Reaffirming their commitment to building socialism in Latin America, Cuba and Venezuela announced on Nov. 8 that both countries will extend an economic cooperation pact for another 10 years. Cuban President Raul Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez stated that the Integral Cooperation Accord, first signed in 2000, represents a “strategic unity” between the two countries.
As South America’s largest oil producer and Cuba’s largest trading partner, Venezuelan solidarity is critical to the Cuban economy in the face of an intensified U.S. blockade and the capitalist economic crisis. Venezuela has invested heavily in developing Cuba’s oil infrastructure and sends an estimated 115,000 barrels of oil daily in exchange for medical and educational resources.
Chávez told the Cuban people that they have accomplished a “titanic task” in developing socialism and thanked them for helping Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution.
The pact renewal comes before the Sixth Party Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, which will focus on the special economic situation facing Cuba.
