Amid chants of “Long live Cuba!”, “Down with the blockade!” and “Out with Trump!”, a bicycle caravan traveled through the northern part of the Brazilian capital of Brasilia in support of the Caribbean island and in rejection of the sanctions imposed by the United States.
The mobilization brought together members of left-wing parties, social movements, solidarity activists with Cuba, and Cubans residing in Brazil, in a day marked by a political atmosphere and denunciation.
From the outset of the event, participants emphasized the protest nature of the demonstration against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade that Washington maintains against Cuba, which they described as a policy of strangulation against the Cuban people.
Amid chants echoing throughout the urban route, the demonstrators transformed the bike ride into a public expression of international solidarity, combining slogans, flags, and messages of support for the island.
At the start of the event, activist Maria Auxiliadora declared that Cuba is resisting and referred to the event as a demonstration of support for the Caribbean nation in the face of the unjust suffocation to which the United States seeks to subject it.
She also commemorated the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro (1926-2016), on the occasion of the upcoming 100th anniversary of his birth on August 13. “Long live Fidel on this centennial of his birth!” she exclaimed.
The ride proceeded through the streets of northern Brasília amidst constant shouts of “Down with the blockade!” and “Long live Cuba!”—expressions that mingled with applause, Cuban flags, and banners defending the sovereignty of nations.
“I’m participating here because this is very important. Cuba is going through a very difficult time. The decades-long blockade isn’t enough; now Donald Trump wants to invade it,” activist Yara Leal told Prensa Latina from her bicycle.
She lamented the impact of U.S. policies, as the island faces shortages in various areas, especially in the health sector, and asserted that “we cannot remain silent; we need to help Cuba.”
The organizers emphasized that the initiative seeks to draw the attention of the Brazilian public to the effects of the blockade and the need to end what they consider an aggressive policy against the island.
In this context, the Cuban ambassador to Brazil, Víctor Cairo, highlighted that this Sunday was a patriotic and Latin American day, in which Brazilian friends, Cuban residents, and people of other nationalities—such as Venezuelans and Colombians—came together to express their condemnation of the blockade against the Caribbean nation.
A bicycle ride is a novel way to draw the attention of the Brazilian population to the negative effects of the blockade and the need to end such an aggressive policy as the one the Cuban people are facing, he noted.
The day concluded with calls to expand this type of initiative in different social spaces in Brazil, as part of the international campaign of solidarity with Cuba and against unilateral coercive measures.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
