Cuban workers to hold 19th Congress

The promotion of actions to support the Latin American regional integration will be the focal point for delegates at the 19th Congress of the Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC), to be held Sept. 24-27 in Havana.

CTC International Relations Secretary Leonel Gonzalez said that a commission specially designed to address the

Leonel Gonzalez Photo: Ian Thompson

topic will propose initiatives that support talks and promote awareness of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a regional integration effort launched by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as an alternative to the U.S.-led Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and free trade agreements between the U.S. and individual Latin American countries. The Congress will also encourage the struggle for peace and sustainable development as major thrusts against neoliberal globalization, said Gonzalez, who added that the event will promote actions against the state terrorism unleashed by the George W. Bush administration.

The commission is expected to ratify Cuba’s denunciation against the more than 45-year economic, financial and commercial U.S. blockade of the island, which has caused losses amounting to more than 82 billion dollars, said the union leader.

The CTC congress will include political and ideological working sessions and will address issues such as the defense of socialism, union training policies and performance. In addition to its usual membership, the gathering will be attended by groups of retired workers, pensioners and by members of clubs of technological inventions, education, culture, sports and workers recreation, as well as other groups dedicated to employment policies and salary management.