On October 31, the United Nations will vote on a resolution to condemn the United States’ embargo of Cuba, in place since 1962. Last year, the UN voted 191-2 to condemn the embargo: the two countries that voted against it
were Israel and the US itself. Allies of the Cuban Revolution rallied outside the White House on Oct. 28 to send a message to the Cuban people and to the world: the U.S. government may claim to act in our name, but it does
so without our consent. We oppose the criminal blockade of Cuba and condemn the misery it creates
The stated goal of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba is to create an environment of economic desperation to encourage the Cuban people to overthrow their revolutionary government. For 56 years, this policy has failed and will continue to fail.
The blockade has, however, succeeded in creating unnecessary hardship on the island, but as speakers emphasized on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House, the blockade functions just as much to keep ideas and good examples trapped in Cuba as it does to keep necessary goods out. Although the U.S. uses its oversized role in the UN to intimidate and overpower the will of the vast majority of the globe, it is
important for us inside the belly of the beast to stand up and say loud and clear that the U.S. government does not speak for us; its diplomats and political leaders do not act in our name with our consent, and we refuse to follow their lead in condemning the Cuban people to suffering and want.
Groups represented Sunday included the ANSWER Coalition, Cuba-Venezuela Solidarity Committee, Stop Police Terror Project DC, International
Students’ Front, Young Democratic Socialists of America (George Washington University) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The day before the rally, the Party for Socialism and Liberation hosted a community forum in the District of Columbia featuring an honored guest speaker: Miguel Fraga, First Secretary of the Cuban Embassy. Fraga spoke about the challenges posed by the embargo but also the determination of the Cuban people to persevere. PSL member Jordan Woll also gave a personal account of Cuba and showed photos from a trip he took recently with the Cuba-Venezuela Solidarity Committee. The evening was crowned by Cuban food and music.
The five-and-a-half decade long embargo has cost the Cuban people $130 billion, according to estimates by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Shortages impact every single corner of economic and social life on the island, creating shortages in medical supplies that
delay life-saving treatments, high food prices since Cuba must import the vast majority of its food, and spare parts for everything from water pumps to industrial machinery to automobiles.
The embargo also blocks the examples of the Cuban revolution from being able to inspire exploited and oppressed people around the world, but especially in the United States, which has placed very heavy restrictions on travel to the island. Working people cannot see Cuban people’s democracy in action; Black and Indigenous people cannot see the incredible gains made towards undoing centuries of slavery and genocide; women and LGBTQ people cannot see the “revolution within the revolution” that is upending patriarchy and making real, concrete gains in the fight against homophobia, transphobia and misogyny; environmentalists cannot see the sustainable practices pioneered by Cuban agriculture and industry, which protects the environment and forces industries to take responsibility for the waste they produce and to take the lead in reducing and reusing that waste. Socialized medicine, education and housing, which are affordable for all people, signal the social gains that ending the capitalist system of distribution based on profitability can yield.
Such an example is dangerous to American imperialism – the ruling class is afraid of it. That, too, is why the embargo remains.
The PSL in the District of Columbia is also petitioning the city council to condemn the blockade. Please take the time to sign the petition and say
“Let Cuba live!”
