including students and young workers, sent a clear message to the enemies of socialism: you will never be able to rely on us to betray what has cost our people so much sweat and blood.
Before the parade, Alain Garcia, member of the provincial Young Communists League bureau, told the press that the occasion would be a good opportunity to ratify the people’s support for the agreements reached at the 7th Party Congress.
“At every square, we will ratify that history can never be forgotten, for we must always remember where we come from, where we are heading and what our final objective is, to continue building socialism,” the youth leader declared, and his expectations were fulfilled at all parades held in the country.
“For Cuba, Unity and Commitment,” was the slogan repeated by workers at all of the country’s squares, demonstrating the support of Cuba’s working class for the agreements reached at the recently concluded 7th Party Congress.
Yes, not everyone is forced to attend. But a majority of Cubans would prefer not to go.
I doubt that people are forced to attend, simply because of the fact that I know a few people who didn’t attend and they didn’t seam to be frightened and didn’t suffer any consequences as far as I know. I think its probably like going to church. Some people go because they believe in it, others because of tradition, sense of community or patriotism. Others maybe for commercial reasons or to make a good impression. And many its probably a mixture of various motivations.
Ben;
Historical success? SUCCESS? If that’s a “success”, just what is a failure in your book?
As no one immigrates to Cuba, how did you as a declared immigration lawyer earn a living?
Ben, have you considered staying in Cuba for good and live as a Cuban on a pittance of a salary while enjoying the “historical success” of the so-called Cuban Revolution? My heart would be full of pride for you.
“Power does not interest me and I will not take it.”
Fidel Castro Ruz
January 2, 1959
“I don’t agree with communism. We are democracy. We are against all kinds of Dictators. That is why we oppose communism.”
Fidel Castro Ruz
April 25, 1959
On May 1, 1961 Fidel Castro Ruz declared Cuba a socialist state and officially abolished multi-party elections.
Was Fidel lying Elio? If so on which occasion?
Wonderful irrelevant rant. Fidel would be proud of you. Thanks for the information that Fidel is “still-living”. Having watched the 7th Congress that re-assurance was necessary
It says something when even the Mafia-allied previous government of Cuba is looked upon fondly by those now suffering under Castro-imposed Communism.
Meanwhile, with their “support” of Socialism, it’s rather curious, isn’t it, that so many Cubans have chosen to “vote with their feet” by way of fleeing their tyrant-ridden homeland.
If “success” is making your country’s citizens so miserable that they see their best alternative as that of getting away from it as quickly as possible, then perhaps the Cuban Revolution has been a “historical success”. Most reasonable observers, however, seem to think of it as a failure of “historic” proportions.
Rich….NOT ONE PERSON on this site is saying that. I defy you to show me otherwise. You are stuck in the wrong end of the last century. Allow me to invite you into the 21st century. You can leave the shoe you’re using to bang the podium back in the 20th century.
Well said! The Europeans have wilted and as you know, recently restored ‘normal relations’ with Cuba. There is no change within Cuba for Cubans. The Castro regime will not make or accept any change, because doing so would reduce their vice-like control and power. Only the innocent or wilfully blind could think otherwise.
It is not possible to support the oppressive control of the Castro family regime and to make claim to be supporting the people of Cuba. If – which I doubt – you actually wish to see an improvement in the lives of average Cubans, then you of necessity have to seek change. The Communist Castro family regime is all about having power and control over “the masses” and restricting all and any form of individual political expression. You are clearly uninformed about the revolution, about what Fidel Castro was saying then and what he actually did. I have friends who are democratic socialists – but they believe in and support the right of individuals to express their views and to differ from their own. No such liberty is available to Cubans nor is it intended. I’ll lay money that you live in a country where there is freedom of choice, not one like Cuba or North Vietnam. The obvious difference between you and I is that you do not believe in freedom of expression and I do and a second difference is that you don’t have your home and family in Cuba and I do.
As a Cuban, I can honestly say that they are probably talking about you. Nothing a Cuban hates more than a foreigner visiting the island, praising the government, and then going home to their comfortable lives.
What successes are those Ben? And are the many thousands of Cubans fleeing the island aware of them?
What success has the Castro revolution accomplished that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the world WITHOUT establishing a dictatorship and taking away basic human rights?
I think he is ‘full’ of poor reading comprehension skills. There is nothing in the recent news to lead one to believe that socialism anywhere in the world, let alone in Cuba “is here to stay”. On the contrary, every positive economic decision being made in Cuba today is facilitate more and not less capitalism on the island.
I agree. I’ve spent years in Cuba as well. Occasionally you run into Westerners, barely able to speak Cubano, who feel that they must help liberate and enlighten the “little brown brothers” in their backyard. I know what the Cubans say about them, out of their presence as well.
I have NEVER advocated for “let’s recapture Cuba”. That’s nuts. Cuba is a poor, resource-stricken island of 11 million people who have a poor sense of democratic principles and a high propensity for corruption. Yuk! Cuba is best left to the Cuban people to sort out their own problems. You have sorely misinterpreted my position.
The US have been the only country that has steadfastly criticized the Cuban dictatorship and aided those who oppose it and those fleeing from it against all odds. Most of the world has turned face from the human and civil rights violations happening for decades, and bought the dictatorship narrative, approving of things they would never accept in their own countries. It is a shame to the world.
To all those who here and in other places sing praise of the Cuban government I say “Go to live there as a Cuban first, then talk.”
I LIVED in Cuba for 48 years (1953-2001), and I do not doubt you travelled around the island but I really doubt you really observed anything beyond what you wanted to.
I’ve been to Cuba a number of times and have travelled around the Island. I know what I hear and see, As Yogi Berra once said “You can observe a lot just by watching” And listening. Rich, reactionaries like Carlyle and Moses can never get their hatred of Socialism out of their system. Its a sickness. There’s only one cure. They cannot reconcile themselves to the historical success of the Cuban Revolution and never will. My heart is full of pride in and for the Cuban people. .
I think he means, Moses “full of pride that enough Americans and Cuban-Americans have finally stopped letting revengeful, self-serving Americans and Cuban-Americans tell them what to think and do regarding Cuba.” That’s my opinion, so now let’s learn what you think he’s “full of.”
It is you, Moses, that is always “frothing at the mouth” with your insistence that a foreign power aligned with revengeful exiles, not the Cubans on the island, should dictate the present and the future of Cuba. A foreign power aligned with the Mafia, of all allies, dictated to Cuba from 1952 till the first day of 1959. What you and your ilk so arrogantly deny is that the greatest strengths of the still-living Fidel Castro and his future legacy are nuances such as the U. S. teaming with the Mafia to rule Cuba; the incredible number of assassination attempts against Castro; the cowardly and stupid Bay of Pigs attack; countless Cuban-exile terrorist attacks against Cuba that include napalm-bombings of Cuban sugar and tobacco farms, murderous cannon-fire from speed-boats on little coastal fishing villages such as Boca de Sama, the bombing of a civilian Cuban airplane that killed 73 souls, the shameful protection of well-known Cuban-exile terrorists on U. S. soil, the longest and cruelest embargo ever imposed by a strong nation against a weak one, AND SO FORTH. Batistianos controlling the Cuban narrative in the U. S. from 1959 till Obama’s arrival successfully propagandized Americans, but the Obama-sanctioned U. S. cruise ship, the Adonia, now visiting Cuba this entire week highlights the fact that Americans are becoming un-propagandized. Thus, my question is this: HOW MUCH LONGER, Moses, WILL YOU AND YOUR ILK CONTINUE PROSELYTIZING THE NIXON-ERA AND BUSH-ERA INSANITY AND INDECENCY AGAINST MILLIONS OF INNOCENT CUBANS ON THE ISLAND? And do you deny that such insane and indecent treatment of Cubans on the island shames both the United States and democracy? Answer those two questions and stop pandering to the choir, Moses. The “LET’S RECAPTURE CUBA” GIG IS OVER but it surely has had one daunting effect, which is positioning little Cuba as a major player on the international stage far out of proportion to its size, population, or wealth.
“With the massive support of the Cuban people.”
Have you ever visited Cuba and if so do you speak Spanish and have you had one to one conversations with Cubans? They have to be one to one if the ears of the CDR which was Stasi trained (verifiable fact) are to be avoided Where is the strong international support? Brazil where the name changed Rousseff is about to be impeached? Venezuela where Maduro who building upon the legacy of Chavez has achieved the highest inflation rate in the world? North Korea similarly to Cuba subjected to a family communist regime (the Kims) and with its GDP OF $560 per capita compared with that of over $22,000 in capitalist South Korea both starting level in 1953? Or maybe you are referring to the flaccid Europeans restoring normal relations with Cuba rather than listening as I did to a very sensible Barack Obama’s speech at the Alicia Alonso Theatre in Havana?
You say: ‘I’m convinced that Socialism is here to stay in Cuba.” That indicates that you like me, live at home in Cuba – do you?”
If you regard Elio’s somewhat pathetic bleating as representing the thoughts of the people of Cuba then explain why Cuba has the fourth highest rate of incarceration in the world. A very high percentage of those incarcerated have been without trial for showing “disrespect” to the regime. Do you approve of the incarceration of parents who within their own homes teach their children that there are alternatives to socialism and when the CDR reports to MININT are incarcerated for three years?
Do please provide some answers whilst your heart – you claim a heart – is full.
Full of what?
Is Elio from the Cuba of this earth or is he from Cuba from another planet?. Don’t get it when someone who due to age, should know better but yet his opinion are from someone with tunnel vision. I can only guess that either he has early stages of dimentia or his fingers are being remotely control by the Comunistas and he has no control of what he is posting. The hundreds that participated most likely had very little choice due to their ties to the government and the fear of consequences for not participating.
The fact that those that participate are praised and when those in oposition speak up are battered is a clear indication that all are living with a thumb over their heads which applies pressure on them as they see fit.
Have they ever, just once, not supported the party. I mean really. ….who believes this nonsense?!
You are correct in your assessment of folks like Elio who fail to understand that they are clay in the hands of the PCC and its cult of the personality as demonstrated in the banner shown in the photograph above. It was all summed up by Larson’s wonderful cartoon now so many years ago of the dog answering its master and saying: blah, Blah, BLAH! He even in support of his views explains that the parade included the numerous slogans of the PCC
But Elio is obviously worried by the people of Venezuela and Brazil recognizing the failure of the left and seeking removal of their respective presidents. Let us hope that he eventually understands why. I repeat Winston Churchill saying that the ultimate problem for socialism is the equal spreading of misery.
The difference between the free world countries and Cuba, is that in the free world, the citizens organize demonstrations, in Cuba they are organized by the regime. Just goes to illustrate that under socialism, the citizen has to act as part of the mass, not think for themselves.
Poor Elio is merely become a part of the unthinking mass. One who was successfully converted to the concept of Stalin’s ‘New Man’ and copied by Dr. Ernesto Guevara de Serna Lynch. For him there is no hope.
I think Mr. Delgado needs his fantasy of Castor Cuba to carry him to the end of his life. The truth is too bitter for him. I suggest we just let him be at peace in his make believe world. There is no place for reality on his planet.
A very uplifting report. A wonderful read. I’m convinced that Socialism is here to stay in Cuba. With the massive support of the Cuban people, combined with strong International support, bodes very well for the future. My heart is full. Well done Elio.
I am further convinced that no matter how badly performing the Castro economy, Castristas like Elio will continue to reject reality. Despite the hundreds of thousands of Cuban workers forced to attend the May 1 march, Elio insists on frothing at the mouth using the same tired old Castro propaganda. The reason Cuban workers don’t use the parade to demand better work conditions is because it is not allowed. Cuban youth are leaving Cuba as fast as they can. If the Castros are hanging their hopes on the future of Castro socialism in Cuba on Cubans under 30 years old, it’s days are numbered. Unfortunately, the inevitable shift to capitalism and democracy will probably have to wait until folks like Elio are no longer part of the problem.